by Hannah Martin

Interning at the Center for Interfaith Cooperation (CIC) helped me recommit to my personal values and determine what I will look for in my future careers. Out of all my internships, the CIC provided me with the most freedom and support to design my own program.

My role at the CIC was to develop community relations with Indiana’s Asian religious communities and then design a program to bring these communities together. There was no guidebook on how to do this. It was completely up to me to use my connecting skills to research and learn about Indiana’s Asian religious communities.

From this experience, I learned that I chose the right major and I want to work in a nonprofit organization. From class, I know that nonprofits are working to strengthen their community engagement programs and my connecting skills will be an asset to improve these endeavors. Additionally, I learned that I will always seek out places with foreign communities. Even in a small place like the CIC, I shared an office with people from Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. We all had our own cultural quirks which made every day a new learning experience.

For anyone interested in interning with the CIC, you will have a lot of great resources to create your own interfaith program. I never felt like I was bogged down with busy work; everything I did had a purpose and I felt like a staff member by the end of the program.