Name: Kelsey Donnellan

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: Just Food UMBC | Title of Your Position: Founder and Director

Major(s)/Minor(s): Interdisciplinary Studies, Degree title: Community Health and Nutrition

Expected Graduation Year: May 2015

Briefly describe your internship, co-op, research, or service-learning opportunity, including your day-to-day tasks, responsibilities, and assignments.

I launched Just Food UMBC, an organization to promote a just and sustainable food system at UMBC. Along with three interns, I work with various stakeholders in our on-campus food system. Each week I am tasked with establishing goals for each of the interns, reviewing the intern's work, hosting staff meetings, and arranging 1:1s with each intern.

Describe the process of obtaining your internship, research, or co-op opportunity.

The project has been a passion of mine for over a year, but I struggled to gain traction. As I transitioned out of a leadership position with The Garden, I focused on our campus food policy. I met with Vivian Armor and Christine Routzahn to discuss getting internship credit, which was a different structure as I started the organization. With their approval, I went to other departments to recruit interns. Two interns are fulfilling their Health Administration and Policy Program internship requirement and the other intern is completing an independent study in Political Science. From there we asked Jill Wrigley to serve as a faculty mentor, and she graciously agreed.

Which of the following resources did you use to find your current experience?

Faculty Connections

What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization/company?

Launching Just Food UMBC has pushed me to think critically about long-term goals and my management strategies. The staff works hard week in and week out to develop our research, write policy reviews, and connect with the community. While I am the Director, I prefer to work collaboratively with the interns and actively listen to their ideas. I believe allowing them to use their strengths has only made our organization thrive.

What have you gained from your experience that you could not have gained from another opportunity?

I learned management skills and effective communication skills, which I could not have gained from another opportunity. If I do not communication the weekly goals well, the interns may do redundant or incorrect work. Much of the responsibility falls on me, and I take it seriously. In the beginning the interns were given the opportunity to advise me on what platforms and methods of communication they preferred. Now I am able to create their goals list with their preferences in mind.

What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?

Think creatively about opportunities and ask for support.

Please provide a short reflection or quote about what you liked most about your position / earning internship credit / the internship placement process.

"I feel it is an obligation to help people understand the relation of food to agriculture and the relationship of food to culture." - Alice Waters

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Volunteer Victim Advocate Interns (9273851)
Office of the State's Attorney for Baltimore City - Baltimore, Maryland

This work will be under the direct supervision and training of a Licensed Certified Social Worker - Clinical (LCSW-C). The Interns will also work with Assistant State’s Attorneys, Docket Clerks and other support staff.

Duties include attending morning court sessions, assisting with hand written interviews and handling walk-in interviews during office hours. The Intern also provides administrative support through placing phone calls, reproducing case files and notes, and assisting with docket preparation.

Education Associate (9273690)
Young Audiences/Arts for Learning - Baltimore , Maryland

YA offers its interns a unique and valuable chance to learn the ins and outs of a leading arts-in-education nonprofit and to contribute to the continued success of the organization. Our internship program is flexible and can be tailored to provide the most optimum experience for each student through a collaborative learning process.

UAV Intern in Panama (9273805)
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute - Gigante Peninsula, Non-U.S.

Immediate opening at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama for an intern / fellow / research assistant to collect high-resolution aerial photos with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from June 1 – August 31, 2015.

Responsibilities will include assembly of fixed-wing and multirotor UAVs, maintenance and repair of UAVs, and more!

Graphic Designer/Marketing Specialist (9273855)
KLNB LLC - Towson, Maryland

A commercial real estate firm in the Baltimore-Washington DC Metropolitan area is seeking an additional Graphic Designer/Marketing Specialist to join their team in Towson, MD. This design position is responsible for providing multiple real estate brokers with marketing materials that are dynamic, accurate and comprehensive.

AIRP internship - American College of Radiology (9273760)
American College of Radiology - Silver Spring, Maryland

The AIRP Archival Internship is designed to refine and enhance the intern’s interest in medical archives or health information fields. Part of the program will include instruction in medical administration regarding the handling of patient records in a medical setting, and the remainder of the program will work with case submission quality assessment.

Name: Anisha Khandelwal

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: Maxim Healthcare Services | Title of Your Position: Corporate Compliance Intern

Major(s)/Minor(s): Psychology, Health Administration and Policy, BA/MPP

Expected Graduation Year: May 2015

Briefly describe your internship, co-op, research, or service-learning opportunity, including your day-to-day tasks, responsibilities, and assignments.

As the Corporate Compliance Intern at Maxim Healthcare Services, I assist with both compliance trainings and policy development. I assist with organizing and implementing campaign ideas. I create communication posts which are included in Maxim's newsletters are e-mailed to over 40,000 employees. I prepare outlines and test questions for compliance trainings. I proofread, edit, and revise documents, forms, and presentations. I revise and compare current and prior policy implementations. I also provide assistance with other assignments when needed.

Describe the process of obtaining your internship, research, or co-op opportunity.

I found my internship with Maxim's Healthcare Services and research opportunity with UMBC's CWIT on UMBCworks. For the internship, I first submitted an application on UMBCworks. The initial interview was conducted over the telephone and was with an HR representative. I was interested in three internships with Maxim Healthcare Services but it was during this conversation that I decided compliance would be the best for me. This was followed by an in-person interview with one of my current managers. The third interview was an in-person interview with the Vice President of Compliance at Maxim Healthcare Services. A few days after, I received a telephone call and was offered the position. Similarly, I also found my research assistantship for UMBC's CWIT on UMBCworks. There was only one interview for this position and it was a telephone interview. I also notified of my offer for this position by a telephone call.

Which of the following resources did you use to find your current experience?

UMBCworks

What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization/company?

What I have enjoyed the most about both my positions are my managers. I have been fortunate to have managers who truly care and who are truly interested in my success. My managers are extremely supportive, are like advisors, and even help me prepare for future positions.

What have you gained from your experience that you could not have gained from another opportunity?

I believe that both my internship and research assistantship have provided me with an array of skills, practice, and experiences that will surely be beneficial for helping me succeed in future jobs and duties. This compliance internship is my first health policy internship and has allowed me to learn about the development of compliance trainings, campaigning in a corporate setting where there are limitations, and policy development. My research assistantship has improved my skills in conducting focus groups and exit interviews, organizing events, increased my knowledge of qualitative data, and how to use WordPress to update a website.

What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?

I highly encourage other students to apply and obtain internships, research experiences, and other experiences.These experiences may further increase your interest in your academics, help you realize what kinds of experiences and duties you are interested in, help you realize your strengths and areas of opportunity, will help you learn more about the industry and field that your experience is in, and will definitely help with applying for future positions.

Please provide a short reflection or quote about what you liked most about your position / earning internship credit / the internship placement process.

I believe that if you find positions that you truly are passionate about then you will never have to work a day in your life. That is how I feel with this research assistantship and internship. I have had other internships, research assistantships, and jobs that I was not as interested in but these other experienced helped me obtain skills to be successful in my current positions and to realize what kinds of duties I am indeed passionate about.

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