Maranatha-Carlisle

Maranatha-Carlisle

Insight into Nonprofits

Melissa Pham, Carlisle Area High School

Melissa Pham, Carlisle Area High School

Intern, Nonprofit Exploration Program

It’s been almost six weeks since I started participating in my school’s Career Internship class that involved interning with nonprofits within the community.

Throughout these six weeks I have gone to six different organizations and learned about what makes each unique. The goal was to show students like me how essential nonprofit organizations are for our community. Concerning marketing, my teacher encouraged me to try this out in hopes that I could see how big the need for marketing was, especially in a place such as a nonprofit.

I entered this program because of my interest in marketing and advertising. Since last year, I knew that I wanted to do something that involved promoting and designing for a business. With the help of this nonprofit internship rotation, I’ve learned how differently marketing can be used in any organization.

While each one may have a different “central idea” they all seem to have the same setup. The staff at these organizations were always willing to lend a hand to their co-workers and it seems like they have become a family. The environment is so positive and welcoming; these nonprofits have made even me, a stranger, feel at home, and all within only a week of meeting me.

For my last week I was at a nonprofit called “Maranatha-Carlisle”. Although I was only there for three days, the experience was amazing, and the staff were so welcoming. On the first day, the other interns and I were introduced to everyone. In addition, we were able to learn about the background of the organization and how it came to be what it is today. The story was truly motivating and showed that people can accomplish anything if they put their mind to it. Maranatha-Carlisle’s employees have a certain drive that would convince anyone to become a part of their organization.

The following days were put towards writing about my experiences in this program. More specifically to my interests, I was able to create a marketing presentation aimed towards nonprofits and how they could use social media to advertise their organization. This activity has been my favorite part of the program so far and allowed me to engage with what I have learned about nonprofits.

Overall, this opportunity has offered a much needed insight into the world of nonprofits and how I can use my skills to help others. I could most definitely see myself working in a nonprofit later in life and can’t wait to see what more I can learn from this!