When reading each and every blog post, you can truly see the love that staff, interns, residents, and nonresidents have for each other. Hospitality House easily became a second family for me- absolutely blowing away my expectations.
I'm a senior studying Sociology and working with the house and food insecure population is something I want to do for the rest of my life. To say the least, I was intimidated to do everything perfectly and scared to mess up. But here at Hospitality House, nobody treats you as in intern who knows nothing. Everyone is quick to offer a helping hand where they can and that is not something you can find just anywhere. I came into this internship hoping to absorb any knowledge there was to offer and I think that is what helps make a difference in not only your experience but residents and staff around you.
As the first point of contact for anyone who comes in, residents, and those who call seemed intimidating at first. But getting the hang of the common questions and knowing exactly how to help people out quickly became easier and easier to do. Listening to those who needed help and even helping some get shelter really melted my heart. Words cannot express the amount of excitement that overcame me when residents started remembering my name, then making small talk with me, and eventually several telling me their story. Nobody needs help for the same reason. Getting to know so many people on such a deep level intensifies the family feeling here. Knowing that I made an impact on their life, but even more so the impact they made on mine is truly a one of a kind experience. I learned so much about the world, the problems in it, and so much more.
This internship allowed me to explore different programs that Hospitality House has to offer, and I had the privilege to be able to shadow staff for them too. Just in a few short weeks I was able to validate that this is where I need to be. To continue to help where I can to decrease the amount of people who face the huge systemic house and food insecurity issue that plagues our country. I am forever grateful for this summer and hope to see more in the future.