2/17/12

I have known since I was five years old that I wanted to do nonprofit work. Let me clarify. I was not a small child running around telling people, “I want to create sustainable change in people’s lives by working in the nonprofit sector!” That would have been a little bit weird. When I was five, I wanted to make people smile for the rest of my life. Obviously, you cannot make a living off of people’s smiles, so over the next 13 years the definition of my life goal transformed, but the ultimate passion remained.
When I was making my college decision, I ended up picking William Jewell College because of the nonprofit leadership major and the emphasis on a strong liberal arts education. From day one I began transforming into a more open-minded, adaptable, understanding and informed individual. It is this transformation that has led the way for the decisions I have made in my life.
Over the past three-and-a-half years I have held internship positions at seven different nonprofit organizations. Many of these opportunities came about because I took concepts that I had learned in my nonprofit and CTI classes and formed programs and practices to implement at specific organizations. These experiences and the knowledge I have gained, both in and out of the classroom, have prepared me to overcome challenges.
One of these challenges was spending time abroad. I had the opportunity to study for a semester in Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, nor did I have any idea how I would react to life in a foreign country. During my time in Central America, I lived with impoverished families in tin houses, I walked miles through cornfields to get to school, I had bed bugs, I got amoebas and a pig trapped me in an outhouse. I faced each of these physical, mental and cultural challenges with an open mind and the willingness to adapt. Before this experience, I was unaware of how my family, peers, professors and mentors had influenced me and helped to prepare me for the obstacles I faced.
The education I have received, my experiences in the nonprofit sector, and my time abroad have contributed to my life goal of creating sustainable social and economic development in impoverished communities around the world. I am so grateful for all of it. I am grateful for the education I have received, the experiences and opportunities I have had, and the fact that I am doing what I have dreamed of since I was a child. I am grateful that I get to spend the rest of my life making people smile.