I am passionate about the world of non-profits because I believe that those of us fortunate enough to have a voice and the ability to act need to be that voice and action for those that don’t. I have been involved with non-profits since 4th grade when I began to donate to and volunteer with local animal shelters. Since then I have volunteered for six and worked for three all over the USA. In addition to my Bachelor’s Degree in History and Anthropology from the University of Colorado Boulder, I earned a Non-Profit Management Certificate from the University of Nevada Las Vegas. While my passion lies in animal welfare, I am also very interested in environmental conservation, which is one of the core focuses of Green Our Planet, a school garden non-profit that I work for thanks to an internship from the Mentors Foundation.

When life took me to Las Vegas, it was imperative for me to find a job somewhere that makes a difference, as well of course, a place I could gain experience in the field I want to make a career in. When I found Green Our Planet, although I was just starting with a one day a week position, it was very exciting for me to be at an organization that not only does great things, but operates in an extremely efficient and effective way.

Green Our Planet builds school gardens in for any school that wants one and then will run a program at the school for 3 years that includes a coordinator, farmer, chef demos, financial literacy lessons, farmers markets and most importantly a STEM curriculum that gives the teachers the ability and training to teach lessons outside using the garden. The Mentors Foundation gave me the opportunity to expand my hours and personal commitment to Green Our Planet through an internship as an Office Administrator and Sponsorship/Grants Assistant. Getting to work in two very different departments that are both vital to the success of a non-profit is an excellent way to gain experience, as well as discover true passion and skill sets. Through this job I have discovered that I love being involved with sponsors and interacting with them, which is actually not surprising due to my extroverted personality. Even more than the job of communicating with current sponsors though, I enjoy finding new ones and showing them everything Green Our Planet does. Once they see our impact it is not so much a question of if they should give but how much! Internships are excellent ways to find skill sets and passions within a potential career that you may not have been aware of.

Not only do I love what I am currently doing with Green Our Planet, but I appreciate the experience greatly and am excited for all the ways I can implement this gained knowledge in my future non-profit endeavors. I couldn’t have asked for a better non-profit to learn from and  better mentors in Kim and Ciara. The way this internship experience will catapult my career and help me achieve my dreams of one day running my own non-profit is all thanks to the Mentors Foundation!