Goodbyes & Hellos

Goodbyes have always been hard for me, and this week is full of goodbyes. This week before I start my internship, I have to say goodbye to both of my jobs that I have been at for over a year. I have to say goodbye to my wonderful co-workers and managers, and goodbye to my employee discount at my favorite store (which I'm probably most sad about!). I know that my time away from these jobs is only temporary, and that I will back once summer break is here, but it doesn't seem to make saying goodbye any easier.

Although I will be saying goodbye to two wonderful jobs, I will be saying hello to one amazing, incredible internship that could lead to unspeakable opportunities! I will be saying hello to only juggling my time between one job and school, rather than two jobs and school. I will be saying hello to free weekends (there is no such thing in the retail worker's world), and I will be saying hello to home cooked dinners with my family more than once a week! I know these things are simple, and most people wouldn't be as excited about them, but I have learned that it is so important to treasure the simple things in life, even those moments that seem so ordinary.

Time is Fleeting

As I sit here writing this post, I can barely believe that exactly one week from today, I will be starting my internship with Make a Wish! My interview and job offer came months ago, and January 26th seemed so far away only a couple months ago. But now, Thanksgiving has come and gone, Christmas and time with family is over, and the new year is already on a roll! My first week of class is even over! I know that I will barely blink and the semester will be over, and I'll be getting ready to start my senior year of college.

Growing up, my parents always told me to enjoy my childhood because life somehow keeps going by faster and faster as the years pass by. I never believed them, that is until I started noticing this pattern for myself. It doesn't help any that I am a year ahead in my bachelor's program, so I will be graduating in three years instead of four, seemingly speeding up time even more! It scares me to think that I will soon be out in the "real world". I will be an adult in the workforce, living on my own, being a productive contributor to society, with no one but myself to hold accountable for my actions. That is a notion that is scary and thrilling all at the same time. I am so excited for where I am at in life right now, but I am just as anxious to see what the future holds!

A Wish Come True (pun intended)

This semester I have the amazing opportunity to intern for Make a Wish America! I will be interning at the national headquarters for the Learning and Development team. Ever since I chose my degree program, it has been a dream of mine to work for Make a Wish. Now I am thrilled to have my foot in the door as an intern and I hope that I will have the opportunity to work there longer than this semester!

Make a Wish is an international nonprofit that was founded in Phoenix in 1980 by Frank Shankwitz (a police officer who granted the first wish of Chris, a young boy battling leukemia). Their incredible mission to: "grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy” is one full of passion and ambition. Make a Wish strives each year to grant more and more wishes than the year before, striving to ultimately be able to grant the wish of every eligible child. Currently, across several countries, Make a Wish has been able to grant a wish approximately every 37 minutes. That is awesome!!!

I will be interning for the Learning and Development department at the national headquarters for Make a Wish this semester. As a part of this department, I will:

~ Assist with the development of online and instructor-led classroom training programs for systems and other broad business topics
~ Design training materials and activities
~ Publish, distribute and promote onsite training, new on-line course offerings and course schedules

I am so excited  to start this journey and cannot wait to share more about all of my experiences this semester!

Nice to Meet You

Hello to my fellow bloggers and ASU peers. My name is Mackenzie, and I am currently a Junior at Arizona State University. I am studying Public Service and Public Policy with a concentration in Nonprofit Leadership and Management. This is my second year on campus, and it still boggles my mind that I will be graduating in only three short semesters!

 I am definitely an academically driven student, as I am a year ahead in my studies. I love to read, I maintain my own personal blog, and most of those who know me would call me a "workaholic". Since my senior year in high school I have worked two jobs, and I enjoy keeping busy as an executive assistant at one job, and styling others at my retail job. However, when I do happen to have a spare moment or two, I love spending time with my niece and nephew and being the "cool, young auntie". Baking sweet goodies is also one of my hobbies and de-stressers (especially around finals time)!

I am so excited for the many opportunities I will have this semester being an intern for Make a Wish America and three goals that I hope to achieve through this internship are:

1. Learn the ins and outs of the behind the scenes operations in a nonprofit organization (or at least in the Learning & Development department of the organization). I want to learn what keeps the organization running.

2. Start and finish a project that will help the Learning & Development department to grow and expand in a way that will benefit it in the future. I want to create a process that is efficient and that can be replicated by others in the future to produce quality work. 

3. Explore different areas of a nonprofit organization. I know I want to work in the nonprofit sector once I graduate, but there are so many different aspects of a nonprofit that it is difficult to know where exactly I want to be after graduation. I hope that through this internship, I will be able to explore different career avenues and learn more about myself as a contributor to the nonprofit sector and where my skill set will best fit in a nonprofit organization.