My first formal internship was as a community outreach intern at the American Diabetes Association (ADA). The ADA’s mission is to bring awareness and education to the public on what Diabetes is, how Diabetes can be managed, as well as fundraising to further reattach the Diabetes condition.
In the summer of 2017, I had the opportunity to intern with the American Diabetes Association. I was interested in interning with the ADA, because Diabetes is a chronic conditions that many of my family members suffer. For my family, it was first important to understand the disease, and then take steps in the right direction with the physician’s guidance. Interning with ADA allowed me to get the feel of how a non-profit organization runs. While at the ADA I had many responsibilities including: Planning and coordinating 75 volunteers for 2 annual events for more than 500 attendees for the annual Father of the Year and the Annual Bik-a-thon. Working with the Health Coordinator, I compiled a list of 50 high risk populations in the Atlanta area to deliver educational programs and materials. This information helped my supervisor deliver the trainings and awareness sessions in various high risk populations. In order to fundraise for ADA’s cause, I did a lot of cold calling, and also called 100+ small local businesses for low-level sponsorships and donations.
However, my favorite part of this internship was when I was able to represent the organization at Health Fairs. The picture on the right is me representing the ADA at a Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Health Fair for their employees.
Overall, I enjoyed this internship and it re-assured me of my interests in Public Health, and my desire to make a difference in healthcare.