I feel strongly that the Columbus Foundation’s Summer Fellowship program is one of the best summer internship-like gigs around town.   And I would like to tell you why.

The program’s two-dimensionality makes the fellowship experience unique.  Dimension No. 1: the day-to-day experience of non-profit work.  Dimension No. 2: The (intense) learning sessions hosted by the Columbus Foundation.   Combined, these make for a fellowship experience that has both breadth and depth of learning; participants are exposed to the variety of non-profit work, as well as working on a full-time project for one organization in particular.

Fellowship positions with Columbus non-profits are developed through a two-way tailoring process.  Both the potential fellows and the host organizations must apply for the fellowship.  (There are not many internships for which you and the person who wants to hire you have to apply.)  In order to have a fellowship position, non-profits must develop a job description that is way more than “Files, shreds, answers the phone, and gets coffee.” This ensures that there is a meaningful role set aside for the fellow at the organization; there is purpose and direction to a fellow’s position.

For me, the Women’s Fund proposed a project that was entirely independent.  While this amount of freedom has been challenging on occasion, overall, it has enabled me to take the project and run with it.  I own this research and it is my responsibility to see it through.  As a rising senior studying Political Science, designing, gathering and writing a research report is a phenomenal opportunity for skills development.

As a supplement to the project, fellows attend Learning Sessions which are designed to expand our understanding of the cogs of the non-profit sector.  Each session introduces a new aspect of non-profit or philanthropic work, presented by an expert in the area who gives a two-hour overview of their work.  I have enjoyed these sessions because I feel that I know more about how the non-profit sector functions overall.  Non-profit work may be inspired by ideals of social justice, but it is powered by donors, volunteers, effective leadership, and sustainable program models.

At the end of this fellowship, I will take away the personal and professional skills I have developed at the Women’s Fund, and the inspiration to find a niche that suits me in the variety of the non-profit sector.