Hi Everyone! At the end of my ninth week, I am overcome with bittersweet emotions. Yesterday, several of our summer interns at CRIS had their last day, and it’s sad to say goodbye to so many bright, passionate people I got to work with over the last few months. We had a huge team of interns working on our team, ranging from housing, volunteer outreach, communications, and countless others throughout CRIS’s other departments. It feels like we just met yesterday, yet at the same time, I feel like I’ve known them all for years. When you work so closely with people over a short period of time, that’s just how those relationships develop.

Before our interns left, we celebrated at Somewhere in Particular Brewing next to our office. We had an amazing time eating great food, and the main focus of the evening was CRIS trivia. We had two rounds, with the first round theme being general CRIS knowledge and the second round theme being fun facts about each intern. A variety of prizes were on the table for the top 1-4 scorers. After both rounds, I had 24 points, putting me in first place going into the final question. Unfortunately, I got the final question wrong, so I dropped down to third place at the finish, but I won a beautiful CRIS water bottle, so I left happy. The trivia was a wonderful way to recap our summer and have a lot of fun before we all parted ways.

Work-wise, everything went smoothly this week. I made my food box drop-offs, coordinated with volunteers to respond to other food needs, and met with some more prospective food partners. As I head into my final week, I am tasked with training some of our new hires on the food system I created and how to make the best use of it. If you told me 9 weeks ago that I would know enough about food pantries and food security that I would train new hires on it, I would never believe it. Now, though, I feel well-prepared, and I am excited to explain my work this summer and see how my work continues after I leave.