Miles Clutter ’22 — This summer, I worked for the Shepherd’s Center of Hamilton County Guardianship Program. The Shepherd’s Center consists of several programs to assist seniors and incapacitated adults to maintain their independence and a high quality of life. The Guardianship program acts as legal guardian for incapacitated adults when they or their families are unable to care for themselves and their assets effectively. The Guardianship Program was founded in 2020 and has experienced significant growth in the last year and a half.
I was attracted to working for the Shepherd’s Center because I wanted to work for a nonprofit foundation and because I wanted to feel like my work was important to their mission. The Guardianship Program being so young, they are overwhelmed with new clients and the lack of awareness of legal guardianship in the community and legal government. I was asked to complete a variety of tasks to ease the burden on our guardianship coordinators, such as creating a filing system for client documents, coordinating management of client assets, assisting with fundraising events, and drafting court documents on behalf of clients. While I expected this internship to be a predominantly legal internship initially, I enjoyed the variety and sometimes chaotic nature of day-to-day work. I learned a tremendous amount in a relatively short period of time, and continue to be inspired by the tireless work that the Shepherd’s Center does with, what I believe to be, minimal recognition.
I am very thankful for the Wabash Public Policy Project to have given me the opportunity to work at the Shepherd’s Center. As a relatively new nonprofit organization, the Guardianship Program was not able to offer me a paid internship. Without funding from the WPPP, taking this internship would not have been possible. I also had the opportunity to study abroad for the last half of this summer, which also would not have been possible without a paying job. In my WPPP internship, I met some wonderful people and nurtured my passion for nonprofit work and serving those who cannot serve themselves.
