This summer, I had the pleasure of working for my fraternity mentor, Mike Simmons ’88, and his company, Bridge Builder Strategies, LLC. Mr. Simmons’ company focuses on helping nonprofit organizations leverage their data to create, deliver, measure, and communicate impact.
As an intern, I was tasked with many projects that dealt with business development and data management. As the weeks continued, I created a list of prospective nonprofits, including total grant money from foundations, important staff and board members, programs offered, and connections to our team. I utilized this to reach out and offer data management services to these nonprofits. I also developed a script that allowed me to contact churches from across the city of Indianapolis with the intent of growing their volunteer programs and expanding their community outreach. Other projects include organizing a Community Center’s neighborhood engagement sheet to help those who need their programs get easily connected to the resources they need and writing client briefs, including the organization overview, the project background and goal, and the project scope.
While I have learned a variety of quantitative skills throughout my internship, I have been able to apply many qualitative lessons I’ve learned during my first year at Wabash to my work over the summer. My biggest address to my summer internship is “don’t be afraid to ask questions.” As an intern working in an unfamiliar area, I had many questions about how to complete tasks or work with certain programs and software. Through the lesson provided to me by my Wabash education, I felt comfortable asking my boss for assistance in finding the steps to accomplish my work. By asking questions, I expanded my knowledge of business development and data management and felt confident in my ability to continue to grow as a learner.
There are many people I would like to thank for the opportunity to intern with Bridge Builder Strategies this summer. First, I want to thank my boss and mentor, Mike Simmons ’88, for providing me with the opportunity to work for him and grow as a student. Second, I would also like to thank Career Services for their guidance throughout the internship search process and for helping prepare me for success. Finally, I would also like to thank the Wabash Liberal Arts Immersion Program I attended last summer for providing me with the funds to make this internship possible. Thank you!
