Ngan Thai’s Internship Program Reflection 

If you are wondering whether you should apply for the Julian Grace Foundation’s internship program, this blog is the right place. 

I am an international student from Viet Nam and a rising senior at Columbia College Chicago, majoring in Social Media and Digital Strategy. This summer I had a chance to do my first internship at the Julian Grace Foundation (JGF). Before I got this opportunity, I doubted my abilities. I had low expectations about getting an internship in the United States. Because of my English language skills, I was afraid I could not compare to native speakers. I also did not have a network of people and connections. But I also knew I was not the only one struggling to find an internship. Therefore, I kept looking for an opportunity until I found the Julian Grace Foundation. This internship program experience allowed me to grow my trust and self-confidence, equipped me to be able to speak in front of groups of people, and helped me understand my values and capabilities. 

Julian Grace Foundation is a philanthropic non-profit organization that does grantmaking. As philanthropy is a new career path for me, not knowing much about the field made me hesitate to apply for the internship program. However, their commitment to racial justice changed my mind: 

“The Julian Grace Foundation is committed to funding and investing with an intersectional racial justice lens because we firmly believe this will help our communities create a more just, and unified world.” 

In Vietnam, where I am from, I have witnessed many unfortunate circumstances such as uneducated children, child labor, low-quality living conditions, et cetera. Besides the urge to make a change, I did not know how and which way to enact change. However, after reading the commitment to racial justice and JGF’s values, I knew that I could find the answer to my question from my experience at JGF. 

During my internship, I learned about philanthropy and grantmaking and had a chance to work with the Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy Board (ELPB), consisting of young adults ages 18 to 23. The ELPB helped me recognize young people’s power and what we can do to build a better world. Even though each ELPB member comes from different racial and ethnic backgrounds, as we formed into one big group, we all have one purpose: to help those in need. The ELPB practiced a participatory grantmaking model to complete its work. The Governing Board allocated $100,000 to the ELPB to grant to organizations aligned with JGF’s commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. 

Moreover, the internship has enhanced my employability through many projects and tasks such as facilitating a workshop, conducting research, analyzing the newsletter and website, and supporting internal and external meetings. I got the chance to practice my facilitation skill weekly by leading check-in’s and closings for meetings and facilitating a session about the power of storytelling at ELPB’s meeting. Furthermore, I also learned how to make an agenda and improve my note-taking skills, which is helpful for me when I do team-based projects at school. I know that my leadership and public speaking skills have improved throughout the experience gained from the internship program.  

Besides enhancing my personal development, the JGF team created opportunities for me to meet with people in the field through networking events and coffee chats (informational interviews). These opportunities are essential for my future career since I get to connect with the professionals in the field and learn from their experiences. 

The summer internship at Julian Grace Foundation has helped me grow professionally and personally. I found myself extremely passionate about philanthropy, education, and equity. Even though my internship program is about to end, I consider it the beginning of my philanthropy journey.