Kacy Hobbis ’17 is a pro at engaging in government-focused community service, but this summer she wanted to take a different path. She’s interning at Youth Service America (YSA), a non-profit that motivates young people to become involved in community service. YSA runs grant programs, training and building toolkits to help youth complete their own service projects. She is receiving support through the Summer Internship Fund 2016, managed by the Career Center.
As an intern, Hobbis has been working with president and CEO Steve Culbertson ’79 and with the partnerships team. This includes responsibilities such as researching community service activities for Father’s Day. However, “Most of my work has focused on redoing the ‘Youth Changing the World Toolkit.’ I’ve been going through and refocusing it to be more about environmental community service,” Hobbis explained. “It’s going to be released again to go along with President Obama’s ‘Every Kid in a Park’ initiative.”
Hobbis wanted to use her volunteer time this summer while trying something new. “All of my past internship experiences have been government-focused, so I wanted to experience the non-profit world,” she explained. Hobbis is a government major so this internship serves as an exploration of options as well as a discovery of how non-profits function.
This change of pace has been a valuable experience for Hobbis. She commented, “So far I have learned more research and writing skills, along with some design skills. In working with the toolkit, I’ve had to make sure that it is written in a way that can be understood by kids. This has been different from other writing I have done, but enjoyable.” She also has had the opportunity to pick up some skills in computer design, specifically.
Beyond what she has gained as an intern, it’s clear that she makes significant contributions to YSA. “I feel like what I have been doing has actually been helping YSA rather than just doing menial tasks,” Hobbis said. “It has been rewarding to see my work being sent out in newsletters and being published with the YSA name and logo.”
After graduation, Hobbis plans to live in Washington, D.C. “I don’t know if it will be back in the non-profit world, but it has been great to be able to explore what is out there,” she remarked. While her future plans are far from certain, her work this summer will most likely make a huge difference in helping youngsters get involved in environmental community service.
