Intern Experiences at JSI

Following are brief reflections by recent JSI interns about their experiences working at JSI.

Diana Colon, JSI Health Services Division Intern
Marco Steinsieck, JSI International Division Intern
Evelyn Abayaah, JSI/World Education Intern
Abanish Rizal, JSI International Division Intern
Emily Miller, JSI/World Education PR/Development Intern
Lauren Alexanderson, JSI Communications Intern
Marie Lippeveld, U.S. Health Services Division Intern

Diana Colon
JSI Health Services Division Intern
Summer 2007

In June, I could hardly have imagined I would learn so much after spending only two months working in JSI's US division, working on The Leadership Campaign on AIDS (TLCA). My work with TLCA involved a range of activities. I usually assisted team members with project-related activities. Primarily though, I assessed the effectiveness of the TLCA database as a tool to document activities. Through my work with the database, I learned about the team's involvement and work with TLCA. This really helped me to learn and adjust to being a part of the team. It was good to know that I was helping JSI with this much-needed work. The TLCA team openly appreciated any opinions and insights I had. It was a pleasure to work in such a welcoming atmosphere that allowed me to express my ideas freely.

As a student majoring in biochemistry at Smith College, I plan to attend medical school in the future, so I will spend part of my upcoming senior year contemplating the many options laid before me after graduation. My internship at JSI has given me a perspective that perhaps many pre-med students haven't explored. Students whom I know continuously express concern over what they should research in the future to gain notoriety and respect in the scientific community. I don't blame them for doing so, since our professors and mentors, and institutions in general put a lot of pressure on us to succeed. However, it is important to concern ourselves with the public health issues that plague the world, and not isolate ourselves in a laboratory for the sake of our own glorification. After all, it is the good of all that usually propels one to pursue medical research in the first place.

This summer at JSI, I was able to educate myself about HIV and AIDS, and I was also able to meet some incredibly interesting and friendly people who were more than willing to share their experience and knowledge with me. Conversing with them was a learning experience on its own. I hope that in the not-too-distant future I will have an opportunity to talk with them and share ideas again.

Marco Steinsieck
JSI International Division Intern
Summer 2007

My internship in the JSI International Division was fantastic! I found the internship at JSI ideal. The environment is extremely supportive and understanding of interns' desires to be greatly involved in the work that is done. Within weeks of my start-date, I was pulled onto a major proposal for AIDS prevention in southern Africa. Just a few weeks earlier, I had been in school, studying health interventions in the same region; now I found myself participating in the nascent stages of an actual project there!

Over the next month I was able to work on a number of proposals, each of which lent me the opportunity to learn about different areas of public health, regions of the world, and the various supporters of international public health work. I've interned at a number of different for-profits and nonprofits, and I can't imagine another organization allowing me to participate in the development of such proposals, gain the inside knowledge of working with different donors, and be introduced to the complex landscape of international public health.

The day-to-day work on proposals was exciting, dynamic, and demanding. JSI staff encouraged me to be involved in various aspects of the proposal development process so I could learn as much as possible. They are truly interested in making the interning experience meaningful. My JSI internship has absolutely been a defining experience for me and will benefit me throughout my career.

Evelyn Abayaah
JSI/World Education Intern
Spring 2007

My work as an intern for John Snow, Inc., and World Education, Inc., was a great experience that I will not soon forget. I worked on different projects within different divisions, which allowed me to learn a lot about how various areas function. My initial objective was to work on health literacy projects, to find out if domestic health literacy was different from international health literacy and, if so, to see if there were lessons that could be drawn from those differences. My work turned out to be a bit different, but I must say I ended up enjoying it and liked the level of responsibility and the different projects I worked on. I also liked the level of independence I was given and the confidence that my supervisor had in me. I was happy to be able to do real work and demonstrate that I was capable of executing whatever was assigned. My internship gave me the ability to use the skills I had acquired from college, allowing me to put theory and practice into perspective. I felt very much at home at JSI/WEI because everybody was so nice, willing to help, and treated me as one of their own.

The bulk of my time was spent compiling all JSI/World Education's health literacy work into one comprehensive document. I dove right into my project by accessing all the information I needed from the intranet, internet, and then contacting program officers and coordinators from both organizations to learn more. The result was a long list of projects, some of which needed updating. This was a valuable experience because it gave me the rare opportunity to learn about all the health literacy projects that had been undertaken over the years and how they effected specific target populations. This was something I could not have learned in school, but what pleases me even more is that people are using the information I collected to do their work.

Other projects I worked on included helping to identify potential funding sources for World Education's Ghana (where I am from!) Project. I also worked on researching information for JSI's Tobacco and Literacy Project, which involved putting together a package of information as background materials for teachers who participated in the project. I also had the opportunity to go to New Hampshire to help pilot-test a new curriculum that was developed for adult education teachers to educate their students about the adverse effects of tobacco use. In addition, I worked on researching a potential learning management system to keep track of training registrations, pre-assessments, and evaluations.

I must say I find myself very fortunate to have had the opportunity to do an incredible internship at JSI and World Education. I had an experience that does not compare to any other internship I have had. As busy as people may have been, they still found time to help me and everybody was very cheerful and willing to talk. I am glad I got to experience a nonprofit organization and how it functions. The experiences I acquired will forever be with me and for this I am grateful. I'll be graduating in just a few days and I am sure that the skills and knowledge I gained at JSI and World Ed will come in handy wherever I work next.

I want to say a big 'thank you' to everyone who made my stay here fruitful and helped to make my internship a great one.

Abanish Rizal
JSI International Division Intern
November 2004 – June 2005

My internship with JSI involved working closely with Project Coordinators to provide administrative and financial support to United States government funded projects and other projects funded by different donors. While this internship was mostly administrative in nature, it gave me ample opportunities to look at the technical aspect of various bilateral projects. My primary job was to help Project Coordinators in the administrative side of their projects from doing procurement of HIV/AIDS test kits to hiring consultants and writing their contracts to organizing conferences and booking plane tickets. I also worked on updating manuals used by our projects and this task gave me a thorough understanding of JSI's internal operations.

JSI's goal to build capacity to address crucial health problems was clearly evident from most projects that I worked on. For example, in Uganda along with working with the Ministry of Health to implement health policies, UPHOLD works with various local community-based organizations through partnerships and people-centered approaches for a sustained client-friendly environment. How did I learn this? While building a website for this project I was involved in gathering necessary information for this website. Thus, I got acquainted with UPHOLD's work, its core technical areas of intervention, its strategies and the results of the work being performed.

When I came to JSI in November 2004, my first project involved doing mass mailings for the Joint Learning Initiative project which had recently published a strategy report. I learnt how to convert hundreds of data in excel into address labels without having to retype them again. My final activities included supporting the UPHOLD project. This involved paying invoices to subcontractors, writing subcontract amendments, and wiring money to the field. I also organized the logistics for Conference attendance and JSI's bi-annual International Division meeting. Thus, my responsibilities grew by leaps and bounds during my time at JSI. Throughout, I also worked as part of a team on new business developments writing proposals for various projects around the world.

I had already done field work in Nepal and I wanted to see the administrative and financial aspects of a public health firm. By the end of my internship, I realize the importance of administrative and financial work being as being crucial to the success of a project as the actual field work itself. It was important for me to see both aspects of work involved in public health. Most all this internship has made me realize that this is the type of work I want to be doing for the rest of my life. I have been accepted into a graduate school of my choice and will be pursuing my Masters in International Health, so this internship gave me an opportunity to achieve every bit of what I had hoped for.

Emily Miller
JSI/World Education PR/Development intern
May – August 2005

My work as a summer communications intern involved working for John Snow, Inc and World Education. My days varied completely and were never alike because no two projects resemble one another at these organizations. The small nature of the communications department in JSI/World Ed allowed me to have an in-depth look at what a communications job means for a non-profit. I was treated like a staff member and expected to perform work that had a real impact for the organizations. No fetching coffee or filing here! I enjoyed the level of responsibility I was given and that I was treated as an equal. This treatment of interns demonstrates the high level of character that JSI/World Education looks for in employees.

A large focus of my time here was spent developing the backbone that is necessary for a successful public service announcement campaign. I jumped in right away by forming a press list by calling contacts throughout the Boston-area and other places throughout the country gathering contact information and prices. I was also involved in the actual creation of the PSA's themselves through creating and editing text, searching and placing pictures and working with JSI's in-house graphic designer. This was a valuable experience to be included in because the mechanics and little details that go into this developmental process are something that cannot be learned in a classroom.

Other tasks included formatting and editing articles, performing development work through researching foundations and other grant venues, and writing and sending press releases and pitch letters. I also helped create a new pressroom on the JSI website that was re-launched while I was an intern and edited the content of the website prior to the launch. This is something tangible that I can show future employers. Another privilege of this internship was the opportunity to be involved with the World Education Board of Trustees meeting. So much of a non-profit's activities are affected by Board decisions and it was a valuable insight into this influential part of the non-profit world. It was very much an honor for me.

I was incredibly fortunate for this summer internship. I have interned at other non-profits and working at JSI/World Education was a great experience because the companies themselves are fantastic. They set themselves apart from other organizations because they are well-run, organized and professional. The work environment is a rewarding place because the people here are enthusiastic about their jobs. One of the biggest rewards was learning about these organizations themselves. Prior to my internship I knew very little about JSI/World Education but through my contact with their material, I was able to dig deeper into the important work that these organizations accomplish. I learned that efficient non-profits exist and they can be financially sound while having many projects operating throughout the world.

This internship was an eye-opening experience. Through the various jobs I performed, I learned what makes a non-profit tick. I immensely enjoyed my work here but it further exposed me to other sides of a non-profit. The next step in my learning process is to delve deeper into the project development and implementation side in the non-profit world. Mainly, I am beyond glad that I had this internship because it made me realize that this is the type of work I want to do after I graduate.

Lauren Alexanderson
Communications Intern at JSI
June – August 2005

During my orientation training session on my first day at John Snow, Inc and World Education, it was requested that I provide a brief introduction and describe my project. Grasping for words, I stated that I am a rising senior at Brown University and that I would be working on the Health Literacy Project in the Communications Division. I had no idea what that entailed.

When I look back on this internship, I realize that it was comparable to Little Red Riding Hood's flower-picking adventure in the woods. (You remember, each new flower led her to another, until she had ventured far from the path where she began.) I started with a bookshelf stacked with materials, written in various languages, and a small booklet on the status of the Health Literacy Database, a project that a former intern set into motion back in January. As I probed further, I discovered that the materials on these shelves represented a fraction of the total number of JSI and World Education health literacy publications. Thus, my task was to collect more materials, organize them, enter them into the existing database, and create electronic copies for each. My hunt for new materials opened doors to even more documents, but also to additional health literacy projects.

My work at JSI and World Ed has been a gratifying combination of administrative, organizational, and creative tasks. In addition to advancing the Health Literacy Database, I have reviewed websites for the Family Health Literacy Compendium, edited and formatted a health literacy annotated bibliography, helped to plan the Health Literacy Forum in the fall, written short articles, and edited success stories, website content, and other JSI or World Education documents.

This type of internship is well-suited for someone who likes to work independently. For the most part, I was a free agent and set my own agenda and deadlines for my project goals; thus I definitely honed my time management and organizational skills. Perhaps more importantly, I was introduced to the important issue of health literacy.

I came to JSI with two goals in mind: to learn more about the field of communication and to understand, by the end, what is meant by "health communication." I can say, with pleasure, that this internship has profoundly shaped my future plans. In the immediate future, I have changed the focus of my senior thesis to health literacy. I am looking ahead to graduate programs in health communication. I am applying for a fellowship to study approaches to health literacy issues abroad. Ultimately, this internship brought me far from my origin and helped me to forge a new, more focused path, in an area where I truly hope I will make a difference.

Marie Lippeveld
U.S. Health Services Division Intern
June – August 2005

When I first came to work for JSI, I was surprised by how helpful the staff was in tailoring my interests to my project involvement. Being a psychology major at McGill University, I was looking to see how I could apply my theoretical knowledge to the real world. JSI gave me this opportunity by introducing me to projects such as QuitWorks, a tobacco cessation program, and the Rhode Island Employer Survey, a study that is looking to improve health insurance options for Rhode Island employers. During my three month stay at JSI, I split my time between these two projects, and was also involved in putting together several proposals.

My work at JSI varied from faxing client reports back to health care providers, to coordinating a focus group for Brown University. I was assigned fixed tasks that had to be completed each week, but I was also introduced to new tasks everyday, making my job less repetitive. What I liked the most about working for JSI was that my project managers always made sure to involve me in most of the planning that took place for our projects. I attended weekly meetings and was encouraged to put forth my opinions and findings. I felt that people were truly interested in what I had to say. Attending these meeting was important to me because it helped me see how my work fit into the project as a whole.

The most valuable aspect of my internship however did not come from the tasks I performed but from all the new and interesting people I met and what I learned from them. The JSI staff is a truly amazing group of people who are devoted to their work and passionate about what they do. I enjoyed working with all of them and am grateful for all their help in making my experience here a great one.