for college students by college students
interns continued from page 26
A Summer Spent
Sharing Apples
Abby Calef } jewish@edu writer
W
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hen I’m asked what I study,
I’m met with blank stares or
worse, the dreaded ques-
tion: “What are you
going to do with
that?”
While it seems
almost impossible to
incorporate English,
Jewish studies
and psychology
into one summer
internship, Jewish
Abby Calef
Family Services of
Washtenaw Country
was the perfect fit.
However, it didn’t start quite like
that. Initially, I was a community ser-
vices intern. I spent most of my time
in the food pantry. As someone who
primarily has had teaching jobs, I’m
accustomed to being on my feet.
However, this is the first internship
I’ve had where I became accus-
tomed to being on the floor as well.
Although crawling on the ground
and reorganizing produce in a fashion
similar to a game of Tetris were not
expected, I loved that I was making
an impact without being restricted to
a desk.
Although I made the conscious
decision to slightly exaggerate how
strong I was on the application,
the job was a bit more strenuous
than I had previously imagined.
Nevertheless, toward the end of my
internship, I was able to lift more than
I could in my first week.
However, my favorite part about
JFS was spending time with clients
in the food pantry. I felt very honored
to be working for a nonprofit that
supplies food for people with certain
dietary restrictions, whether they be
for health or religious reasons. There
aren’t words to express the sweet
memories I have with the people I
met. From carrying a client’s grocer-
ies to introducing someone to their
first bite of an apple, each moment
was heartening.
Because of JFS’ refugee resettle-
ment program, it was anticipated that
communication could sometimes be
difficult. We played many games of
charades in the food pantry. While I
may have looked silly, it was impor-
tant to me that everyone left the
pantry with exactly what they were
looking for. It’s the simple things like
being sure of which can of beans you
are grabbing and whether the soap
is meant for your hair or skin that we
seem to take for granted. This was
eye-opening.
During this internship, I found
myself using more than just my psy-
chology knowledge. I got my English
major fix while I was researching
grant opportunities, editing the final
submissions and technical writing for
software.
Additionally, though I wasn’t learn-
ing Jewish ritual or speaking Hebrew,
I was still surrounded by people who
were familiar with and accustomed to
Jewish values. As someone who has
lived in communities with many Jews
and also with just a handful, this is
one attribute toward which I gravitate.
Overall, JFS provided a new expe-
rience every day. I found myself using
skills in all areas of the mind and
even gained a new go-with-the-flow
mantra. It also gave me the oppor-
tunity to engage all my interests, in
addition to establishing new ones.
On a larger scope, it also gave
me a great jump-start into the world
of nonprofits, about which I have
become more and more excited
every day. @
Abby Calef of Ann Arbor is a senior at
Kalamazoo College.
Monica Merzin continued from page 26
We are here for you.
1-833-44J-HELP
jhelp.org
Made possible by The Jewish Fund, the D. Dan and Betty Kahn Foundation
and the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.
impacted me was a great feeling.
I think it’s easy to focus on the
younger generations, but it is
important to remember the impor-
tance our elders have in society
and the care they need, too.
Each week on Friday we got
to visit other Jewish agencies in
Metro Detroit, which was very cool.
I never knew what many of these
agencies fully did and to see how
our community works together is
incredible. It was nice getting to
hear the other interns’ experiences,
too.
Jewish life in Detroit is definitely
different from anywhere else, and
I am so happy I got to learn more
about it as a JOIN Intern this sum-
mer. @
Monica Merzin of West Bloomfield is a senior at
Wayne State University. She is active in AEPhi
Sorority and Hillel of Metro Detroit.
interns continued on page 30
28
August 23 • 2018
jn