Our spring interns started last week, and we love hearing how our they come to Blood:Water. Here’s how our marketing intern, Julia Nusbaum, found her way here.

I have had many internships. One for every year I’ve been in college and grad school it seems. I’ve had internships that I have loved—where it hurt to let go in the end—and I have had internships to which I could not wait to say “see ya!” Sometimes I feel like a professional intern—going through the motions, writing reflection papers, and other assignments that school gives me to enrich my experience. My internship at Blood:Water is different, however. It is different because I am no longer a student. I am a graduated professional looking to gain more experience in the world of nonprofit.

This past May I graduated from Vanderbilt Divinity School with my Master’s of Theological Education. I also graduated without a job. It has been a long and rough road since May. What I have discovered is that no matter how great my education is or how much experience I have, I can always stand to gain more. That has not been an easy discovery, and I do not take it for granted. I have done a lot of reflecting about myself and the career that I want these past few months. What I have concluded is that I have to be willing to keep learning. I have to understand that it does not all come at once. I have to take all the chances that come my way. And so here I am, taking a chance.

Through a series of circumstances, an acquaintance of mine put me in touch with Jake Smith here at Blood:Water. I met with Jake knowing full well he was going to tell me there were no job opportunities available at Blood:Water, but thank you for my time. Instead he sat with me in a conference room, discussed my interests, passions, and past experience and encouraged me to apply for an internship. At first I was hesitant thinking, “Do I really want to be an intern again?” As I thought about it, however, I knew becoming an intern was not going to harm me in any way; in fact, all it could do was help me. All it could do was give me even more experience. I see this internship at Blood:Water as a stepping stone into something bigger. I see it as an opportunity to grow and learn. An opportunity to serve others while I discover my path. I am grateful for the circumstances that led me to this place. It has not all been fun, but I am here now, its a new year—a time to take chances. I am ready to look toward my future.