We have a brand new round of interns starting today for the spring semester. We are so excited for them to join us. One of our interns from the fall shares what it’s like to intern with Blood:Water.

It was my senior year of college, and I had applied to approximately 2,759 jobs and internships. I would get automated responses thanking me for my application, and then, a few months later, I would receive another form letter telling me they had chosen another candidate. The job and internship search was discouraging, impersonal, and frustrating.

But a few months into the hunt, I came across the Blood:Water internship. I remember emailing Michael Dean because I had a question about the application, and I still remember thinking, he’ll probably think I’m incompetent because I need help with the application. There’s no way I’ll hear back.

(When I’m discouraged, my tendency is to veer toward the opposite of my optimistic nature and straight toward bitter cynicism. Clearly).

But, despite my internal, bitter rant, I did hear back. I actually received a quite enthusiastic reply, answering my question without any hint of a holy-cow-you-are-so-incompetent tone to it. That was when I knew that Blood:Water was different than the (seemingly) thousands of other places I had applied. And my entire experience here had been confirmation of that realization.

I started every morning in a staff-wide meeting, allowing me to see exactly how the work that I was doing fitsinto the larger picture of what Blood:Water is doing. I was given opportunities to write and edit, work with social media and event planning, and to represent Blood:Water at several events throughout the Nashville area. I’ve seen nonprofit work behind the scenes, learned about sustainable development, and listened to the stories of people on the ground in our African partnerships.

I cannot express how grateful I am that Blood:Water is not your typical organization, and that this was not a typical internship.

If you’re thinking about applying, do. You won’t regret it—that I can guarantee. Apply here!