Tell us about the various projects and initiatives you've been involved in here at Ginsberg.
I wore many hats during my time with the Ginsberg Center! I originally started working with Ginsberg as a Master’s in Social Work (MSW) student in the Community Technical Assistance Collaborative (CTAC) program. During this time, I collaborated with several education-based community partner organizations and gained a wealth of relevant skills in program evaluation. I greatly appreciated the opportunity to apply my coursework on best data practices to real-world situations and impacts. My abilities in data collection, analysis, and reporting grew substantially as I worked on my CTAC projects, and I will continue using these skills as I evaluate my own organizational programs in the future.
In addition to my work with CTAC, I also had the chance to work with the Ginsberg Center Student Grants Team. I loved being able to support and celebrate campus student organizations that were promoting social justice initiatives across a variety of communities. While my coursework gave me insight into how grants work from an applicant’s perspective, Ginsberg expanded my understanding of the grant writing and award processes by allowing me to see things from an evaluator’s perspective as well. As someone pursuing a career in social work, developing these grant writing and assessment skills will be especially valuable when securing and/or distributing grant funds in the future.
How did working with Ginsberg lead to a position with the Community Action Network (CAN)?
After wrapping up my work with CTAC and the Student Grants Team, I was offered the opportunity to join the Ginsberg Community Partnerships team. I worked specifically with the Community Based Internship and Storytelling for Social Change programs, which both helped enhance my organizational and administrative skills. However, my SFSC project is what ultimately connected me to the Community Action Network (CAN) in Ann Arbor, where I am now working as a program assistant!
As I reflect on my time with the Ginsberg Center, I find myself smiling with pride as I realize just how much I have grown over the past year. I’m so glad I took advantage of all the different opportunities Ginsberg offered, each of which helped me develop new skills and experiences. However, I am most grateful for the connections I made along the way. I built relationships not only within the UM community, but also with the broader Washtenaw County community. I truly cannot wait to keep working with all of these community members at CAN, through their food programming and afterschool services.
Overall, I want to sincerely thank every member of the Ginsberg team for being part of my journey. I truly would not be where I am today without your kindness, guidance, and support. Special shout-out to Bri, Gabbi, and Amanda for all the time they spent as my supervisors and for showing me what it means to be an active community member. The Ginsberg Team is an incredible group, and I am honored to have been a part of such an amazing team. I will miss my Ginsberg teams dearly, but I will definitely stay connected. Go Blue!