From The Intern Desk …

Ed. Note: This week’s entry was written by Clarissa, a Media/Communications intern who has spent her spring semester at St. Anthony Foundation.

I’ve been interning at St. Anthony’s since January and, unbelievable as it is, my time as an intern will be coming to an end in just two weeks. I have gained so much through this semester and my time at St. Anthony’s: transferable career skills, relationships with staff, volunteers and guests and an understanding of poverty.

I don’t want to get too sentimental just yet since I still have two weeks left and I’ve never been good at goodbyes, but I remember walking to the corner of Golden Gate and Jones for my internship interview and knowing that I wasn’t in Kansas anymore. I remember I was nervous and apprehensive, after all I’d heard all these stories about the terrifying Tenderloin, and I here I was walking to my interview with directions written on my hand in case I got lost.

Now the walk to Golden Gate and Jones is one of the most enjoyable parts of my day. I’m offered a dozen good mornings, a chat with safety services and a hug from Indian Joe. I’ve gained a lot during my time as an intern, but I think I’ve lost even more: assumptions and stereotypes, pride and ignorance, and above all fear. I want to take the lessons from my internship here and carry them with me wherever I go: back home, back to college and into my future as unknown and vague as it is.