Khan

Samia Khan
EXPL 390
Final Reflection
April 24, 2016
Social Justice Internship: Taking a Look Back
For the past eight months, I have been fulfilling the role of an intern at the Catholic
Charities Madonna House Interim Housing Program. To be honest, I cannot believe that my
internship is already coming to an end. It feels as though it was only last month when I stepped
into the Madonna House for the first time; felt lost as I sought to understand my role of an intern
around the house. Over the course of my internship, I have worked with more than 14 families of
single mothers and their children in order to assist them towards self-sufficiency, as well as with
nine dedicated staff members. Upon reflection, I can assert that my internship experience along
with the EXPL 390 course contributed to my personal, professional, and intellectual growth
during this past academic year.
First and foremost, my notion of the job responsibilities of an intern turned out to be quite
different from what it actually is. At the beginning of my internship, I went in with the
expectation that I would be provided with a list of tasks or objectives that my supervisor would
like me to complete within a time frame. I thought that everything would be laid out in detail just
like the protocol of a laboratory experiment. However, I was given an immense amount of
flexibility with my work and schedule. Ms. Sharita told me that she wanted me to design my own
internship so I could make it more meaningful for myself. She hesitated to assign any specific
role or tasks since she was not aware of my strengths and weaknesses. I really liked this about
Ms. Sharita because I felt that she saw me as one of her staff members; she respected my role as

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an intern and asked me to be involved in my own learning rather than simply follow higher
orders. This contributed to my professional development as I learned the importance of
autonomy and trust in a job setting.
One thing I am grateful for is the binder that last years intern left for me at the Madonna
House. Because there are no specific tasks assigned to the intern, transitioning into this role was
quite confusing. But, the binder had some general information about what the previous intern had
worked on and some sample flyers that I found to be pretty helpful as I tried to develop my own
learning objectives. Now that my internship is ending, I have been adding my reflections and
samples of my work (including a pamphlet that contains all the services offered to the residents
and children) to the binder so it can be beneficial for next years intern. I really hope that he/she
finds it valuable so they can add their share of reflection when they complete their internship.
At the beginning of my internship, I looked forward to obtaining more practical skills
necessary to perhaps run a non-profit organization. I expected to have a lot of busy paper work.
However, my role as an intern revolved around interactions with the residents and the staff
members. Initially, I was a bit hesitant. I was not sure how to introduce myself to the clients
since I rarely saw them. But, I took the initiative to plan my first activity, which was journaling
for the clients. I imagined that it would be a nice way to let the residents know about me and also
learn about them. However, I was kind of disappointed when no one signed up for my journaling
event. I spoke to Ms. Sharita about ways to reach out to the clients and she told me something
that I had not thought about. She informed me that clients did not like sharing their personal
information with others because they felt vulnerable. They did not want to be seen as people who
needed to be rescued. That is when I decided that I wanted to reach out to the clients as a friend,
not just as a staff member.

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A significant portion of my internship entailed organizing various leisure activities for the

children; working with outside volunteers to plan parties and workshops; and preparing gifts for
the residents during holidays. The intention behind all of this was to bring all the residents
together in a setting where they could socialize, work together with others, and simply take a
break from everything that was going on in their lives. Residents at the Madonna House had
minimum interactions with one another for various reasons. But, I noticed that during a party
they all came together as a family and that was the most interaction they had with each other.
Therefore, I hosted various events such as movie days, game nights, coloring days, and even
spontaneous activities such as picking leaves outside with the children. It was through these
activities that I got the chance to get to know the residents on a personal level. Also, the kids
always looked forward to these activities and they would often ask me what the next activity is.
This always made me happy because the children were happy. To me, this is how I worked to
promote justice. My interaction with the clients and children contributed to my personal
development as I built relationships with them based on love and trust. I also discovered my
strengths such that I am a good listener and I enjoy working with children.
Although I anticipated to work directly with or under my supervisor, that was not the
case. Besides planning my own events, I was often collaborating with other staff members. For
instance, I often worked with the assistant program director on organizing food donations that we
receive from Greater Chicago Food Depository. I also worked closely with another staff member
on organizing Hopes Closet where we keep donated clothes for the residents. In the process of
simply running errands around the house, we also fostered good friendships, which made my
work a lot more fun and enjoyable.

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Furthermore, within professional context, I learned about conflict management. Out of

the nine staff at the Madonna House, four of them have been working there for more than 15
years. They are the foundation on which Madonna House was built. Even though not clearly
stated, all of their roles are similar in nature. However, each of them focuses on one area that
they are responsible for. For instance, the primary housekeeper makes sure that Madonna House
looks neat and presentable on a daily basis. Another staff likes to work on holiday decorations
and bulletin boards. One day, I offered to help her with her bulletin board, but she sternly refused
to accept my help. I should have understood that she perceived her task as her own. However, on
several other occasions I believe she felt that I interfered with her work. For instance, while
working on the Black History Month board upon Ms. Sharitas request, she started asking me
questions such as, Why are you working on this? I already have my Black History Month board
up. Personally, I do not like conflicts and I try to avoid confrontations as much as possible.
Knowing that a healthy work environment consists of open communication between colleagues
and sometimes sacrifices, I decided to not engage in activities that might make that particular
staff member feel as if I was interfering with her work. Perhaps I could have handled this matter
differently by sharing my thoughts with the supervisor, but again, as a temporary intern I did not
want to cause any conflicts.
In addition, the engaged-learning course, EXPL 390, has played an important part in
making my internship as successful as it has been. During the fall semester, the first major
assignment we had was an issue presentation. While doing research on homelessness in Chicago,
I realized my own lack of knowledge about this particular social issue. I also held some of the
common stereotypes that people usually have regarding homeless individuals. Nonetheless, in
the process of putting together my presentation, I developed a profound understanding of this

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issue such that it is the result of unemployment and lack of affordable housing. Homelessness is
not a problem because people are lazy and they do not want to work. In fact, the residents I
worked with at my internship are all dedicated young women who have also inspired me to be
my best self. I also learned that homelessness could happen to anyone, regardless of ones
ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, or any other social factors. Not only has this contributed
to my intellectual growth, but I also feel blessed to have had the opportunity to educate myself
on a social issue that I was not aware of and to serve a group of people who are constantly
stereotyped.
Furthermore, in the EXPL 390 course I was challenged academically, intellectually, and
emotionally. For instance, the assigned readings challenged me to analyze the work I do at my
internship site and what it actually meant to me. The readings from the assigned text also laid out
five common stages that interns usually go through: anticipation, disillusionment, confrontation,
competence, and culmination. This helped me reflect on my own journey throughout my
internship experience and made me aware of what to expect along the way. As a result, I made
sure to not get lost in emotions and seek the right support system when I needed it. Additionally,
the insights from my peers made the course more engaging. We have been on this journey
together; often times we shared the same feelings. Throughout the semester, we have been
sharing our highs and lows, ups and downs with each other. This allowed me to see things from
different perspectives and also made the class more memorable.
In terms of personal development, I also learned more about my own leadership skills.
The class required me to interview a staff member at my internship site whom I thought is a
leader. I interviewed my supervisor from whom not only did I gain insights about what a great
leader is, but also learned more about her leadership story. Similarly, I reflected on my own

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leadership style and I came to the conclusion that I am both a transactional and a
transformational leader, depending on the situation. For instance, when working with children, I
follow the transformational leadership style as I lead by example. Furthermore, EXPL 390 and
my engaged-learning experience have positively impacted my civic development as I received
the wonderful opportunity to work with a group of friendly individuals at my internship site. My
engaged-learning work throughout this academic year has improved my communication skills
and teamwork abilities as I connected with people who were different from me in many aspects
of life.
As I reflect back on my internship, I can say that my journey has been far from what I
initially expected. But, through my internship I have lived out Loyolas mission of expanding
knowledge in the service of humanity through learning, justice, and faith as I worked closely
with the staff and residents of the Madonna House. My internship experience has taught me
valuable skills such as teamwork, commitment to service, and simply opened my heart and mind
to new experiences. As a science major, what I learned from my internship are things that I
would have never learned just by sitting in a class. I know that the knowledge and experiences
gained from my experience is applicable no matter what I pursue in life. But, the most important
takeaway from my internship is that we can all do something to help others, to work towards
social justice. At the moment it may seem like our work is not making any tangible differences.
However, we are in fact working towards positive changes in the long run. Overall, I feel
extremely blessed to have had the opportunity to serve as an intern at the Catholic Charities
Madonna House as it has positively impacted my worldview and enriched my Loyola education.