Internship through HECUA

Find Your Ideal Internship Through HECUA - www.hecua.org
By Rebecca Collins

Integrated learning. Learning internships. Urban affairs. Grassroots organizing. Non-profit careers. Mine was not the typical internship - but that’s what made it so dynamic. My internship with the Metropolitan Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing this past semester helped me understand my passions and my career possibilities, bringing me back to Saint Mary’s with a renewed focus within my major. But let’s start at the beginning.
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This past semester I had the opportunity to participate in the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs’ (or HECUA’s) program called the Metro Urban Studies Term. HECUA is built on the idea of integrated learning, where students of all backgrounds and majors are able to integrate the theory of the classroom with the practice of the real world. In the Metro Urban Studies Term, I learned of poverty, inequality, and social change right here in the Twin Cities through readings, discussions, and field seminars. I then experienced those social change practices at work through my internship.

My internship was at the Metropolitan Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing, or MICAH. MICAH works to organize congregations of faith and community partners to change the political climate and public policies so that all communities preserve and build affordable housing. It’s quite possible that that description sounds as confusing to you as it did to me when I started working with MICAH. I didn’t have a real understanding of what grassroots organizing was - but I learned quickly.

At MICAH I helped the congregations of a Minneapolis suburb, Coon Rapids, dialogue with the city council members and ask them to include housing that is affordable in their plan for the city. I also helped with the housing trust fund campaign with state legislators, the annual fundraiser, and MICAH’s efforts to build deeper relationships with their member congregations.All of this taught me the basic skills of organizing: relationship building, political analysis, planning strategies, finding people’s talents, and so much more. But the important things that I learned weren’t about skills at all. If there is one key thing that I learned from my time at MICAH, it is that intentional relationships are of utmost importance to work and to life. Being present to people, tailoring jobs to their talents, keeping in touch, and working toward what they want to see in their community can work wonders. I will never underestimate the power of relationships from now on.

I also learned about myself through my time at MICAH. When I began my internship, I thought that the best way to organize was to do everything the way my supervisor would do it. While this was helpful, it wasn’t always fulfilling. One of the best realizations while working at MICAH was the fact that I do my best work when I put my heart and my “style” into it — and that it’s ok, even good, to do so.

Although I could unpack my semester-long experience for pages, I will close my reflection where I began. My internship at MICAH allowed me to see the link between the theories that I have been learning here at Saint Mary’s and the work that is being done in our community. The HECUA program helped facilitate this understanding, which I intend to build upon as I finish out my college career and step into my next career.