An Open House
By Madeleine Thickett, Development Intern
Hello, my name is Madeleine, I am originally from Birmingham, England and I am currently an Engineering student at Oxford University. For me, America has often held a certain pull on my curiosity so this year I decided to put the mystery to bed and make my way across the Atlantic. Suffice to say it hasn’t disappointed.
As the Development Intern here I get one of the broadest perspectives of The Center. Because we are the chief fundraising department we need to have a good insight into almost every area in order to tell sponsors about all of the great work we do, which hopefully then will persuade them to support us. I really do enjoy this role and I think that I am gaining such a valuable experience from it all. Additionally, I am getting great opportunities here such as attending Naturalization Ceremonies, assisting with International Visitors Leadership Program visits and collaborating with other interns to organize the ‘Polo At Sunset’ event (August 16, be there!). One such opportunity arose this week when I helped out at the Open House which celebrated The International Center’s new home in the Regions Bank Tower.
The day of the event food provided for us by Harrison College was presented in the conference room on colorful plates and among a sea of flags (not our prized collection though, Peter will be relieved to hear); cupboards were scrubbed clean and paintings were mounted in preparation to show off the new space. I for one have never seen a more pristine space!
On the evening itself all of the staff were kept busy with introductions, tours and catching up with visitors; some even tried their hand at bartending. Although at one point we did play the game ‘How many interns does it take to control the T.V?’ everything else ran smoothly. It was really interesting to meet so many people with connections to The International Center, especially people on the periphery who found out new things about our services. It made me so much more aware of how important The Center is in the lives of so many Hoosiers (one of the many new terms I have learned during my stay here).
I really enjoyed taking part in this event, as it has shown me The International Center at its united best. Working here has so far been an extremely rewarding experience and, while I will be sad to go home when I have to, I know I will be taking many valuable lessons and cherished memories with me.