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Gabe Bresnahan, a marketing student, was able to lead planning and execution of a community event at the Children's Nature Playscape, something that helped solidify his chosen career path.
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Mary Howe, Gabe Bresnahan and Jenna Robinson impressed Nora Selheimer, right, so much that she offered them jobs to stay with the organization after their internships ended.
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Whether creating graphics for social media posts or snapping pictures to help publicize events, the job has pushed Jenna Robinson creatively.
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Many kids returning to the Children's Nature Playscape throughout the summer asked for Mr. Gabe. "Kids come in and get so excited to see the playscape, and they run in and want to play and get in the water. But then they come again and they're just as excited to see us as the playscape, and it's awesome," Mary Howe says.
KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Bubbles dance in the air as Jenna Robinson gently blows through a wand, children jumping to pop them as they float by. Across a stream, Gabe Bresnahan pulls his arm back and lets a paper airplane fly while a toddler in a dinosaur cape races him. Children's Nature Playscape across from Bronson Park in downtown Kalamazoo is abuzz with activity—and Mary Howe is helping to write grants to make sure it stays that way.
Jenna Robinson is helping the Children's Nature Playscape grow its impact on families in the Kalamazoo area through social media.
The three Western students are interning with the Kalamazoo nonprofit through the Broncos Lead Internship Program. Over 12 weeks, they've sharpened their professional skills and helped the Children's Nature Playscape serve hundreds of visitors from around the area.
"I've taken grant writing at Western and know how to do it, but I've never had a cause to apply that knowledge to," says Howe, a public and nonprofit administration student. "Having something that I actually care about and being able to practice getting involved in things like grant applications really 100% connects the dots between what we learned and what we need to know; it really is another step up on the ladder to getting into a career."
As a social media intern, Robinson has led most public-facing communication for the organization, helping to grow its reach and impact in the Kalamazoo area. Whether creating graphics for social media posts or snapping pictures to help publicize events, the job has pushed her creatively. And the experience has made her much more marketable as she plans for her future advertising career.
"Now I'm able to communicate things so much better than before," she says. "As an advertising major, you need to have a good understanding of the social media world and how to speak to the public. … Everything I'm going to be doing in the future is basically written communication."
Bresnahan has been able to put what he's learned in his sales and marketing classes to work for the nonprofit, leading the planning and execution of a community duck race at the playscape as well as helping to develop a marketing strategy for future events.
"The sales and marketing work that I've done here is what I think I want to do in the future, so I'm really happy that I got to experience those situations," Bresnahan says.
AN OVERWHELMING SUCCESS
The internships were so successful all three Broncos were offered full-time summer positions with the organization.
"Why wouldn't I want to keep them? They're doing awesome!" says Nora Selheimer, executive director of Children's Nature Playscape. "Gabe planned an entire community event; I just can't say enough about that. There are people who have been working in the nonprofit sector for years who still aren't executing that as well as Gabe did on his first try.
Mary Howe learned more about nonprofit leadership through her internship experience.
"Mary's been creating a lot of different systems and procedures for us to keep us as efficient as possible—systems and procedures that are so critical to our success. And these are things we're going to have for years. And Jenna is the face of our organization; she's creating these images and captions, videos and this lexicon for our organization that is our public image, and she has made that."
Selheimer worked with the students to define the role they wanted to fulfill in their next phase with the organization and allowed them to choose their titles. Robinson is social media coordinator and both Howe and Bresnahan are program managers.
"I wanted to make sure that this experience is something that will be a launching pad to wherever they're going next," she says.
In addition to cultivating valuable job skills, all three interns have cultivated lasting relationships with kids and families in the Kalamazoo community.
"Kids come in and get so excited to see the playscape, and they run in and want to play and get in the water. But then they come again and they're just as excited to see us as the playscape, and it's awesome," Howe says.
"You're working, but it doesn't even feel like you're working because we feel like we're doing something good for people that we care about. The fulfillment and the intrinsic reward you get from that is awesome."