Making a virtual internship work at Metanoia

Rebecca is writing policies and procedures for Metanoia from her home in Florida

By Rebecca Hett
Virtual Summer Student.Go Intern
Metanoia

I have been blessed with the opportunity to serve in a virtual internship with CBF’s Student.Go program this summer. God is enabling students from all over the country to serve his kingdom in a virtual capacity and it is exciting to be a part of this new era.

Through Stetson’s Baptist Collegiate Fellowship (a CBF-sponsored organization), I got connected to CBF and Student.Go. The director of Student.Go, Taisha Seabolt, visited our group and told us about the amazing opportunity to do a service-based internship as a student. I was immediately sold!

I interviewed and was assigned to serve as an Organization Development Intern at Metanoia Community Development Corporation, a long-time mission partner of CBFSC.

This non-profit in North Charleston specializes in asset-based community development techniques. With a wonderful staff and community-led Board of Directors, Metanoia seeks to establish quality housing, generate economic development and build leaders in the Charleston community.

My work this summer is to assist Metanoia in a period of rapid growth by developing policies and procedures for various aspects of the organization.

Working virtually means a LOT of Zoom, shared Google Docs and emails. I was originally supposed to move to Charleston for the summer and work on-site but God (and COVID) had other plans. I am blessed to have the space and resources to work from home, looking out at the palm trees in my back yard. My time management skills have been put to the test and my planner is getting a lot of love.

The engagement with racial injustice has been the most impactful aspect of the internship so far. Metanoia is a diverse organization working in a diverse community. According to data from Data USA, 22.8% of North Charleston is living below the poverty line. The city of North Charleston published statistics saying that the racial breakdown of their city was 47% African American, 45% White and 8% Other.

As our nation grapples with racial injustice, Metanoia is doing work on the frontlines to alleviate poverty and injustice. Asset-Based Community Development is centered on empowerment and a focus on strengths. Working with an organization that embraces and celebrates diversity and works to create equity has been inspiring. It is an honor to be a small part of the work Metanoia is doing and I cannot wait to see what the rest of summer holds!

I send a huge thank you to CBF for creating programs such as Student.Go that expand a student’s worldview as they prepare to make an impact on the world.