Government-paid internships benefit both nonprofit YWCA and participating students
College interns are essential to helping clients at YWCA Oklahoma City get their lives back on track, said Chelsey Branham, director of social and economic justice.
Students paid through the federal work study program help the YWCA carry out its mission at no cost to the nonprofit.
It’s a good deal for the students, too, because they are gaining experience and skills they can use, Branham said.
“Just having that ethical engagement in the community has a benefit to your quality of life in general,” she said. “They’re also learning all these skills that we’re teaching clients.”
Some clients are returning to work after dealing with domestic abuse or sexual assault trauma. Others are entering the workplace for the first time so they can get out of a controlling relationship.
University of Central Oklahoma freshman Emily McGouldrick didn’t know what she was getting into when she accepted the internship.
“Now I’m finding it’s really something I’m passionate about and I could do for the rest of my life,” the 19-year-old from Pryor said.
McGouldrick started the job in early August. She works 20 hours per week, assisting clients with career assessments, self-evaluation, resumes, interviewing skills and job searches.
Helping others figure out what they want to do and how to be self-sufficient is helping her as well.
“I’m definitely learning things about myself ... the steps I need to take,” McGouldrick said. “I’m growing as a person just as I’m helping them grow as a person.”
Step by step
Financial literacy is a major focus of the social and economic justice department because 98 percent of domestic violence cases involve financial abuse, Branham said.
“That is a really important piece for our clients, for their safety,” she said.
When someone else has control of the client’s money, credit and the debt in her name, it greatly impacts her ability to move on, get housing, establish credit, etc.
“You have to be able to make money to get out of the domestic violence situation, so our first goal is really self-sufficiency and doing that through income,” Branham said.
Clients often lack the self-confidence to present themselves and their skills well in a job interview following years of psychological abuse.
“Being told year after year that you’re worthless and you don’t have the skills to be able to have a job or to support yourself really weighs and has an impact on people,” Branham said.
Practical skills
“You definitely have to have passion for this kind of work,” said Ashley Magallanes, 22, another intern from UCO.
“In the beginning, I was very scared and saying ‘I don’t know if I’m qualified for this,’ but you learn as you go,” said Magallanes, a senior from Oklahoma City.
“After you are exposed to it and you actually start getting your feet wet, you feel more comfortable with everything.”
Magallanes said the hands-on experience with YWCA clients will benefit her in future work. She is majoring in psychology and forensic science.
Her work study internship will end in July.
Branham said the interns also have opportunities to work in other areas, like corporate training for inclusion and diversity, and the annual Stand Against Racism national campaign.
Coordinating a big event and asking for donations of space and food teaches them a lot, she said.
“Learning to ask others to give is a skill that can help later when asking for a pay raise or advancement,” she said.
Work experience
Branham currently has six college interns who attend UCO, Oklahoma City University, the University of Oklahoma and Southern Nazarene University. She also gets interns from Rose State College and students who are doing their practicum.
“We have a vast network of people that we are trying to empower, and I could not do that and make the impact that we have with this program without the help of our volunteers and interns,” she said.
Clients live in the YWCA’s emergency shelter, transitional housing or in their homes in the community. All are dealing with domestic violence, sexual abuse or stalking.
The YWCA also works with other organizations whose clients need career planning and financial literacy services, Branham said.
Her staff also does outreach to community organizations and policy makers to explain why it’s important to have an inclusive and diverse workplace and to give opportunities to clients seeking work.
The tasks give interns “practical hands-on experience in a field that has lots of different components to it,” she said.
“It’s been really beneficial to me because I can explore all these options and figure out what I want to do,” said McGouldrick, who is declaring a double major in sociology and psychology.
“I feel like that I am making a difference and I’m finding who I am as a person,” she said. “Being at the YWCA has instilled so many more values in me and made me feel that I can truly change the world, one person at a time.”