Amie Bah appreciates importance of impact through WorldStrides internship

作者:奥德丽安娜·王尔德

在马里兰州的巴尔的摩，艾米·巴实习于 世界跨步展望 as a program office assistant, where she discovered the importance of impact, no matter the size. Bah credits the success of her internship experience to the practical, 她所接触到的现实世界的newbb电子研究 公共管理硕士(MPA) 在newbb电子平台的项目 沃伊诺维奇领导与公共服务学院.

他得了B.A. in Development Studies with a minor in management from the University of The Gambia (UTG) in 2014. In 2021, Bah decided to continue her education at newbb电子平台 to pursue a 非洲研究硕士 通过 国际研究中心.

在她开始她的项目后不久, Bah noticed that her writing 和 research had become centered around food insecurity 和 the role of public services in combating the issue. It was this realization that led Bah to pursue her MPA 和 take on a dual degree.

“我当时想。, ‘I think I need to study public administration because this is something I want to do,’”爸爸说. “I want to be involved in organizations or governments that put together plans or policies to address food insecurity because this is something that people are facing, 尤其是我家乡的人.”

While Bah’s summer internship was focused on targeting food insecurity, Bah hoped to utilize her time working for WorldStrides to gain valuable experience in the public administration field 和 develop herself professionally.

世界跨步展望 offers summer career exploration programs to students ranging from elementary school to college. Bah worked in the advanced medicine program for high school students, where she was in charge of managing 24/7 communications between WorldStrides 和 three separate sessions of around 140 students 和 their families. She was also responsible for maintaining paperwork 和 communications between staff.

在她的经历中, Bah found working in customer support to be the most interesting 和 rewarding aspect of her job. Often, Bah would find herself responding to upset or confused parents calling about their child.

“But after talking to them calmly 和 explaining to them what was happening, I always felt happy because I was able to change somebody's mood by the time the call ended,他说. “The parents ended up being very thankful to me for providing information or for calling them back. In the end, some even wrote very beautiful notes about how grateful they were.”

因为巴哈每天都面临挑战, she recalled what she learned 通过 沃伊诺维奇学校 和 appreciated that she could use those lessons as a guide. Crucial to her success in her internship were teachings on how to thrive in a diverse work environment 通过 use of communication skills, 建立人际关系技能, 以及解决冲突的技巧.

“Something will happen 和 it will remind me of a conversation I had with a lecturer or conversation I had with colleagues in class 和 whenever I remember it makes me smile,他说. “我想，‘这正是我们被教导的.’”

Not only did the assignments 和 in-class discussions contribute to Bah’s preparedness, but insights provided by guest speakers were essential in helping her underst和 how to apply her studies to life 和 any responsibilities that a future career might entail.

Bah特别指出，由 费斯·克努森教授 和 Dr. Allison佝偻病, Dr. 吉姆·马奥尼, Dr. 莎拉•戴维斯 和 Dr. Lesli约翰逊, 和 the speakers they hosted played a critical role in her professional growth.

“Our lecturers would invite experts to come talk about their day-to-day work, 他们如何克服挑战，如何成为领导者,他说. “This was really helpful because they made it easier for me to underst和 what I should expect to happen in my workplace 和 how to react, 即使是出乎意料的.”

In addition to her repertoire of knowledge gained from the 沃伊诺维奇学校, Bah’s internship exposed her to new experiences that she feels could allow her to st和 out as a future job c和idate.

“What I loved about my internship the most was learning how to work with children, 特别是青少年,他说. “I feel like from here I can work with any organization that is dealing with children—that is how confident I am after working with WorldStrides.”

Throughout her internship, Bah felt fulfilled in knowing that she was able to better people’s lives. Looking toward her job search, she hopes to find more work that will allow her to make a difference.

“学者们会来找我们，告诉我们‘当我来这里的时候, I was not sure whether or not I wanted to study medicine—now I am sure I want to do it,’”爸爸说. “I feel like I've impacted people's lives very positively 和 this is something that I want to continue doing.”

Although Bah continues to strive toward her goal of fighting food insecurity, her internship provided her with relevant experience in public administration 和 excitement for what her future holds.

“I am looking forward to working with an organization or the government to contribute to people's well-being because that is what public administration is all about,他说. “这是关于帮助解决人们的问题. It's about helping to give people the things they deserve as human beings.”