"During my internship with Mykonos Active, my primary focus was to complete objectives and deliverables including: (1) sequence and teach daily movement classes at group and individual levels, and (2) deliver assessments to measure effectiveness of program/retreat design, analyze results, and report findings to Mykonos Active. The data that we collected will also contribute to an independent study designed to explore and understand theory-driven PA interventions, national PA policies, and retreat programs pertaining to gay and bisexual men to advance impactful and healing experiences within these communities. Along with my objectives, I contributed to ongoing activities, including: (1) designing marketing materials, (2) promoting retreats on social media, (3) assisting with scheduling, program design, classes, etc., (4) assisting with day of arrival preparation and check-ins, (5) assisting with morning community meal preparation, (6) assisting with excursions, activities, and workshops, (7) documenting through photos and videos, and (9) providing feedback to instructors.

At the end of my internship experience, I was invited to officially join Mykonos Active for all future retreats as his collaborator and as a parallel organizational leader with my company, Full Sun Fitness. Full Sun Fitness is dedicated to illuminating the individual and bridging access gaps for all LGBTQIA+ individuals and is now intertwined with Mykonos Active in a creatively collaborative initiative to expand our reach on a global stage."

"This Summer, I interned at Camino a local non-profit focused on equipping all people to live healthy, hopeful, and productive lives. For my internship, I helped researchers leverage data from the ongoing study that would be used to advocate for new efforts and programs. I assisted with translating technical research findings, questionnaires, and interpreting conversations. With my experience in data analytics, I helped process the research data for more efficient operations and helped increase the bandwidth available to handle participant data. I gained experience working in the non-profit community health center space and had the invaluable opportunity to connect with a passionate team of wonderful individuals that are truly driven to address the needs of the community at every step of the way.

I am grateful to Karen Arrington and the advising team at the University Career Center for organizing the Summer internship program. With their assistance, I was able to pursue this experiential learning opportunity and make the most out of my summer before returning to school to complete my Master’s in Healthcare Administration.

This summer I had the pleasure of working in the Trauma Services Department at the Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center here in Charlotte. During my time there, I worked as an administrative intern, focusing on community engagement and education. I was not only given the opportunity to create educational content for a variety of events, but I was also able to get first-hand experience in using an applied approach to public health research and learn more about the administrative side of the hospital.

Since my internship was unpaid, the scholarship allowed me to continue my internship without the addition of financial stress, so I didn’t need to overextend myself with work and I could focus on my internship."

This summer, I had a wonderful opportunity to do a summer internship at Camino Community Development Center, Inc. (CCDC), located in Mecklenburg County. CCDC is a non-profit organization that has been serving immigrants and low-income families in the greater Charlotte region. My duty as a Development intern at CCDC was mostly focused on grants and contracts. Through this internship experience, I learned about writing grant applications and analyzing and generating reports using the Electronic Health Record System for grants and contracts. I gained knowledge about the functioning of a non-profit organization which was a great advantage. Also, I was able to develop professional and personal skills. It was an overwhelming and beneficial experience for my career as a medical and public health professional.

I am very thankful to UNCC Career Center for granting me a Summer Internship Scholarship fund. The scholarship fund elevated my financial burden for the summer, and I was able to complete my internship without any stress.

Over the past few months, I have had the most fantastic experience at Charlotte’s very own QC Exclusive Magazine as the Media Marketing/Admin Intern! I was given the opportunity to write and publish digital articles, organize and write copy for social media campaigns, including advertisements, giveaways and sponsorships on different platforms, and establish contacts throughout the greater Charlotte area. Seeing the behind-the-scenes of how a print and digital magazine works have opened my eyes to my future career possibilities. I was able to focus on successfully gaining new experiences and skills from QC Exclusive this summer, thanks to UNCC’s Summer Internship Scholarship. The scholarship alleviated some of the outside expenses of having an unpaid internship like gas, technology, and business attire. The skills, advice, and local exposure I have received from the QC Exclusive team have been invaluable and wouldn’t have been possible without the Summer Internship Scholarship. I am honored to have received this scholarship and am so excited to see where my future in the communications department and the real world takes me!

During my internship with Camino Research Institute (CRI), I was able to develop my research skills, communication skills, and my knowledge of working in a nonprofit environment. I particularly enjoyed working with the staff at CRI, as their passion for helping the Hispanic/Latino community was very noticeable. I also enjoyed hearing the different lived experiences of the participants who participated in each focus group. Each focus group allowed me to understand why qualitative research is often very valuable to quantitative research. It allows the researchers to hear each individual’s story as to why they decided to answer what they answered.

In conclusion, my experience with Camino Research Institute was important in my development as a public health professional. Each lesson and skill I learned during my time at CRI will be helpful in my professional career. I hope to continue my involvement with CRI through volunteerism as I finish my last year of graduate school here at UNCC.

This summer, I had the opportunity to intern at PBS Charlotte. During this internship, I was able to get a behind the scenes look at TV and news production and the process that it takes to put content out there. I was able to go out in the field and learned about setting up shot composition, lighting, and telling stories through just images. In the studio, I would help edit promo commercials for the network and occasionally be behind the camera to film news segments. I was able to apply what I learned in my video production course to filming out in the field and the editing process which helped tremendously.

The entire experience was incredibly beneficial as I was able to get some great experience with learning how to improve my camera work and editing techniques, as well as how TV and news stations operate. This was only possible thanks to the scholarship by the UNCC Career Center, which helped pay for transportation, rent for my apartment, and other necessities. I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity, as I have made great connections and learned a lot, as well as knowing what I have to improve upon.