Can you tell our students a little bit about yourself?
Hi, I am Cheyenne Lee, a senior studying Public Management and Leadership with minors in Environmental Management and Urban Planning and Community Development. I am passionate about affordable housing and community development and have tailored my college experience toward this. Currently, I am the Director of Outreach for Habitat for Humanity at IU and have continued my internship since the summer working with a community development corporation on a land trust. As a first-generation student from a small town, I want to ensure that rural and urban communities have the opportunities and resources needed to thrive.
What about this organization made you compelled to intern for them?
The Bloomington Housing Authority (BHA) is a quasi-governmental organization that is tackling an incredibly important issue in our community. Affordable housing in Bloomington is among the top-rated issues reported in its 2023 Community Survey. Summit Hill Community Development Corporation (SHCDC) is a nonprofit subsidiary of the BHA. I was incredibly interested in the Community Land Trust that SHCDC was developing. Having a unique internship experience with an organization that would give me a broad look into different aspects of addressing the need for affordable housing was important to me.
What skills are most important in your role?
In my role as a Land Trust Intern, I perform a lot of editing and coordination for SHCDC. It’s incredibly important that I stay organized and prioritize my to-do list to reflect the needs of my supervisor. This means that communication skills are necessary to deliver good work that meets the expectations of my supervisor. Knowing how to communicate with the public in a professional and personal way can determine the success of your service. I also ran SHCDC’s social media, so I utilized marketing and design skills for that. As I mentioned, I edited a lot of the documents that were necessary for the functioning of SHCDC. This took a great deal of diligence, communication, and trial and error to create presentable final drafts. Lastly, having good research skills and developing my grant-writing skills was incredibly important for my role and for my professional development.
What is your advice for completing a successful internship?
I was truly passionate and interested in the work that my internship was doing which made me invested in the effort I put into it. I advise others to do the same. Find a company or internship that sparks your interests and show that passion throughout it. It is also important to set goals for yourself and outline what you want out of this experience with your supervisor. This communication is vital.
