Ethan Ingwers: Gaining New Perspectives on Non-Profit Work at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School
One of the main reasons I joined the LSB Community Fellows program was to gain a new perspective on the type of work and skills that were needed in the non-profit sector of business. After being placed in the advancement office here at San Jose Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, I had the opportunity to interact with students, faculty, and donors at a variety of events. Through the planning of these events, the parallels between non-profit and for-profit organizations became much more apparent.
As an intern in the advancement office, we are largely responsible for raising money for the school. In order to do this we have to use many skills that I have learned throughout my time at SCU. The work I do at Cristo Rey is very diverse. I rarely find myself doing the same thing, it is a job that requires a lot of critical thinking and adaptability. However, marketing is one major aspect of my work duties. As a management major, this first sounded quite daunting. However, as I kept working, the things I learned in my marketing classes started coming back to me. Applying these principles allowed me to develop a new perspective on the work I complete and publish at Cristo Rey.
In my opinion, the most important skill to have is critical thinking. While there are many hard skills that are highly valuable to have in this industry, the ability to think quickly and critically is what has allowed me to be successful in this position. Due to the nature of my work, it was important that I allowed myself to be uncertain and not afraid to ask questions. Many of my daily tasks required software skills and knowledge that I simply didn’t possess before this internship. However, by using my resources I was able to not only generate an understanding of the work but also a sense of enjoyment and fulfillment.