For the fall semester of 2013, I was offered an internship at PAWS Chicago, which I readily accepted, after volunteering at the shelter for a year. I have always been extremely passionate about the care of animals, so helping PAWS to carry out its lifesaving mission of creating a no-kill Chicago by 2015 as an intern, by greeting potential adopters at the Welcome Desk, answering any questions they may have, and filing adoptions, was extremely rewarding. My internship allowed me to further develop my communication and leadership skills, as well as interact with many more of the wonderful families who provide our sweet animals with loving, forever homes. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute I spent with our animals and clients, and I am so fortunate to have interned at a location where I am able to continue volunteering. To learn more about my internship experience, please visit the blog I kept throughout my time at PAWS at http://mmeder93.wordpress.com/.

In January of 2014, I began working as an intern at Miss Amazing, Inc., a not-for-profit that holds beauty pageants for girls and women with disabilities in order to give them a chance to show off their many talents and build confidence. My role as an intern is to manage the official blog of Miss Amazing, Conversations of Confidence. In this position, I seek out bloggers for each week among the Miss Amazing contestants, help the interested girls to decide upon a topic about which they would enjoy writing, and edit and compile their draft before posting it to the blog. I also work closely with one of our National Queens who has a weekly series on Conversations of Confidence and choose girls to be featured in a Close-Up post from those who have submitted responses to the interview-style questions asked in this type of post. Before beginning this position, I had little experience interacting with people with disabilities, but I have been so fortunate to learn from these girls! They are all extremely determined and driven and do not allow themselves to be defined by their disabilites. Rather, they want to share with people their knowledge, confidence, and talents, and I believe the blog provides them with a wonderful opportunity to do so. Collaborating with the Miss Amazing girls always brigthens my day; I am so inspired by all of their wonderful spirits, openness to new ideas and experiences, and ability to give so much of themselves to others. All of the girls with whom I have worked have taught me so much, and it is so incredibly rewarding to see how proud they are when their posts are published. In April, I will be volunteering at the Illinois Miss Amazing pageant, and I am so excited to serve as a "buddy" for one of the contestants that weekend and cheer her on as she builds confidence, makes friends, and inspires others!