Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho...

A few months ago, my son’s aunt suggested he might like working in a not-for-profit institution, and he might want to consider using his Communications major to that end. Having a built-in connection to Franciscans Hospital for Children in Boston, my son contacted someone in the media and development department there, that he has been in touch with for the past few years. He offered his services for the summer as an intern and she agreed to an interview. She interviewed my son and he must have managed to favorably impress her!

Now home for the summer, he began working there last week. This is an unpaid internship and, for the time being, once a week. But think of the work experience he will be able to add to his resume and the good he will be doing for Franciscans. This is truly a win-win.

My son’s first task is to help with the campaign for a fundraiser the hospital is doing – a 5k run called the “New Balance Heartbreak Hill.”  New Balance because the company is the major sponsor of the race and a significant benefactor to the Hospital; Heartbreak Hill, because it is run on that particular part of the Boston Marathon route. My daughter and I ran it last year; she beat me by five minutes, or about a half mile, without training. Oh to be young.  I suggested this year that they run the race in the opposite direction, but the organizers didn’t bite! While my son promotes the race and volunteers on race day (my husband will as well), my daughter and I are running and hoping to raise funds; we’ve renamed our team to add “Banyana” to the title – this is an African term for Strong Women and the name of my daughter’s soccer team, who are offering their support.

Here is our link:

https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=471219&supId=292165278

Click on or copy and paste the above into your browser to read about this fundraiser and to make a donation if interested.

I will let you know more about my son’s specific contributions as an intern in another post.

Nothing That a Few Late Nights Won't Cure

The past few weeks have been more than a little stressful for my son. He had what seemed like an impossible workload to be completed before the end of the term: papers, project, exams, etc. I felt terrible as I watched him try and deal with the amount of work, the bulk of which arose from a single course.

As I write this, he has completed all of the assignments that were due by last Friday, and is now focusing on final projects and exams. The difference in his attitude today compared to where he was only a few weeks back is remarkable. There was little anyone could have said or done at the time to make him believe that it would all get done. Once again, he has risen to the task.

He will be home for the summer early next week, and has a clear schedule laid out for the following three months or so. He will be doing an unpaid internship in the development department of the rehabilitation hospital that I have written about many times on these pages (more about that in another post); and he will be taking the few more driving lessons he needs to pass his road test and get his license. Admittedly, the whole driving thing still has me a little worried – but I promise not to be surprised when he succeeds at that too!