Back to Work

Since returning from our vacation in Cabo, I have managed to keep pretty busy. Thanks to my summer internship, which is sponsored by Johnson & Johnson and executed by the Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at Anderson, I am getting paid to work with non-profit organizations from all over the country.

It sounds kind of complicated, but it's really simple. Johnson & Johnson believes in "Corporate Social Responsibility" - definitely a buzz phrase in business these days. As such, they donate millions of dollars each year to different charitable organizations. But they also fund some of their own charitable endeavors, one of which takes place at UCLA Anderson with the help of UCLA Anderson faculty and students. Specifically, Johnson & Johnson funds four different executive training programs for managers and directors of non-profit organizations including early childhood development centers, community healthcare centers, and even some NGOs and governments in Africa. For two weeks at a time, these groups flock to UCLA Anderson to take classes in accounting, finance, marketing, operations, strategy... And as part of the program, the attendees are required to develop a project they will take back to their organization. That's basically where I come in as a "Strategic Consulting Intern." I work with the attendees to more or less develop a business plan for their projects.

I'm three weeks into the program, and it's been interesting. My clients have embarked on projects to provide year-round preschool and daycare services with federal Head Start grants. And I helped one of my clients develop a program to improve language skills in toddlers from families on public assistance. I've helped design marketing, PR, and fundraising campaigns, too. Within my current batch of clients, all of whom run free health clinics, I'm helping to design ways to increase the number of patients her clinics can see each day. And for another client, we're working on a way to ensure that his clinic effectively coordinates and manages care for the 1000+ patients in his rural Arkansas community living with diabetes.


If I can manage to stay healthy, in August, I'll head to Capetown, South Africa to continue this work with organizations working to provide care to HIV/AIDS patients in Sub-Saharan Africa. Clearly, I'm doing all that I can to stay healthy to make the trip! 


To steal a word from Jeremy's vocabulary, working has been FUN. I definitely enjoy school, and through this job, I realize that I have learned a lot throughout this year. But I'm a do-er. It's hard for me to sit all day and read and study. I like work. And yes, I like money, there's no denying it. In fact, I'm having so much FUN with all this WORK that I have *nearly* secured a second job to keep me busy when the Johnson & Johnson program wraps up next week. But more on that in another post...

On the baby front, Peanut is doing well. Lots of kicking and punching. I take it as a sign that Peanut really likes to work, too. I guess it's never to early to develop a strong work ethic in your children!