I am a fourth-year undergraduate student at McGill University completing my bachelor’s degree with a major in Honours International Development Studies and a double minor in Communication Studies and Geography. I am very passionate about foreign affairs as well as fundraising and working in the non-profit, NGO/Foundation area of work. In my fourth year of study, I decided to switch into an Honours degree in International Development which requires I do a fifth year of study. This also allowed me this opportunity to intern at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) Foundation. I am currently the president of a club called Heart4Heart McGill Chapter and we raise money to fund surgeries for children with congenital heart disease in emerging countries. This led me to find a passion in fundraising and working at the MUHC Foundation was the perfect way to experience this working environment and really see what foundations do to better determine if this was a career path I would want to take. I did not receive academic credit for this internship.
The McGill University Health Centre Foundation is one of the many foundations within the McGill University Health Centre Organization, which is made up of five hospitals in Montreal, the MUHC Glen Site, The Lachine Hospital, The Montreal General Hospital, The Neuro and the MUHC Reproductive Centre. The MUHC Foundation raises funds to support patient care, research and teaching at the MUHC (the Glen Site) through various fundraising campaigns and donor programs. While I was at the MUHC Foundation I worked on several different projects including donor recognition initiatives, the creation of various thank you letters and templates for donors. I also managed the sign up and email acquisition for one of our MUHC staff recognition events; MAGJUSJEN Entertainment APPLAUSE Campaign. I also worked with the Foundation’s communications team on one of their impact stories on the website about a new telemedicine project which was published on the website. I also managed and organized our donor database and files, updating relevant information and ensuring all donor information is correct so our interactions with donors go smoothly.
Some of the greatest highlights from this internship for me was not one specific project or task but seeing and experiencing the incredible impact that the Foundation has on patients and their families. Speaking with donors and writing up patient stories opened my eyes to just how the MUHC Foundation can and does save so many lives. I found that working in an institution that prides themselves on their innovation, altruism and pure will to help those in need was an experience that will shape the future of my career. However, there were some hiccups in the beginning of my internship. One of the challenges I faced at the beginning was that the account and email that was made for me to access the foundations accounts and records was incorrectly filled out and needed to be redone. This meant that I would not have access to the accounts or my email that I needed to use for two more weeks. However daunting this seemed, my former supervisor and I sought a solution: I was able to work from my supervisor’s accounts until my account was ready and I was able to start several projects offline and work through another email account to communicate with my colleagues.
I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to have worked at the MUHC Foundation this summer. I believe that this internship has had a very positive impact on my university experience. Before this internship I was unsure about what I wanted to do my master’s degree in as well as what I want to do with my career in the future. I had always wanted to work for a non-profit or an NGO type of organization in the future, but I did not truly know what that work was like, until this internship. I got to experience what it really is like working for a foundation and I learned that I do enjoy this type of work and can see myself pursuing this in the future. However, this internship actually opened my eyes to a completely new career path that I want to explore, that is, the communications side of an organization or company. I worked closely with the foundation’s communications team on their story board projects and saw the work that they do to promote the MUHC Foundation and the various ongoing campaigns, among other things. After working with them, I learned that working in the communications sector of a company is something I am very interested in and now I want to pursue a master’s degree in communication studies.
