During my senior year at Johnson
and Wales University, working toward bachelor’s degrees in event planning and
foodservice management, I was looking for an internship, but wasn’t really sure
what I wanted to do. I stumbled upon Save the Bay’s events internship
opportunity and decided to apply. Save The Bay headquarters are located at the
very back of the Johnson and Wales Harborside Campus property on the
Providence-Cranston line, and despite having lived on campus for the previous
three years, the day of my interview was my first day stepping into the Bay
Center. I think it was one of the best decisions I could have ever made.
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| Kaitlyn working the beverage table at Save The Bay's 2017 Artists for the Bay Show Opening Reception. |
I began my time at Save The Bay
as an events intern, soaking up as much information and taking advantage of as
many opportunities as I could. I was also beginning my MBA studies with a concentration
in nonprofit business. The timing was great, because not only could I use my
major and help coordinate fun events like Taste of the Bay and the Save The Bay
Swim, but I was also able to help in other areas of the organization, including
volunteering and development. Those experiences, in turn, helped with my school
work as I was able to apply real world examples to my in-class learning. I felt
like my internship was giving me event experience and future career experience
as well.
And in fact, after my four-month internship,
I offered a part-time development assistant role, followed by an opportunity to
help our Volunteer Manager as well. In my new role at Save The Bay, I do a lot
of office work, but I am also able to connect with members, volunteers, and
supporters while making thank you calls, while working at volunteer opportunities
and events, and at our Bay Center or Aquarium. Making these connections is one
of my favorite aspects of the job. Save The Bay’s team and our supporters are
full of knowledge. I can say that everyone I have worked with at Save the Bay
has taught me something new about the Bay or about the organization and its
work.
I am able to see, each and every
day, individuals who want to make a change and use their strengths to do it. We
are a small nonprofit with a mission to “protect and improve Narragansett Bay,”
and to do this work, so many hands go into helping. The work isn’t just the
education team teaching the next generation or the policy team fighting for
legislation. It is also the marketing team sharing our messages, the
development team cultivating relationship that can last over 40 years, the
volunteers who cleanup the beaches and dig creeks in the salt marsh, and so
much more.
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| Kaitlyn (left) with her cousins and mom at Long Sands Beach in New York in 1997. |
I am from a small town in Maine,
with a beach within a mile of my backyard. I grew up on the water and I
actually have a wave tattoo on my foot, so that I can always walk near the
ocean. Every summer growing up, I practically lived on the beach, and I was an
avid paddle boarder and kayaker. I was so excited when I moved to Rhode Island
to have the water in my backyard once again. Between stressful classes, walking
along the Bay has been one of the most relaxing things to do and is now a habit
for my roommates and me. Now, coming to work each day and seeing the view of
the Bay makes every day great.
Truthfully, walking into Save the
Bay on my first day, I could tell you that there was water in the Bay, that it
looked pretty, and that I had heard it needed help. Now I am able to share
information about the critters that live in the Bay, talk about why the Bay
needs protections, and most importantly, explain why Save the Bay does what it
does. I am extremely appreciative to have the opportunity to work with an
organization that allows me to grow individually and in my career.
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