Finally on the other side of the interview process
This past week of my internship has been by far and away the most gratifying and interesting thus far. In interning for a nonprofit organization, particularly one dedicated to 9/11, I have been able to experience work that is truly impactful and meaningful, and this was made especially clear to me in my most recent project.
Every year, Voices of September 11thinterns are in charge of creating a promotional video for the organization, which will ultimately be featured at a fundraising gala in September. We work in collaboration with a professional filmmaker to create the final product. It is great experience in working productively as a group and in discovering how best to market a nonprofit organization. I appreciate being given such an important task to the organization’s success.
In order to generate footage for the video, we, as interns, have been scheduling and conducting in person and Skype interviews with 9/11 survivors, first responders, and family members. We began the process by creating a note to send out to an e-mail list of Voices of September 11thcontacts. Many responded promptly, eager to share their unique stories about that fateful day in our nation’s history. As the responses came in, we did some research and came to a decision on who we wanted to interview for the video. We responded to about thirty people in total, with plans to interview ten people in person, and another twenty via videoconference or phone call. Following this procedure, we came up with a theme for the video, which is addressing the long-term needs of the 9/11 community, as well as a list of ten relevant questions to ask all of the interview participants.
Once we went through and responded to all of the e-mail responses, we made arrangements for our first few interviews. We traveled to New York City for interviews on Tuesday and Thursday of last week. We conducted the interviews in my boss’ apartment in Midtown, and we gained experience using a professional Canon video camera with a tripod and various other video making equipment. We interviewed two survivors, one first responder, and two family members. It was so interesting and touching to hear all of the varied stories and perspectives on such an historic event. They all had different narratives to recount, which they did very eloquently, and with varying emotional responses. Many of them told us that their participation in such an interview was a very crucial part of their healing processes, and I was honored to be a part of such a profound moment for them.
We still have more interviews to conduct in the next few weeks, and I look forward to hearing more stories and seeing how they will all intertwine in the final video project. This has been such a meaningful experience for everyone involved, and I am appreciative of the opportunity to be so engaged in the organization’s work.