Organizational Culture within MHAMC

Due to COVID-19, my internship was, unfortunately, made remote. This not only compromised my in-person role within the organization, but also our communication with one another. My supervisor, Jessica has been doing the best job possible to keep us all organized, but I can only imagine how difficult it must be for her. She has to make sure that many different programs are running smoothly and that she maintains contact with all of her co-workers. This has been made more difficult through COVID-19 as well as the responsibilities Jessica feels toward our community during this national crisis of racial injustice. Jessica has been communicating with us via Zoom and e-mail. The Zoom calls have been very effective. We have been able to hold productive meetings in which we are all informed on one another’s work for the week. These Zoom meetings are also helpful for asking questions and/or speaking about upcoming events. I do feel, however, that it is a bit difficult for me to correspond with Jessica via e-mail, as she is so busy during the week, and already has times carved out for our correspondence. A Zoom call once a week, however, does not feel like enough for me, especially because when I spend my time listening to the work of others and absorbing information, I find that it would be rude to change direction and ask a question pertaining to myself. It is a bit difficult to communicate with Jessica in a timely manner over e-mail, but I understand how full her hands are with other things. Because of this, I asked Jessica for a one-on-one meeting every other week or so in order to discuss my role in more depth and to gain her opinion on any other work I can be doing for her outside of trainings and the weekly meetings. In response to this, Jessica told me she would speak to another supervisor, Dustin, and let me know how else I can be involved within the organization on my own time. I appreciate that Jessica gives me a lot of free reign, but I feel that a bit more direction for me would be beneficial. I really want to feel like I am helping her and the organization as much as possible. I am learning so much, but really would like to contribute in a more tangible way aside from gaining education. I feel that with tangible contributions as well as my knowledge regarding racial injustice, I can become an even better and more effective ally within the BLM movement and the greater fight for racial equality within this nation.