Meet Thomas. He has six brothers and sisters, and was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. This wunderkind graduated high school at the age of 16. When he’s not busy being smarter than everyone else, he can be found pulling practical jokes and generally making people laugh.
Thomas is a member of our Business Operations Department. He spends his time ensuring that supporters receive their merchandise in a timely manner, as well as tending to our large herd of vans, and helping the rest of the warehouse team maintain an efficient and fun operation. I sat down with him to find out more about his experience with Invisible Children.
What does a typical day as an Operations and Logistics Intern look like?
I work on order fulfillment, warehouse organization, and van logistics. Each day is different depending on the Business Operations Department.
What sets your internship position apart from others and what impact are you able to make in your specific role?
What I appreciate the most about this internship is that my supervisors give me a lot of opportunities to learn and gain on-the-job experience. If I have an idea about how something could run more efficiently, I’m able to voice that and the staff values my input.
What’s one thing that you’ve learned at Invisible Children that you’ll carry with you after your internship is over?
Growing up in a smaller town, if you’re involved in social justice you tend to become pegged as the charity kid or the starving-children-of-Africa guy but in coming here and getting to surround myself around people with the same beliefs that want to teach you about the non-profit world and social justice has been one of the best experiences of my life. I’ll carry that confidence and knowledge with me after I leave here.
In one sentence, why do you love working for Invisible Children?
I love working here because of how creative and welcoming the community is.
What advice would you give a future intern?
Be yourself and play to your strengths instead of trying to sell yourself upon an idea of what you think someone wants. In the long run, people will value your honesty a lot more.
Invisible Children is all about community. What’s it like living and working with other interns?
It’s great. I came from a very large family so coming here wasn’t as much of a culture shock as it may have been for others. I’ve had a lot of experiences that I’ll remember.
What’s been your favorite memory so far?
I would probably have to say the day my boss and I bought Nerf guns during lunch. We ended up with the guns and a hundred discs and just shooting each other with them for the entire rest of the lunch hour. We have them around the warehouse and occasionally we’ll take a break from work to mess around with them.
What’s your favorite hangout spot in San Diego?
There’s a really cool coffee shop near the Intern House, called Cosmos. I tend to spend a lot of time there. Another great coffee shop near SDSU is the Living Room. They both make a really nice Dirty Chai Latte.
What makes Invisible Children a unique place to work?
The most unique thing about Invisible Children, other than the fact that we have two office dogs, is that we celebrate everything. If you give our Fun Committee any reason to celebrate, they will go for it. Birthdays, promotions, random acts of appreciation, the list goes on. I probably had the biggest birthday celebration I’ve ever had while here. They decorated our warehouse with pictures, streamers, and balloons and we had a barbecue and played basketball during lunch. They go all out at this place.
You decided to take a semester to intern with Invisible Children before pursuing college. What was your thought process behind that and how did your parents respond to that decision?
I finished high school when I was 16 but I took some time off because I didn’t want to immediately dive into school and graduate with a degree, while not really knowing what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I felt that the best thing I could do is come here and intern. Most of my passions and career goals are right in line with what Invisible Children does and so it only made sense to pursue this opportunity and gain a sense of clarity. My parents were very supportive. The best advice they ever gave me was when they told me “You don’t want to go through life not enjoying what you do or doing something that you find meaningless. Always follow the path that will bring joy to your life.”
Interesting in interning with Invisible Children? We’re looking for an inspiring individual like Thomas to join us as our Fall 2013 Operations and Logistics Intern. If you’d like to learn more about how you can be a part of the team this upcoming semester, you can find a full job description and application on our website. The deadline to apply is May 24th.
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