Our Shari Prestemon Social Justice Interns have graciously agreed to share some of their journal interns so that you can hear about the experience they’re having at Back Bay Mission! You can read a journal entry by Diarra Molock below.
My time interning for BBM (Back Bay Mission) has been amazing. Everyone on the staff truly made me feel welcome. I didn’t feel like a college student interning, running around filing paperwork and answering emails. I was given the opportunity to see BBM in its entirety by working with each staff member, developing relationships and learning about each program. The programs I was able to most work with included, the food pantry, the work camp program, and helping with things in the Micah Day Center. Although I did not work with the staff members who head other programs as regularly, each experience was a new and valuable experience.
One of the most common services I was given the opportunity to provide was doing client intake and answering phone calls in the Administration building. Initially I did not believe that answering phone calls was of much value compared to all of the work that my co-workers are responsible for. After answering calls for a long period of time, I started to realize that I was actually doing important work. Imagine if everyone who owned a car went to a gas station with no gasoline in their tanks. It would be extremely difficult for some people to get to where they needed to go. People have to call in on our main line before they can get any assistance. I began to see my position of answering the phone as something similar to a gas station stall. People cannot go anywhere without stopping to get gas in their car, and people cannot get the assistance they need without first calling in so that someone may direct them to the person or program whom can provide assistance with whatever particular need they may have.
Working with BBM these past ten weeks has been an experience that has taught me one of the most important lessons I believe every human being should have an experience that forces you to see a new perspective of the world. Being raised middle class allowed me to take for granted the love of my parents and all of the resources that the work of their labor has allowed me to enjoy. Working with low income families and the homeless population in Biloxi, MS has forced me to see a whole new world my eyes were never forced to see before. There are certain things I would never even think about as a result of my class and upbringing that I now know some people have to think about every day. I don’t mean things that most people would consider to be basic necessities such as food, shelter, and water, I mean minor everyday things. For example when it rains outside I usually have an umbrella or some sort of physical space where I can seek shelter. You began to notice things like pagodas, tall trees, abandoned buildings as possible temporary homes rather than objects in the background as you drive past them in your car. Everything suddenly seems like a task rather than an everyday activity such as finding a place to take a shower, using a phone, receiving and sending mail. Everything around me is the same, yet somehow seems different. I am so grateful for the opportunity to have hands on interactions with the low income and homeless population that we serve, which allowed me to see the world in a new light.
Thank you BBM for allowing me to be one of the first two Shari Prestemon interns to serve people along the Gulf Coast. I had a great time getting to know each and every staff member and their programs. Thank you Mr. Kenney Washington for being an excellent boss and for guiding us onto a path that teaches about the opportunities we have to be someone to somebody each and every day. Thank you to Bethany Beaver for being a great co-worker and friend and I wish all future interns well.
