Post #2 Lauren Milazzo

I was really excited to hear about Dr. Amy Wade’s experience with non-profits as well as her current job with a non-profit. I liked how Amy spoke about her background and how she initially never saw non-profits as a career path. When I was a freshman in college I never once considered a career path working with non-profits. I think the main factor holding me back from considering that career path was money, plain and simple. I guess I bought into the stereotype that workers for non-profits make next to nothing and believing that, I didn’t think I’d make enough money to live the type of lifestyle that I want for myself. But I found it really reassuring hearing Amy say that if you’re good at what you do, you can make just as much working for a non-profit as if you were working in the for-profit sector. Keeping that in mind, a non-profit career is something I could definitely see in my future.

I also really enjoyed taking the “quiz” about non-profit information because I really learned a lot! It was really interesting to learn how many non-profits there are in the U.S. and which sector has the most. I thought the “quiz” was a really good idea to interact with us and it made her presentation much more enjoyable for me. It was really nice to hear her talk about her job, and how her day to day tasks are constantly changing. I really appreciated her honesty when she talked about conflicts between the board and actual staff, but I didn’t find it surprising when she said the board thinks they run things. The one thing I didn’t particularly like but guess is to be expected is when she said if a board member, usually an “important” one, wants something looked into or down, everything has to be dropped to do it. I would find that frustrating if I’ve been working on a project for several weeks and then run into an unforeseen delay because of a board member. I was also glad she talked about grant writing because before then I had no idea what that meant! I’m still a little iffy on the subject but understand it for the most part.

I could definitely tell Amy loves her job because she was so enthusiastic talking about her job and non-profits. When she spoke about the students she/the non-profit have helped and are helping, her passion definitely came through. Overall, I really enjoyed listening to Amy speak and thought it was a great way to start the Board Immersion Program off!