The importance of preparation.

With my second week at my ACUHO-I internship coming to a close I thought it would be an ideal time to start reflecting on my experiences.  As you can imagine it's been a very busy two weeks of getting acquainted to the location, the people, and the business of DePaul.  I'm not sure about everyone else who is doing internships this summer.. but I went into the experience with a few beliefs, which I can safely say have been shattered. 

1. Who a DePaul student is 

I have to admit I didn't have the most complete picture of what a student would be like at this university, however I have found myself very surprised by the students I've met and interacted with.  I was hung up on one piece of the identity of DPU and discounted all of the other parts.  

I wrongfully assumed that I would be entering a very homogenous place filled with only catholic students... WRONG.  In the past DePaul was one of the first law schools to admit Jewish students without an sort of "quota" or limit on the number of them admitted. Today DPU offers a number of services that I didn't expect to find on their campus... the one that blew my mind the most, prayer rooms for Muslim students. 

2. Who works at DePaul 

One of the biggest fears I had coming into this internship was that I would be the only person of a sexual minority on the campus.  (I know. . I know... closed minded) I'm happy to report that I've found the campus to be very open and accepting of people of different backgrounds.. in fact that is one of the most important parts of DePaul.  

 

http://www.depauliaonline.com/

3. How DePaul addresses specific topics

Another of the things I was worried about going into this internship was the way that DePaul would approach a number of topics ranging from student actions to LGBT student acceptance on campus... And Again!  I was very surprised by the response.  Within a week of being on campus the student drag show occurred and was featured on the front page of the student newspaper.  Wow!  That was very surprising for me.. furthermore I was able to see an entire fair focused on sexual health which was very inclusive of the LGBT community.  The actions of the staff around the topic of alcohol use is that of a very realistic approach which I find to be very comforting.  

The reality is that I did a VERY bad job of preparing myself as to what I would be experiencing this summer.  I rested on my preconceived notions of what this school was and didn't take the time to look into it's history, it's students, or its values.  After going to a new employee orientation I was inspired to look more into this and do the research I should have done previously.  

Some of the outstanding values I have found to be the most inspiring are: 

• The focus on educating first generation college students and thus providing an opportunity for our students to break the hold that poverty has on our world. 
• The focus on the dignity of each person.  This is huge to me in the way that I've seen people treated at other universities in the past.  
• And finally the focus as an urban institution which can draw on but also has responsibility to give back to the community as a whole.