Matt Taylor spent the summer at GlobalGiving as an intern, and he reflected on his experiences over the last few months. Matt is from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and graduated with a Bachelor's of Business Administration from the Ross School at the University of Michigan (Go Blue!). He also loves bad reality TV (e.g., The Hills)
Last night I had the pleasure of attending a “No Sad Goodbyes at GlobalGiving” Happy Hour to celebrate the interns’, myself included, summer at GlobalGiving and to acknowledge the fact that we’ll slowly be trickling out of the office over the coming weeks.
As we reminisced and reflected on our experiences this summer, there was an ephemeral undertone of hopelessness for us interns:
Where do we go from here?
How can any other professional experience live up to the standard GG has set?
Katie mentioned the incredible work/life balance at GG. How can you top having an actively used Wii in the office?
Alison mentioned the culture of generosity that thrives at GG, even in the face of scarce resources, and the passion people have for what they’re doing. She also shared her affinity for the appliances here.
Appliances aside, what both said really resonated with me and got my wheels turning around what I appreciate-and will fear leaving-about GG.
I didn’t mention these things at the time, partly because these appreciations/fears may have contributed to my most likely already robust business school persona (note the bullet points), but…
- When will I again be a part of an organization that truly exemplifies “excellence” from a management perspective?
- When will I again be a part of such a highly effective team?
- Most importantly, when will I be a part of an organization with the impossible vision and the people to pull it off?
Manmeet came late to the gathering and when we asked why, she said “I was changing the world.” While clearly said kiddingly at the time, it’s true: GlobalGiving, through the people in this brightly-colored office and the people it empowers, is changing the world.
So, after spending three months with the fun-loving, compassionate people at GlobalGiving changing the world, I could be asking where the heck do I go from here? Instead though, as corny as it may sound, I’m asking how the heck do I use what I’ve learned from this experience to shape the organizations I’ll be a part of and the world around me? Fortunately and unfortunately, I am so overwhelmed by lessons learned from GlobalGiving that I can’t yet articulate the answer.
