Intern Stories: Benjamin Rubino
Posted August 26, 2009 // 0 Comments // add yours
Today finishes our intern stories. We asked them to tell us about their experience during the program, and thought it might be interesting if you heard it from them. Today’s post is from Benjamin Rubino, who will attend DePaul University.
Everyday I would pass the same teacher in the hall and everyday she would encourage me to sign up for this or volunteer for that. And just as regularly as we would meet, I would take the information from her, thank her, and then find the closest trash can out of her sight. But one day she handed me an application for the Heinz Endowments Summer Youth Philanthropy Internship and for some reason I didn’t toss it in the recycling bin. That was one of the best decisions I have ever made.
Before the nine weeks began, I viewed the internship as a way to pad my checkbook and master public transit before heading off to DePaul University in Chicago this upcoming fall-two things I desperately needed to do. However on June 15, the first day of the program, I knew that my expectations for this summer were far below the actual experience I was about to encounter.
I never would have guessed that a summer job would have made me fall in love with the region I was so quickly trying to leave. The internship was far more than a just a source of income or even a learning experience. It was a new outlook on Pittsburgh.
Seeing the giving and the receiving side of philanthropy further emphasized the diversity of the city, but more importantly revealed the unique partnership that organizations and foundations in our region share. Delving into the fascinating and revolutionary ideas of “green thinking” and L.E.E.D. construction at the Sarah Heinz House or the Children’s Museum reinforced my opinions of Pittsburgh as a pioneer in improving the environment. Witnessing the success of The Pittsburgh Foundation’s work with the Pittsburgh Promise proved that differences can be made. Interviewing Student Conservation Association summer interns for a Saturday Light Brigade radio segment, or talking to an arts professor at CMU during a green roofs tour, or discussing the condition of sidewalks with residents on Melwood Avenue for a documentary through the Pittsburgh Filmmakers made it hard to determine if I was actually working or just having fun. Being able to grant (in real money) $12,255 to Gwen’s Girls and $12,740 to Braddock Redux to encourage environmental education through youth-driven media projects was fulfilling and at the same time incomprehensible for a recent high school graduate. These were my real experiences. These were my real paychecks.
So now, as I go to cash-in on my very rewarding summer I won’t be looking for dollar signs but instead looking for the change-the change that I have made but more importantly the change that the internship has made on me. Thank you to The Heinz Endowments and The Pittsburgh Foundation for making this summer possible.
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