Nakia Barham is the newest Community Impact and Investment intern.
She is currently at senior at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro as a Human Development and Family Studies major with a minor in Sociology. Nakia has always had an interest in the development from birth to adulthood.
United Way of Greater Greensboro: What’s the focus of your internship?
Nakia Barham: The purpose of my internship is to assist with the management and evaluation of the UWGG Strategic Partner investment process. I actively serve on the Health & Basic Needs Council and the Education Income Council review teams. To prepare for the current 2018-2020 funding cycle, I process application materials including the materials for volunteer review. I will also help to plan and prepare for 2019-2021 funding cycle.
UW: What‘s got you most excited about this internship?
NB: The idea of learning something new excited me the most about this internship. I have never worked for a non-profit organization before, nor have I ever worked with grants management. I enjoy learning about the functionality of big organizations and this internship gives me an inside look at exactly how the many departments intertwine creating an awesome team!
UW: At the end of your internship, what do you hope to have accomplished?
NB: I hope to gain an in depth understanding of how grants management works, how funding process are done, and how UWGG effects the community. I would love to build a support network with the many individuals, of all different backgrounds, who are a part of the UWGG team!
UW: What was your first impression of United Way?
NB: Before interning with United Way I was completely unaware of what the organization did. I also did not know that United Way was a non-profit organization. Starting my internship here, I met some of the most interesting and intellectual people. Everyone in the UWGG office is extremely welcoming and immediately accepted me into the United Way family! In just a few weeks here, I have learned so much about the company and what happens behind the scenes of their large community impact.
UW: What does service mean to you?
NB: To me, service means assisting in any way to have a successful outcome. It means helping others in ways that best meet their needs. Service is not meant for what you get in return, instead it’s what you can do within your power to give someone else what they don’t have. Service is all encompassing and there is always someone or something that can gain power by your service.
UW: Who is your biggest role model and how have they shaped the person you are and/or becoming?
NB: My grandmother, Debra Barham, is my biggest role model and my greatest inspiration. She has instilled much needed knowledge and resilience in me from a very young age. Her accomplishments in life are motivation for me to never stop learning and growing as a person. She taught me to use every situation and opportunity, no matter the outcome, as a learning lesson. I hope to one day make her as proud of me as I have always been of her! I am blessed and grateful to have such an amazing role model to help mold me into whom I was meant to be at my highest potential.
