Hey, there! I’m Katie, a Communications Intern at Gladney Center for Adoption. During my internship, I have worked with my boss, Noah Rodgers, to help create film and media content for Gladney University and AdoptED. After spending three years working as a Social Media Ambassador for Emory University and one year working as an intern in Emory’s Film and Media Studies Department, I was so excited to use my film and media experience to serve the Gladney community. Luckily, I scored the hands-on film and media internship of my dreams! My boss gave me the opportunity to help build our film sets, film the live-streamed Gladney University events, and create social media content for Gladney University. I also created documents with ideas for social media content and a social media calendar to help us brainstorm seasonal and holiday-related content for Instagram and Facebook posts. While I had a blast making documents about emoji usage and hashtags, my favorite part about my internship was the reminder that everything I did at Gladney was an act of service—for a birthmother, a child, a family, or a member of our community.

In those moments when I recalled that my work was true service with a real impact, I had a strong fire of motivation in my heart.  After all, I chose Gladney for my summer internship because I wanted to serve Gladney’s community and meet other people whose heart also burned with motivation to make a difference through adoption. I think that’s what impressed me most about Gladney. Every room I walked into was filled with people who have dedicated their careers to making a lasting impact on the lives of others through adoption. Every day at work was a chance to help someone. Not every office has this special fire of service in its employees’ hearts, and the difference definitely shows at Gladney. I am so grateful to have worked with such a giving and compassionate team during my internship, and I can’t wait to see what is around the corner for Gladney in the years to come. 

Watch my video below: