As a college student you learn a lot about yourself. You find out what you want to do, who you want to be, and most importantly you find out how you want to leave your mark on this world. For me, I want to leave my mark by helping people and “creating opportunities” in my community, and that is why I choose United Way.
I should start by introducing myself. My name is Rachael Chupka and I am currently an intern with the United Way of Jefferson and North Walworth Counties. I am a senior at UW-Whitewater and will be graduating in December with my bachelor’s degree in Business Management with an emphasis in healthcare administration. Last year I took the nonprofit management class as an elective and it quickly became one of my favorite classes. During that class, I had the pleasure of meeting Megan when she came and talked to us about her job with United Way. When the opportunity arose for me to work with Megan I was thrilled.
After only a few days of working at the United Way I quickly learned of all the great services that our United Way either provides or is involved with. All of these programs offer a wide array of support to community members to help them get connected with the resources they need. My favorite part about United Way is that they are, in a sense, the middleman of the operation. We have the pleasure of taking the generous donations from the community and making sure that they are allocated to worthy causes within our community. It is the community members of Jefferson and North Walworth county that make these programs possible. This organization works to fight for the health, education, and financial stability of every person in our communities and I am so lucky to be part of that effort.
United Way’s focus this year is on “creating opportunity”. United Way of Jefferson and North Walworth County has created such an amazing opportunity for me, and I am so grateful. This internship will allow me to grow my skills, gain real world experience learning more than I ever could in a classroom. I am excited to take this opportunity and use it to give back by helping work towards “creating opportunity” for others during my time here. I look forward to connecting with you all in the next couple of months.
Rachael Chupka
United Way Intern
