Ellabay Perry Reflects on Chamber Internship
The Chamber created an internship experience to be emulated. Down the road, when I am at a place where I oversee an intern, I hope to create a similar environment. I never felt less than and always found the tasks I completed to be helpful to my future and helpful to the office. When I started at the Chamber, I knew that I wanted to observe the daily processes of non-profit business but I learned so much more. Learning is a collaboration of the little things and the big things, some of which I will share.
A couple impactful big things:
• Working with the public depends on the public but can be viewed in a growth mindset light.
• Putting heart into the process doesn’t mean I have to take the good and bad to heart.
A couple silly little things:
• A printer requires pep talks at times.
• Saying “my desk” or “the office” is pretty cool.
This year was my first Oil Heritage Festival and it was rewarding to see the pieces come together. Planning and executing makes time fly. It took months to get things in order for four days. It makes me think of the process it takes to get a meal on the table. First, you plan what to get at the grocery store. Then, you go to the grocery store and buy the items. After getting back home, you prep and cook the items. It seems like moments between everyone sitting down and the start of clean up. Just like that, the meal is over and the process begins again. Some express gratitude and others just see it as a part of life, an expectation from meal to meal.
With the Chamber, the planning and prep consists of phone calls, spreadsheets, and to-do lists all the way up to the day of the festival. With the proper preparation, the festival is a time to enjoy. But just like that, the festival concludes, summer begins to transition to fall, and my time as an intern at the Chamber comes to an end.
– Ellabay Perry
Tori McClelland Reflects on Be Here Internship
I have lived in Oil City all my life, and I am going into my junior year of studying computer science at Penn State Behrend. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work at the Chamber, as I have learned invaluable skills and had meaningful experiences. Because of this internship, I have grown both personally and professionally, and I would like to reflect on the time I’ve shared with the Chamber and my community.
In these past few months, I have met so many passionate, dedicated community members. These residents use their talents to develop the area and dream big to envision our collective future. As I built relationships with these individuals and their groups, I am proud to say that I have found where I stand among them. As a direct result of being exposed to new, unique perspectives, I have gained a more holistic view of not only who I am as a person, but who I am as a Venango County local. Just as the area’s leaders have inspired and guided me, I hope I have touched residents’ lives meaningfully, no matter how small it may be. Though I now better recognize how everyone is different in valuable ways, I realize how much we all have in common. We all want a better life for ourselves, our families, and our neighbors.
My success in this internship would not have been possible without the support of all the Chamber leadership and staff. I sincerely thank Susan, Kat, Tessa, Ashley, Heather, and Ellabay for their help this summer. Whether I needed advice for planning an event, or I just couldn’t get the printer working, someone was always there for me. It has been great getting to know them, and I hope we keep in touch. I am confident that we will continue to provide opportunities for growth and development in Venango County!
– Tori McClelland
This article was published in the Venango Chamber’s September 2024 VenangoWorks! Newsletter.