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Emily McClain

Ms. Seymour

English 103

12 September 2011

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            Interview someone about their job in a non-profit? What to ask? Are they even going to want to talk to me? Will I even ask the right questions?  These were the questions racing through my mind after I sent the cordial e-mail to the Director of the Community Service Center here at the University of Alabama.  Politely, I had asked to speak with her about the CSC for my English class and surprisingly she had emailed me back within the hour referring me to the assistant director, Rachel Edington to meet with.  Immediately I set up an appointment with Rachel for 1pm on Thursday.

            Soon enough it was 12:30pm on Thursday and I decided to head over to the Ferg since I’ve learned from my dad if you aren’t 10 minutes early, you’re late.  Approximately 10 minutes later I arrived in front of the spouting fountain and a small droplet of sweat presented itself across my forehead.  Luckily I was 20 minutes so I had time to run to wipe the droplets of sweat that had accumulated and make sure my black dress with pink flowers still looked as cute as it had in the morning.

            Now it was time for me to walk up the staircase to the third floor and try to find Rachel Edington’s office.  She said the room number was 346, so I find it but there is no one at either desk.  Then a man with a scruffy beard and untame hair peeked his head out at me and I just blurted out that I was looking for Rachel Edington.  He just nonchalantly pointed at the room across from his and then he disappeared back into his cubicle.  Briskly, I walked over and then slowly looked into the room to find a woman with curly blonde hair sitting at her desk.  As I introduced myself I put my hand out to shake hers.  Just from the handshake I could tell she is a bit more timid than myself.  Her hand was limp in mine.

            Next, the interview began.  I came prepared with my flowered spiral notebook and my black ball-point pen.  Awkwardly, I asked the first question about what programs they offer here.  As I did, I thought to myself, “Please let this awkward vibe go away.”  With this question she not so much answered it with her quiet, slightly monotone voice as she did by handing me papers and flyers about their various programs.  Then she began to talk about Hands on Tuscaloosa which is Tornado relief effort.  There are approximately four or five different locations for this particular project.  Also discussed was the Beat Auburn Beat Hunger event, sleep out on the quad event, their various alternative breaks, as well as their weekly service events.

            Beat Auburn beat Hunger is an event where we, the University of Alabama, try to collect more canned food than Auburn and it begins October 10^th.  Sleep out on the quad is designed to raise awareness of homelessness, where students camp out on the Quad for the night.  As we discussed this particular event, my mind was fixated on wanting to go and do that during the spring.  I have a personal interest in homelessness and have done a lot of volunteering with homeless programs.  I tried to make a connection with Rachel by providing my previous experiences with working with the homeless, but she did not provide me with much of a response.  Therefore, we moved on to the topic of the Alternative Breaks.  Alternative Breaks are service projects groups of students go on during their breaks, whether it be fall, winter, or spring break.  The downside to this is that the students have to pay to be involved in these volunteer efforts.

            Slowly, our conversation died down. More awkward pauses interjected themselves, leaving us staring at each other not sure what to say, so I shifted the conversation from the projects themselves to Rachel herself.  With this topic I felt we had more to talk about and she showed a bit more enthusiasm in her voice because it was something I couldn’t just read on one of the pamphlets she handed me.

            As the assistant director she helps plan the programs for the students and even goes on some of the Alternative Breaks.  Another thing she is just recently in charge of is Crimson Outreach.  In fact, she just created this organization this year.  One of the things I wanted to know about her is how she ended up in this position.  She even seemed a bit weary on how she ended up here in the office we were sitting in.  For a while she worked for Residence Life and Greek life.  Within that she helped with the organizations volunteering.  By helping them volunteer, she discovered that is what she wanted to do and then applied for the job she is currently doing.

            Since I gained a good understanding of both her and the community service center itself I waited for one of those notorious silences to creep up in our conversation.  I slid in a ‘thank you so much for your time’ and excused myself.