The idea of community

My internship has truly changed my perspective on community. Given that this is a remote internship, going into this internship, I was nervous that I would lack a sense of community, but it has given me a deeper meaning and understanding of what community means to me. With the diversity of my team, coming from different backgrounds, living in different places across the United States, and having different interests, I believe our “internal” community has the strength of differing perspectives, problem-solving abilities, and approaches. On the smaller scale of community, my direct team of interns, I believe we have been able to learn more about each other in addition to recognizing each other’s strengths and using them to our advantage. However, this is not the only sense of community I have encountered throughout the duration of this internship. As we have progressed and discussed how our efforts are making an impact, I have learned more and engaged with my global community. Being that our internship aims towards improving healthcare, health education, and access to care in a country halfway around the globe, I have seen how actions within one small community can have lasting impacts on other communities, which inevitably brings us together as one large community.