This is my letter to San Francisco, to every district, to the Muni and to every sidewalk my feet have ever touched. I write as if I’m not coming back to the city in a month and yet these bittersweet emotions still rise up into my body; swirling around in my heart and soul to the beat of the most beautiful orchestra music . . . the hums of San Francisco echoing all around me. What a gift it was to intern at City Church San Francisco and the Center for Faith and Justice.
There are so many gifts from my internship in San Francisco that my heart is holding on to, but I can surely say that if anyone were to ask me, “What was San Francisco like for you?” I would choose one of three options. Below are my most meaningful takeaways from San Francisco:
1. Grief and compassion are friends, don’t try to separate them and always keep them warm.
To engage in any integrative and holistic social justice work, you must be prepared to hold a heart of compassion with a heart of grief because these are never to be separated. Together compassion and grief, arguably, make up the foundation of our communal selves and if not kept warm, if not acknowledged as one unit, people get hurt.
2. The weight of the world shouldn’t be yours to carry alone, and it shouldn’t be assumed that YOU need to carry all of it.
There is so much pain I want to take away from people and I keep wishing for different circumstances for myself and others, but what good does that do if I am silently grumbling the pains in my heart. Together, we carry pain and together we sow the seeds of social justice, equity, and inclusion. It is through community that pain can be held.
3. There are just certain things that you will hear that won’t settle right, explore that with people who agree and disagree with you with wonder.
I’ve had some of the most difficult conversations in my time in San Francisco with folks I am super close with and with those I have just met. These are conversations that have taught me the levels of grace I need to extend to myself and more often than not, to others as well. It’s been a time of discernment for me. I have learned how I want to create boundaries for myself in order to be fully present in my circles and the varying situations that are bound to come my way.
Dear San Francisco, you are home to these memories. You are home to the broken, unhoused, hurting, widowed, anxious, joyous, beautiful, and content. You are a place of rest, change and adventure. I’m grateful for the Sigma Tau Delta Internship Stipend for helping to financially support this valuable experience.
Kaylee Dangc
Internship Stipend Recipient, Summer 2024
Alpha Zeta Kappa Chapter
Westmont College, Santa Barbara, CA
Internship Stipend
Sigma Tau Delta offers funding for current undergraduate and graduate student members accepting internships for which their expenses exceed what they will be paid. Sigma Tau Delta will not cover expenses related to tuition and/or student fees. The Internship Stipend is a competitive program providing a limited number of stipends of up to $1,500 each.
The internship must involve working for an “organization” while being directed by a supervisor/mentor within that organization, and the intern’s duties must be consistent with the applicant’s level of education, area of study, and career goals. Financial need will be taken into consideration in addition to internship length. Applicants are responsible for obtaining and providing verification of the internship. Check out BestColleges’ Ultimate Guide to Internships for advice in finding and applying for internships.
The internship stipend does not apply to activities that are part of a student’s pre-professional degree requirements, such as student teaching or capstone internships in journalism/technical writing, and cannot be used to supplement a graduate assistantship. Students are eligible for the internship stipend award one time per internship.
Eligibility
Applicants for an Internship Stipend must be:
- an active student member of Sigma Tau Delta;
- pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree; and
- enrolled part- or full-time in a degree-seeking program.
Applications for the Internship Stipend will be accepted through November 11, 2024, 4:00 p.m. CT.
Past Internship Stipend Recipients
A Fulfilling Internship with Shelby Pride
An Internship Stipend Supports Opportunity with National Journalism Center
My Editorial Internship with Drunk Monkeys
Her Bold Move: An Internship Stipend
An Internship Stipend Proves the Benefits of an English Degree in the Philanthropic Sector
The Value of an Internship Stipend
A Writer in an Artists’ World: My Internship at an Arts Nonprofit
An English Major’s Summer Internship with a Legal Nonprofit
An Animated Summer: My Internship with the Florida Animation Festival
The Cost of an Unpaid Internship
How a Sigma Tau Delta Internship Stipend Allowed me to Pursue a Great Opportunity
The Price of an Unpaid Internship
An English Major in a Neuroscience Lab
To Be the Practical or the Spark; That is the Question
Understanding the Power of the Storyteller and the Story
My Internship at the LARB Publishing Workshop
An English Major on Capitol Hill
Spring Internship Stipend Applications Due Soon
Writing Internship for AGAPE
McIntosh & Otis Internship: Preparation for a Dream Career
An Eye-Opening and Goal-Affirming Internship: My Time with Penn Press
My Indie Summer Internship at Wise Ink
Winning an Internship with About.com
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