A Collection of Defining Moments

Each summer, we're lucky to be joined by two co-op students who, without fail, contribute a great deal to our organization. This year was no exception, with Crystal Man and Mikaela Nuval bringing unique skill sets, fresh perspectives, and a ton of enthusiasm to the RCRG team. In this blog post, Mikaela talks about her summer at RCRG - her first professional experience and, by extension, her first time working at a non-profit organization. As you'll see, it left a lasting impression. 

It can be said that choices can define and shape you, where a defining moment will trigger difficult questions that can only be answered by revealing their inner values. I can definitely say that my first professional experience as the Volunteer Centre, Information & Referral Assistant at Richmond Cares, Richmond Gives (RCRG) is decidedly one of the defining moments of my life as a young professional.

Where my friends pursued their growth within corporate environments, I pursued my growth by reconnecting with familiarity and my own values. Contrary to a co-op advisor’s advice, I didn’t choose the cushy privileges of a corporate role defined in human resources, and instead chose to work with a non-profit organization that spoke to me with its culture and identified with my inner purpose. This initial decision would lead me to an organization that has greatly shaped me in developing my skillsets, enhancing my professional aspirations, and allowing me to explore unseen possibilities.

Through RCRG’s flexibility and internal community, I could explore all aspects of the organization and contribute to each one. For example, I worked with both RCRG’s Seniors Community Support Services and the Child Care Resource & Referral Centre towards the end of my co-op term.

Contrary to a corporate environment, where a co-op student would not be able to move between departments, I was allowed to experience many areas of RCRG.

In working with Seniors Community Support Services, I learned about the grocery shopping program, and got to interact with the people our services directly benefit. By helping Child Care Resource & Referral with their inventory, I learned about the resources available to parents, families, and child care providers in Richmond. I moved beyond hearing about the programs to seeing how these programs addressed different needs in the community.

As part of the Information & Volunteer Centre department, I was tasked with updating the online Community Services Directory and Richmond Seniors Directory, and ensuring that all of the listings were accurate. In contacting over 500 organizations, I learned about business writing and communication with other organizations.

However, the main lesson I learned in the work was the immense number of non-profit services that are available in my local community. I used this newfound knowledge to communicate with the wide variety of people I’d encounter at the front desk, inquiring if anyone could help them.

It was during my front desk coverage that I had an epiphany: there will always be a need for non-profit organizations and the services they provide. There will never be a time when a senior does not need help understanding government programs, or a newly immigrated family doesn’t need assistance accessing community services. In a pragmatic sense, I realized there will always be work in the non-profit sector, which is often overlooked for career opportunities.

In my interactions with the other members of the Information & Volunteer Centre team, I acted as staff support for fundraising events such as Steveston Wine Fest and Beer Fest. While I watched my supervisor and my colleague coordinate volunteers to set up the event, my interest piqued in working as a Volunteer Manager. I watched them interact with warmth and control over the event, even as things would get hectic or a couple glasses would be broken.

I also came to work on communications projects, launching the official RCRG Instagram and writing a press release for the Leadership Richmond – Youth Now program. Through these experiences, I discovered my love of communications work – from designing Instagram graphics to writing the press release – which has led me to re-evaluate how I can continue to enhance my communications expertise while in school. In a way, RCRG redefined my career aspirations, making me look at alternate opportunities I never considered.

Towards the end of my term, I created my independent projects, including a sponsorship tracker and, in collaboration with another co-op student, a volunteer recruitment organization contact list.  Looking back, I realized that the core of my motivation to create these projects and expand myself beyond my key tasks was because I greatly valued what the organization did, and saw countless opportunities to contribute to it. Therefore, I came to see that it is through passion that motivation comes naturally.

Working with the tight-knit team of RCRG, I realized that I cannot merely work for any corporation, especially where I do not see meaning or purpose in what they do. It emphasized the importance of inner value alignment and the necessity of a compassionate work culture, one that I can only describe as the RCRG family.

My experience at RCRG will continue to define me and the choices I make in my professional career moving forward, as it has already shaped me in my time here.

Thank you to everyone who I had the privilege to work with, for influencing me to move forward into creating community impact with my work, and for all the support you gave me during my term.