As we are closing out our final week here at the Great Shape! office in Spokane, we would like to say goodbye to all of those awesome people we have worked with during our time here.  We are so thankful to have had the opportunity to become part of the Great Shape! family.  We hope to stay in touch as well as volunteer with you on one of the three projects. 

First to say goodbye is Stephanie, an intern since September 2011.  She will be graduating in three weeks from Gonzaga University with a public relations degree and a double minor in communications and sport management.  She is hoping to spend the next year as an AmeriCorps member and delve into low income and affordable housing issues in the United States.  “Being with Great Shape! for nine months has been an exceptional experience; the people I’ve met and worked with have been such a blessing.  I love coming into work everyday knowing that the awareness I bring to social media sites and the events volunteers plan are making an amazing difference to thousands of people in Jamaica. This internship has gone above and beyond my expectations.”  Though she is sad to go, she is excited for her next adventure and chapter in life.  Continuing service through AmeriCorps is a dream come true; humanitarian work is such a breath of fresh air.

Second is Lindsey, an intern since February 2012.  She will be working this summer in Portland, OR as a camp counselor for people with physical and intellectual disabilities, then continuing on to her senior year at Gonzaga University in the fall.  She will be earning a degree in public relations with two minors in promotions and broadcast studies in 2013.  Although her time with Great Shape! has been short, it is an experience she will carry with her for the rest of her life.  “I’m so thankful to have participated in the amazing service that Great Shape! offers.  It is such a rewarding feeling knowing that the work I did impacted the lives of people in a different part of the world.”  Lindsey’s favorite experience working with Great Shape! was learning more about the beautiful culture of Jamaica and relaying it through social media and blogs.  Lindsey is appreciative of all she has learned here and she looks forward to experiencing more meaningful and rewarding opportunities like this in the future.

Jill has been an intern since October 2011, she will graduate this June from Eastern Washington University with a degree in technical communication and a minor in visual communication design. This summer she will be working on an organic farm, then leaving for Jamaica this Fall as a volunteer with the SuperKids Green Team. While interning with Great Shape! Inc., Jill finished her first full grant, and is excited to take that experience out into the world to write more. She intends to work as a grant writer and public relations pro with local non-profits. “Working with Great Shape has been an amazing experience. I have loved becoming part of such a dynamic humanitarian community, and look forward to building on this relationship. I am so excited to meet everyone in Jamaica!” Jill feels so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with such a fun and supportive team and to have developed powerful and a vast amount of communication skills working with Great Shape! Inc.  She looks forward to taking these skills out into the world.