When I first started this fellowship, ten weeks seemed like a really long time. Now we’re at the end of week ten, and I’m not really sure where all the time I thought I initially had went. My ten weeks at Zora’s House have truly been wonderful. I have been surrounded by super cool women who are on different personal and professional journeys, and have shown me what it means to find strength in vulnerability, care, and rest. Although I didn’t know about Zora’s House before the fellowship started and I didn’t really understand the depth of their work, working at Zora’s House exceeded my expectations for this fellowship regarding what I would gain and learn. Not only did I gain a new understanding of how a nonprofit works; I also learned more about what it means to be in community with other women of color from different walks of life and professions. At my university, I was mostly bonding with other women of color that were also students, or were spending a lot of time in a college setting. However, Zora’s House has exposed me to other women who are doing really cool things in my hometown. The organization has also exposed me to women who are learning more about themselves. Seeing these women “in process” and in different stages of life has shown me how important it is to take time to learn more about yourself and to give oneself grace in this process. This helps you better connect with others and serve your community, along with allowing you to become a better person.
I’ve had a tough time trying to figure out my path and who I am, but Zora’s House has taught me that you always have room to learn more about yourself, and that there’s always room for growth and change. This is one of the most important takeaways that I will cherish from my time at Zora’s House. It is also great to be in community with other women during this process, which Zora’s House also provides. I’m excited to continue to be in this space and help in whatever way I can for the next month, since my supervisor offered to extend my time at Zora’s House for another month.
Since this is my last blog post for the site, I want to say thank you to the Columbus Foundation for giving me the opportunity to work with such an awesome nonprofit for the past ten weeks (and be paid for doing so). I also want to thank my supervisor, Jami Jackson, and the CEO of Zora’s House, LC Johnson, for choosing me to be a part of the organization for the summer. I am so happy that I got the chance to help Zora’s House in whatever way I could for the past ten weeks, and I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Picture: Sweater that says “Zora’s Daughter, Sisters, Legacy” with the Zora’s House logo at the bottom.