Saying goodbye to our time in Durham, NC, was surprisingly hard. During our approximately six weeks here, I have really enjoyed my work at OEWD and talking to the staff there. This past week has been both a blur full of farewells as well as preparation for the next portion in England.
At the start of the week, Sean and I were informed that we would be presenting a funding proposal to the supervisor of the Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD). We scrambled to put together a PowerPoint that effectively summarized the proposal we had already written last week. Essentially, our main purpose was to provide recommendations for how to improve and expand the Youthwork Internship Program through technological strategies, such as creating a website. The next day, we had a 1.5-hour presentation/meeting with our two direct supervisors as well as the overall OEWD supervisor, during which we discussed our recommendations and how the program wanted to move forward toward its goal of expansion. It seemed to be a productive and effective meeting, as the overall conclusion was to try to implement the changes we proposed as soon as possible.
On Friday, our last day of work, OEWD threw the four of us who had been working there a goodbye party! Filled with free food and heartfelt speeches, it was definitely a moment to remember. Our supervisors all thanked us for our help, and I was surprised by how much I knew I would miss these people and the work I had been doing in the weeks to come.
Then, this past weekend, we journeyed to the UK. As I write this blog post, we have just arrived and settled into Durham, England. It seems almost surreal—before today, I have never set foot in Europe, and now I am surrounded by British accents, beautiful buildings, and cars that drive on the wrong side of the street. We have only briefly explored Durham, UK so far, but I am beyond excited for the adventures to come!
