Anonymous ’19

Multi-Service Eating Disorders Association, Newton, MA

Multi-Service Eating Disorders Association (MEDA) is a small, community non-profit in Newton, Massachusetts, that assesses and treats eating disorders. During my time at MEDA, I did many different kinds of projects, ranging from data entry to designing marketing materials. As a marketing/development intern at a small non-profit, I had the opportunity to contribute to many small efforts and was able to learn about how non-profits work in the day-to-day and also how they set goals for the future. In my first week at MEDA, my supervisor invited me to a meeting with the board to discuss one of the upcoming events. From the start of the internship, I was invited to be a part of the daily decision-making, and I was immediately immersed in the workings of a small non-profit which allowed me to really gain an understanding for how marketing decisions are made and the importance of developing a coherent image.

The best part of my summer was knowing that I was helping a cause very dear to my heart. I am extremely interested in the treatment of eating disorders and raising awareness about issues of body image and mental health in general. I love that MEDA is a community organization that helps so many people and works with professionals and educators to increase awareness of an issue that is often overlooked, even among healthcare providers. Although small, MEDA has had a large impact on the Newton community, and I loved feeling like I was contributing to their cause.

One of my favorite projects at MEDA involved creating donation posters. I was given free rein to develop a donation call-to-action phrase and then design the posters from scratch using the online graphic design tool Canva. I also created other marketing materials like laptop stickers and Instagram posts promoting MEDA’s services. I found these projects immensely satisfying because, although small, I knew I was contributing in a valuable way. I also created a comprehensive brochure detailing all of MEDA’s services. This felt especially valuable since MEDA did not have any materials like it. I also worked extensively with MEDA’s data management program, Donor Perfect. Previously, I had no experience with Donor Perfect, so I learned a lot about the program over the course of my summer. Most of my time on Donor Perfect was spent “cleaning up the data” on donors, clients, and professional members. This entailed running a report of all the duplicate entries and researching each name to see whether some of the entries could be deleted. I would run reports for certain mailing lists and make sure the salutations were filled out and correct. Although much of this work was tedious and not as exciting as some of my other projects, using Donor Perfect taught me to think in a different way. Now I am as proficient in Donor Perfect as many of the long-term employees at MEDA because I did so many projects using it.

I also appreciated having the opportunity to do some grant work during my time at MEDA. For this, I researched grants that pertain to mental health, education, and community non-profits to develop a list of possible grants we could apply for. After going over the list with my supervisor, we picked a grant for me to write, and I got started. I felt a little overwhelmed at the beginning since I had never written a grant application for a non-profit. I found, however, that working on this application helped me really get to know the services MEDA offers and learn how to write in a persuasive manner. I also know that grant writing will be especially useful in some of my future pursuits, so I am thankful I had the opportunity to learn from an experienced supervisor.

MEDA also gave me the opportunity to pursue my own research project. For this, I reviewed recent literature on Instagram and body image to uncover whether “fitspiration” accounts really do affect body image and encourage eating disorders. The review that I ended up writing allowed me to pursue something that I had been interested in for quite a while. At the end of the internship, each intern presented her project to the office. My primary interest in working at MEDA actually involved gaining exposure to MEDA’s clinical services, so this project created some experience that was more directly related to what I want to pursue upon graduation. In this respect, I also made an effort to learn as much about the clinical side to MEDA as much as possible. Since I was not allowed to sit in on any assessments due to privacy concerns, I, along with the other three interns, conducted informational interviews with all of the clinicians. These interviews were immensely helpful because they allowed me to explore what it is like to be a therapist and how to get there. Since I am debating applying to graduate school this fall or waiting until next year, I really appreciated having the opportunity to talk to clinicians with varying levels of experience and different graduate degrees. I found that I was able to get the experience I was craving while still working in a marketing intern capacity.

I was actually able to witness a huge transition for the company, since while I was there, the executive director of over 20 years retired and the new director came from a very different background. Due to the small setting, I found that the employees were eager to open up; they were all very honest and free with their opinions of the company and the transition. I loved how warm and open my coworkers were, and overall, I had an amazing learning experience. Working in an office helped me develop my communication and time management skills, especially because I was usually given a list of tasks and was expected to finish them all in a timely manner.

In an effort to take advantage of everything MEDA had to offer, many of the interns would attend the MEDA events that took place outside work hours. The first event I attended was especially informative for me. Termed “Networking with a Purpose,” this event is hosted a few times a year by MEDA and allows professional members to meet and learn about eating disorder treatments. At this event, we learned about family therapy techniques, which I found fascinating. I also went to two “Hope and Inspiration” events where women who had recovered from eating disorders shared their stories. Looking back on my summer, I am so grateful I was able to attend Hope and Inspiration. I learned so much from the two women who spoke, and they helped me understand a little more about the process of recovery.

Working at MEDA this summer was meant to help me explore non-profit work as it relates to mental health. Through the work I did, the questions I asked, and the people I worked with, I was able to imagine myself working full-time in a place like MEDA. This brief internship allowed me to dip my toe into the field I am considering entering upon graduation from Williams. Because of my time at MEDA, I am now sure I will be applying to graduate schools for clinical psychology, and I am so grateful I had this opportunity. Thank you so much to the ’68 Center for Career Exploration and the Kraft Family for the generous grant that allowed me to pursue this internship.