Joey Moore, Director of Barb Food Mart, has been an Intern Supervisor many times over the years, including this semester.

Q: What is your favorite part about supervising interns?

Joey: I love seeing interns make connections between what they are learning in the classroom and how we live those ideals in the workplace. I also like hearing their ideas, we are all about innovation and interns bring a new energy to our work.

Q: What advice would you give an organization who is hosting an intern?

Joey: Start out the internship with clear expectations for both parties. Set goals and a schedule. Work together to make both of these realistic. Set up regular check in times. Celebrate your intern’s accomplishments with your team. Hosting an intern can be a great way to bring in new ideas or tackle a project that was previously on the back burner.

Q: Can you tell us about a time an intern had an impact on your organization?

Joey: Savannah Curry is our current intern. Not only has she tackled some of the projects that we chose together she has also taken initiative to help us grow by working on our Linkedin page and other profiles. We have now hired her as a temporary staff member to support our operations as well as special projects.

Sandra Balleno was a past intern. She worked closely with volunteers and helped us refine our processes. We have since hired her as a consultant and translator, and she works on special projects such as family focus groups.

Q: Please share any additional comments you have about your internship experience. 

Joey: Thank you to the Roberts Family Foundation for supporting this program, together with our interns we are are pushing the boundaries of what is possible and continuing to innovate. By supporting the next generation of nonprofit champions through these internships we can ensure that our community is well cared for.

The Internship Program is a collaboration between the DeKalb County Nonprofit Partnership, the Center for Nonprofit and NGO Studies, and Career Services at Northern Illinois University, supported by the Douglas C. and Lynn M. Roberts Family Foundation.