Allison reflective blurb

This summer I had the opportunity to intern at the Memphis Gay and Lesbian Community Center (MGLCC), an organization that seeks to empower, educate, and advocate for the LGBTQ community of the Mid-South. Because the MGLCC is the only LGBTQ community center in the entire Mid-South, what the center lacks in size, it makes up for in a variety of support groups, social groups, HIV and STD prevention programs, and rehabilitation programs for youth experiencing homelessness, to name a few.

One of the issues that the LGBTQ community faces in Memphis is health disparities that arise from discrimination from healthcare providers, and lack of education and connection to resources for people living with HIV/AIDS. I worked on two large projects during my time at the MGLCC. The first project was to identify and contact all the pharmacies in the greater Memphis region to determine whether each store carried Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis and Post Exposure Prophylaxis, two drugs that are used to prevent the spread of HIV and reduce the risk of transmission. Although the project was detailed and time consuming, the information that I collected will be used to bolster future projects that the MGLCC takes on pertaining to HIV prevention and education. The second project was to identify and contact healthcare providers around Memphis that are LGBT friendly and to create a referral list for both insured and uninsured people in the Mid-South. This list will provide our LGBTQ clients with a primary or specialty healthcare provider that is affirming and accepting of their identity - which in turn will encourage more people in the LGBT community to seek the help of healthcare providers.

I learned that many non-profits in Memphis have to do a lot with a little, and the MGLCC is no exception to this. All of the staff members at the center juggle many projects at once and as a result, it often takes a while to muster all the time and resources that a project requires. In the non-profit world it seems very easy to get caught up in the small daily tasks that are required to keep the center up and running, like mopping the floors, answering the phones, and taking inventory of our food pantry for youth experiencing homelessness. Even when tasks seemed small or insignificant, however, they always all up to a bigger picture, or make a difference in the long run. My definition of service has expanded over the course of the summer. While I still think of service in idealistic terms, I've learned not to underestimate volunteering yourself in small and practical ways. When people asked me what I do as an intern at the MGLCC, I would reply, "whatever anyone needs me to do." I am so glad I was given the change to work at the MGLCC this summer, and I know I will build on the skills that I learned there in both academic settings, and future jobs.