By: Samantha Smith
I knew the moment I walked into Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio that this was a place that I definitely wanted to be involved with. I knew this was the perfect place for me to spend my summer semester internship while also receiving class credit at Ohio State. I knew it would be somewhere I spent a little bit of my time and I did hope that it would be an organization I could donate lots of my money to later in my life when I was a little more financially stable. I knew I liked the people…the other interns, the families, the staff, the volunteers, the facility and especially the kids. I knew that the events they put on and the fundraising dollars were going towards something that was incredibly worthwhile. I knew that initially, I liked it here but I never knew and could have never imagined how much I would grow to love it.
Now, stepping into my new position as the Communications Manager at RMHC, it’s become clear to me how much I really do love this place. Upon graduation, I, similarly to other recent college grads, wasn’t completely sure what I wanted to do, where I wanted to work or really just what path in general I wanted my life to go down. I was scared and nervous and spent some time weighing my options and deciding what to do next. This opportunity came across my plate at just the right time and I feel so fortunate that it did. I couldn’t imagine leaving my internship and not visiting this amazing place almost every week and now I get to be here almost every single day! Although I’ve only been here “officially” for a short amount of time, I feel that this House and these families have already changed me. I can’t wait for all of the opportunities to come, the even larger amount of amazing people I will meet and most importantly getting to see the work I’m doing change families lives for the better. I know from my own experiences and in my own life how important my family is to me and I can wait to do my part in the many efforts made every single day at RMHC to keep families close.