By: Ebony Taylor
Right when I finally memorize all of the login passwords and am confident enough to say that I know what I’m doing, my final days at The Women’s Center are here. As a senior intern, I felt this job was only a requirement for graduation, just get through it and you’re done. I realized quickly that that was not the case. I am glad to have had a role that challenged me mentally and emotionally this semester. Having taken Women and Gender Studies classes in the past, I would not have called myself a feminist back then, for fear that I would be labeled as a “man-hater” or receive strange looks from others.
Even as I stumbled through my first event that I helped program, I was determined to not make the same mistakes again. This internship taught me to embrace the unknown and learn to ask questions. Believe me, I had a lot of them! I also credit my coworkers, peers, and directors for inspiring me to put my whole self into my work, and I think that has been reflected in the work I have done this semester. There are only so many things that can be learned from the classroom, the others by experiencing them. I will honestly say that that those I have worked with this semester were truly amazing and I am honored to have been a part of such a great team. From the open and deep conversations about any topic, the laughs shared in the office, to the many collaborations on projects, it has been a memorable experience at the Women’s Center. I am now proud to wear my “This is what a feminist looks like” t-shirt in honor of what The Women’s Center represents and what we offer to UMKC.
My only regret is that I did not participate in past Women’s Center events or work study in my early years at UMKC. I hope to take my new and restructured skills of organization, marketing, and coffee-making with me into post- graduation roles and hope to see the future of the Women’s Center advance the programs left behind by the Class of 2022.
Hasta la vista, UMKC!