Tanner Wilson ’21 chose criminal justice as a major, with a minor in psychology, to “do his part in helping others,” he said.

When he discussed internship options with Dr. Christina May, internship coordinator in App State’s Department of Government and Justice Studies, she recommended Hospitality House — a place where he would encounter a broad look at some of the needs in the local community.

Wilson, who is from Burlington, said during his internship he interacted with people dealing with a variety of difficult problems — including poverty, substance misuse, domestic abuse, mental illness and loss of employment.

“It’s one thing to learn about these issues in the classroom, but when you experience them in real life it is different. It was a very humbling place to intern, to be able to help people every day,” he said.

The internship helped Wilson build his communication skills, he said. “Being able to relate to people from different backgrounds, and just trying to put myself in their shoes to understand how they’d like to be treated in their situation, really strengthened my people skills,” he said. “I will carry this experience with me to apply to whatever job I have in the future.”

At the completion of his internship, Wilson organized a cleanup day in the Brook Hollow community surrounding Hospitality House, in which volunteers picked up trash, worked in the agency’s gardens and spruced up landscaping.

Summers away at camp while growing up in Greensboro inspired Caitlyn Brewer to major in recreation management-recreation and park management at App State. “My love for the outdoors and for recreation is a driving force in my life, and I want to help provide those same opportunities for others,” she said.

Brewer added a minor in nonprofit organizations after volunteering with Hospitality House, Western Youth Network and Mountain Alliance while a student at App State. She said her internship at Hospitality House gave her the space to bring together her passions: recreation and serving others.

During her internship, Brewer planned and executed a “Kick for a Cause” kickball tournament, raising $4,000 to purchase bikes and support other recreation efforts at Hospitality House. She enlisted support from a group of recreation management students in her Program Planning course who “helped make it all happen,” she said.

“Todd Carter allowed me to take the reins and run with my ideas,” said Brewer, who also raised funds to hold a tie-dying event for the shelter’s clients.

Brewer, who plans to graduate in August, said she aims to pursue a career in the nonprofit sector. “It means so much to me to not only do work that I love, but to do work that makes a difference,” she said.

A passion for helping people motivated Lauren Anderson ’21 to first volunteer, then serve as an intern for Hospitality House. She served regularly in the kitchen and food pantry, interacting with the shelter’s clients as she worked.

“I am very much a people person, so most of the skills I gained as an intern were relationship based,” Anderson shared. “When you pour your heart into relationships, you create things that are life-giving. I feel blessed to have been able to meet and know the staff, clients and volunteers at Hospitality House.”

Anderson, who earned a Bachelor of Science in communication sciences and disorders and a minor in nonprofit organizations, plans to pursue further education in audiology and then work with clients with speech, language and hearing disorders. First, though, she is taking some time off from her studies and is employed part time as a shelter associate at Hospitality House.

While at App State, Anderson was a member of Gamma Beta Phi — an honor and service society — and also volunteered with Watauga County Special Olympics, App Builds a Home projects with Watauga Habitat for Humanity and other service organizations.

As an aspiring physician, Julianna Roupas ’21 focused her Hospitality House internship on client health. She was tasked with encouraging those in need to visit Boone’s Community Care Clinic and assisting the volunteer physician with recording health histories and measuring vital signs for patients prior to their visit.

Roupas — who earned a self-designed Bachelor of Arts in interdisciplinary studies at App State with a focus in studies of integrative health sciences, along with a minor in Spanish — will begin medical school in the fall at Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University.

Through her experience at Hospitality House, Roupas said she learned how to have difficult conversations with others and explain medical resources in a clear and effective way.

“I developed relationships — based on trust and understanding — with the people I was working with and expanded my empathetic capacity through hearing the unique stories of each patient,” Roupas said.

Prior to her internship, Roupas had volunteered at the Community Care Clinic for two years. In fall 2020, she researched health disparities in rural Appalachia. Her time at Hospitality House enabled her to learn more about the people of the region who are affected by negative health outcomes, she said.

“I was able to recognize the interconnectivity between homelessness, mental health and chronic disease. For vulnerable populations, every day is a battle and time cannot be taken for granted. I came to understand how I can better serve these populations as a doctor in the future,” Roupas said.

Jakin Rohlinger, a senior majoring in criminal justice with a minor in psychology, said his internship at Hospitality House was an eye-opening experience. “All of us interns were surprised to see the realities of homelessness in this community and the problems people go through,” he said.

Rohlinger said he “did a little of everything” at Hospitality House, from working in the kitchen and food pantry, to running errands and office work. His most rewarding experience, he said, was client interaction — building his communication and conflict resolution skills while helping people who were in crises.

“Some of the clients struggle to communicate, so I worked hard to make sure I really understood what they were trying to tell me, because there were some serious situations,” Rohlinger shared.

Rohlinger, who plans to graduate in August, chose to come to App State because of the reputation of its criminal justice program, he said. His experience at Hospitality House inspired his plans for this fall: to begin App State’s Master of Public Administration program, with a not-for-profit management concentration.

He has been hired as a shelter associate at Hospitality House, where he plans to work during his time as a graduate student.

Meghan Smart ’21 said she wore “lots of hats” during her internship at Hospitality House. “One day I was sending thank-you cards to top donors, the next day I was chefing it up in the kitchen, and the next I was putting together a bed for a new family. I learned to be flexible with my schedule and figure out what needed to be done without having a supervisor direct me every step of the way,” she shared.

Smart, a student-athlete who earned a B.S. in communication sciences and disorders, with a minor in nonprofit organizations, secured the internship to satisfy a requirement for her minor. She said she appreciated learning the behind-the-scenes aspect of a nonprofit operation.

“Todd Carter taught me the importance of stewardship, keeping track of donors and donations, and all the small tasks that make a big difference. I learned how it takes everyone working together to make Hospitality House run smoothly,” Smart said.

Smart, who called her internship “the experience of a lifetime,” said she learned a lot about herself and what she would like to do in her future. She said her dream is to work as a speech-language pathologist for Operation Smile — a nonprofit organization that performs cleft lip and palate surgery for children in developing countries.