My experience with hospice. By: Zoe Sikes

         
When I started my internship at Hospice of Southern Illinois, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I knew that I would be in the Community Education department, working with the marketing and advertising aspects of the company, but beyond that, I really didn’t know that much about hospice.  Every single day was a learning experience and every day was something new.  The Community Education department of Hospice of Southern Illinois does exactly what it says—educates the community about hospice.  Before my fellow intern, Angela, or I could educate the community, we first had to learn exactly what hospice was and what it is that Hospice of Southern Illinois does differently.  Our first couple of weeks, we shadowed our mentor Candice as she showed us what she does on a daily basis.  She taught us how to market a not-for-profit organization, build business relationships, and educate the community.  Eventually, Angela and I were able to go out in the community ourselves to teach people about Relais Bonne Eau, Your Community Hospice Home in Edwardsville, where Angela and I spent most of our time.

While the focus of the internship was with community education and marketing, we learned much more than just that.  What I loved so much about this experience was that they really wanted this to be a learning experience for us.  To do this, they exposed us to so much more than just hospice or marketing.  We were given the opportunity to shadow Christine, who works with the print and social media aspect of the organization.  Candice set up meetings for us with local business people to learn about what they do. We were even allowed to join in at Chamber of Commerce luncheons, something I would have never known about.  They wanted us to get as much as we could out of our time here. 

My experience working with Hospice of Southern Illinois has been nothing short of great.  They went above and beyond to give us knowledge that we can take with us far beyond this summer.  I am so grateful to have been given this opportunity to learn and to grow.   

-Zoe Sikes