Micaela's Farewell to CHEER

It seems like a long time since I started my internship at Community Health and Empowerment through Education and Research (CHEER), to be more precise, it has been 4 months since I started working with the team. My experience at CHEER has taught me a lot about myself and it has helped me grow as a person. Working in the Health Program, alongside Karla Castro, showed me how to be able to communicate with people whether it be in English or in Spanish and improved these skills. Additionally, our main job was to help clients by starting a new health insurance plan, renew an insurance plan, or help with any technical assistance they needed. It took only a few days to get the hang of how the Maryland Health Connection system worked, but once learned, it was a piece of cake. It is definitely something that anyone is capable of doing and I definitely recommend volunteering to help out.

Not only did I have the opportunity of interacting with people at the office, but I was able to visit the Farmer’s Market. The Farmer’s Market is a friendly environment in which various organizations set up tables and promote what they have to offer. CHEER focuses on promoting good health for those suffering from Diabetes. They allow people to sign up for a fruit and vegetable program which makes them have a healthier lifestyle and reduce the symptoms of Diabetes. I really enjoyed going to the Farmer’s Market because everyone was helping each other out, there was music, and there was dancing. People loved it, and so did I. Unfortunately I did not get to go much, but from what I witnessed, it is definitely worth going to.

Lastly, I had chance to write a few blogs for the organization. It something I have never really done before, but I looked forward to it. I wrote a piece about the Farmer’s Market, encouraging people to go check it out. Another piece a wrote was promoting an event that CHEER was holding, along with other people and organizations. Now, I’m writing this blog telling people about my experience here at CHEER. This is almost like a farewell blog, but I definitely want to help out in the future.

CHEER has helped me improve so many skills that I can now apply to my daily life or to my future job. It showed me how involved organizations are with the community and how the community benefits from organizations like this one. There a many people who need help out there and organizations like CHEER help them with the problems they have. I definitely recommend that people check them out, that they seek help from them, and even help out. I was so honored to be a part of the team, even if it was for a few months.

Thank you CHEER and I hope to see you all soon!

Micaela De Madalengoitia