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Reflections of an Intern

20170717_112106-instagram-smGuest Column by Abby Kingsley

It has been almost two months since I concluded my internship at Livable Buckhead (LBI), and I learned more in my time here than I have in entire semesters. As a student of economics and political science, I have always been interested in the non-profit sector and sustainability, but I had no idea what each field entailed. Through this internship, I have learned the intricacies of what it means to be a non-profit and witnessed the intense legwork required to implement sustainability programs.

Going in I had very few expectations. Despite my lack of experience, I was overly-confident that I could handle anything thrown at me. To my surprise, I immediately found myself out of my depth. It did not take long for me to realize that I had entered a completely unfamiliar world. Every day I would encounter mysterious acronyms that coincided with my projects. Words like ABBC (Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge) and CID (Community Improvement District) suddenly meant something and were part of everyday speech. With each new project, I was able to understand a little more of their code and eventually apply it myself.

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