The Intern Experience: Vetted into the Nonprofit World

Each Summer, Code Platoon has the pleasure of gaining an intern through New Sector’s Summer Fellowship program. For three months the selected intern gains firsthand experience in the work we do at Code Platoon, and this year we had not one but two incredibly talented folks join our team. Jewel Hale and Chip Lauterbach, both of whom are Marine Veterans.

“During my summer working with the amazing people at Code Platoon, I was able to get a firsthand glimpse at how a non-profit worked,” Chip says. “I was fascinated by the level of commitment that each member of the team had and even more impressed by the skills of the students that were on display in the class sessions that I observed. Overall, the team with Code Platoon made me feel right at home. The fact that many of my coworkers were also Veterans and that our students all share that connection to the U.S. military made me feel that I could contribute back to my fellow Servicemembers.”

“Working with Code Platoon has been an incredible experience,” says Jewel. “As a Veteran myself, I was very excited to partner with an organization that focuses on improving the lives of Veterans and military spouses.” 

While serving in different departments, Chip rocking the Marketing side of the house with his hit piece Rapid Fire Questions, and Jewel stepping up to plate for the Development submitting a sizable grant for the organization, both experience the same feeling of welcoming to the team and endured the odd challenges that come with the remote work experience. 

“I received such a warm greeting from the leadership and staff, including the department I worked with, the Development team. Alicia and Brenna have been fantastic supervisors and teammates,” says Jewel. “In our weekly meetings, I felt included, like I was a part of the team. Everyone was so encouraging and always offered assistance if I needed it. I was extremely nervous because I had minimal experience working with development, and I was not yet used to working from home. It was really nice to know I had that support.”

“I worked directly with the social media marketing team and seeing all of the hard work that went into making Code Platoon’s online presence take shape gave me the type of experiences that I practiced and studied while in college working on my degree in broadcast journalism,” says Chip. “Journalism and Social Media Marketing are definitely different, but both utilize many of the same tools and online presence. Working remotely from my home in Richmond, Virginia, also presented a challenge, although by now most people have adjusted to work/life during this age of social distancing and my coworkers at Code Platoon made me feel welcomed and were ready to hit the ground running when it came to working on tasks.” 

“I am grateful for the opportunity to work with and learn from those at Code Platoon,” Jewel says. “I have learned so much that I know will contribute tremendously toward my career in the nonprofit sector.” Chip agrees with that same sentiment.

“My experiences here have helped me prepare for the next steps in my life, and I am very grateful to everyone at Code Platoon for this opportunity,” says Chip. “I think more Veterans would benefit from knowing about Code Platoon.”

We are beyond impressed with the hard work and dedication they provided in such a short span of time. While their daily presence in the organization will be sorely missed, we are confident that they will continue to do great things with their careers and we hope that they will remain in contact as members of the Code Platoon family. 

Jewel Hale is Code Platoon’s Summer Development Intern. She served in the United States Marine Corps and is attending Norfolk State University with a major of Sociology. 

Chip Lauterbach is Code Platoon’s Summer Social Media and Marketing Intern. He served in the United States Marine Corps and just recently graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a major in Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Political Science. In his free time, he enjoys running around playing games with his daughter and thinks of the great outdoors as his second home.