Summer 2020 was the inaugural season for the Ethics and the Professions Internship Program. With the onset of the global pandemic COVID-19, the intended in-person internship program was necessarily converted to an entirely remote teleworking experience. Thanks to the flexibility of the interns and the willingness and adaptability of the placement hosts, each of the 6 interns held a tele-internship at one of 4 partner organizations.
Intern responsibilities ranged from donor stewardship and philanthropic research to generating and revising crucial programmatic materials to authoring vibrant online and print content. Complementing these resume-building opportunities were the interns’ weekly 1:1 conversations with different members of their host organizations. Students explored a vast array of considerations around ethics and work, such as personal and organizational values and mission, vocational fit, and ethical practices in fundraising, journalism, social services, and education.
The intern cohort also had the opportunity to hear from 3 outstanding guest speakers throughout the 8-week experience. Over Zoom, these professionals shared about their own vocational journeys, complex ethical decisions, leadership choices, and personal values:
Stemming from the richness of their internship tasks, their ethical conversations, and their discussions with guest speakers, students chose diverse topics to delve into for their individual independent Ethics Exploration projects. Topics included motherhood in the working world and the ethics of maternity/paternity leave policies, the formation of a professional’s personal mission statement, ethical decision-making within an organization, best business practices among non-profits, and job satisfaction among legal practitioners.
To learn more about some of the Summer 2020 EPI experiences of our interns, check out the profiles below!
Jordyn Mayer
- Class of 2021
EPI internship: Portland Monthly Magazine
"I applied for the Ethics and the Professions Internship program because I was interested in the opportunity to challenge myself intellectually and professionally and utilize an ethical perspective to frame different issues in the workplace while having conversations about the role of ethics in professional ambitions and work environments. "
Lauren Carlos
- Class of 2021
EPI internship: Portland Monthly Magazine
"What intrigued me most about the EPI program was the opportunity to sit down each week for a 1-on-1 conversation with a working professional and engage in honest, open conversations about ethical dilemmas at work, organizational mission, culture, and decision making."
Mollie Rutz
- Class of 2020
EPI internship: Hour Children / Hour Working Women Program
"I applied for the Ethics and Professions Internship program because I wanted to analyze everyday work occurrences through a different lens. It was important to me that I was able to see the intention behind different actions, to identify the motivation driving someone or some policy."
Noah Lamberger
- Class of 2023
EPI internship: WorldOregon
"I have an interest in applied ethics and was eager to learn about how different people and workplaces address and navigate professionalism."
Dulce Sanabria Garcia
- Class of 2021
EPI internship: WorldOregon
"One of my favorite moments has been having the opportunity to listen to the other interns about their particular experiences and reflections in their own placement organization. I think I definitely learned a lot from them and gained curiosity and knowledge about industries outside of my own interests."
University of Portland
5000 N. Willamette Blvd.,
Portland, Oregon 97203-5798
503.943.8000
