Catherine's Internship Experience

As a summer intern at Alzheimer’s Services of the Capital Area, I am leaving with much more than I came with. I never realized how common and devastating the Alzheimer’s disease was until I met people from all walks of life – discovering the majority of them knew someone personally coping with this disease or knew someone that had passed because of it.
As I worked in public relations office connected to the respite center, Charlie’s Place, I discovered that even the office workers - from the receptionist to the executive director - were passionate about their work. It has become more and more apparent that the workers truly care about the families coping with Alzheimer’s and really strive to spread awareness about the incurable disease. Charlie’s Place workers enjoy working first hand with the Alzheimer’s patients that arrive everyday, while the office work is done to raise funds for the respite center and keep the organization running in hopes of educating and comforting families coping with Alzheimer’s.
I knew since I was young that I knew I wanted to work with non-profit organizations, so what I am taking from this experience is to “do what you love and love what you do.” Much like the passionate workers at Alzheimer’s Services, in the near future I hope to be a strong believer in the organization I will work for.

-Catherine Wiemer, LSU PR student and Alzheimer's Services Summer 2009 PR Intern