Summer intern Rara Istifadah shares her experience at Collectivity
As part of the Scott Kloeck-Jenson Social Impact Scholars program with St. Olaf College, I am interning with Collectivity as a Summer Undergraduate Associate this summer. Bittersweet is perhaps the closest description of how I am feeling now that this internship has come to an end. Bitter in realizing how short our time together was yet sweet because of the collaborative environment and opportunities that the team offers. Challenges, stretch zones, and flexibility in learning are the day-to-day vocabulary I was constantly faced with during my time with Collectivity. Over the past two months, I was given multiple chances to collaborate with various projects and clients. I am grateful but also, frankly, quiet surprised at the amount of trust given to me, which successfully boosted my confidence in my skills, knowledge, and myself —a quite rare treatment for people my age in a professional setting.
“Collectivity has shown me that the work is highly complex and intricate, but we can work through it together, slowly but surely, to achieve the systemic level of change we all hope to create.”
Folks who are born between 1997-2012 —generation Z, which I am part of— are often told that we are on our phones too much, we had it easy with everything, we are not doing enough and always procrastinate, and that we should be more productive. It seems like it was the overall traits of our generation, an umbrella classification that made it easier for people to put us in boxes despite our many variations of us. This is unfair to some of us and even undermines many who tried their best to survive the reality of life juggling academic, personal growth, relationships, work life, family, civic life, and self-care. Blame the global pandemic, the romanticization of hustle-life culture, and the monotonous climate change discussion, although the threats are clearly visible, one might say. It is true, in fact, since we are faced with such pressure at early ages to wave the magic wand to solve the consequences of past generation’s doings that we as the new generation have developed increasing mental health issues and depleting overall well being across people in my age.
Despite those expectations, I believe as a generation, we have shown resilience and adaptability to the constant societal pressure and unforeseen circumstances coming our way. I would argue that this only became possible because of the tight community we have created, online and offline, as we have a shared understanding of how prioritizing personal well-being is equivalent to improving community well-being. This reflects in our behavior and personality in treating others —we show more love, care, and kindness and are more attentive in listening and understanding how people work differently. We understood how beautiful it is to be different and how it becomes our strength in supporting one another. It seems my generation understood this aspect of life better than the older generation. I personally believe that this emotional intelligence is a secret skill that, once you master it, you will perceive things differently, help you easily see, and perhaps solve, many of the root problems we have currently in the present. It made us more forgiving to ourselves and others while also accepting that sometimes things may not work the way we wanted them to, and that it’s okay to take rest and not ‘produce’ something because life is really beyond just working.
“Once we value an individual as something bigger than just an entity within the workforce, only then could we see how system-level change could come true. This means giving space to breathe, allowing vulnerability, and shifting our mindset from output-driven to people-driven in each step of the work that we do in our workplace and also personal life. ”
With Collectivity, after spending many hours in a comfortable office setting with an occasional ping-pong competition or potluck learning circle, I realize how everything makes so much sense when you are together. The sense of community, even within your workplace, is as critical as it is in your social life because only then you would be able to move forward, make progress, and help the community to thrive. Although individualism and personal gain are unavoidable traits of our current society, engraved deeply in the system we live in, I am proud to have witnessed that so many of us still value community and the betterment of society as important aspects of civic life. Collectivity has shown me that the work is highly complex and intricate, but we can work through it together, slowly but surely, to achieve the systemic level of change we all hope to create. They made me believe that change is indeed possible –but only if you are willing to be proactive in including everyone at the table and collectively work together in solving problems and challenges along the way. I cannot think of any other place to be that will give me plentiful food for thoughts, reflections, and opportunities to see where I fit in society and what I can do as an agent of change.
That is what I am grateful for and value the most by working with Collectivity —its immense emphasis on collaboration and gratitude. Despite our differences in age, gender, background, and beliefs, we could step into the workplace with an excellent mindset of active listening, gratitude, and open-mindedness. Everyone’s voice matters and opinions are highly encouraged, where we welcome new knowledge with a collective learning mentality. This is exactly what we want, what my generation wants more; listen, listen, listen. Nothing is stagnant, and things are constantly changing –more collaboration across generations is needed. No one knows everything, and if we humble ourselves in willing to learn from each other, it would hugely change how we could influence our society and strive for the betterness of our community. Once we value an individual as something bigger than just an entity within the workforce, only then could we see how system-level change could come true. This means giving space to breathe, allowing vulnerability, and shifting our mindset from output-driven to people-driven in each step of the work that we do in our workplace and also personal life.
