On Getting an Internship at TSM

Getting to and navigating new spaces can often be difficult or challenging. This process can also be easy if you know the right people, do your research, and are fully committed. Those 3 reasons are why I’m interning with The Spark Mill this semester.

My name is Omar Ibrahim and I am a Bonner Scholar at the University of Richmond. As a Bonner Scholar, I have made a 4-year commitment to be civically engaged in the City of Richmond. I have served about 10 hours a week at the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club in a mentor capacity for the last year and a half. It has been one of the most enlightening and rewarding experiences of my life and I’m grateful for every moment I get to be a role model to the students. However, I felt that my civic engagement was lacking and that I could do more.

I began looking for opportunities in more of a capacity-building role with professional development opportunities. I was also very interested in potential consulting roles or learning more about the profession. One Google search led to another and I found myself on The Spark Mill’s website. After diving into the website I began to do some more research on LinkedIn and found that Sarah knew my advisor at the Bonner Scholar program. I asked him if it was possible if he could connect us and we had a meeting set up for the next week. After sitting down with Sarah and explaining what brought me to her and what I was interested in, we decided they were everything I was looking for. We took care of some things logistically and I was officially offered an Internship position over the summer.

My favorite part of the process, and something a lot of my fellow students overlook, was that I was looking for something to help me grow as a professional and I utilized every bit of information and part of my network I could to get me to a place where it was possible to reach my goals. Whereas most students are just throwing resumes and CV’s at every employer that’ll look at them. I truly felt I had something in common with The Spark Mill - a passion to help people - and I let that be the driving force behind my interests.

With all that being said, I am thrilled to get started and bring a lot of energy to the team. More importantly, I am very excited to learn and take in as much knowledge as possible, while also making a difference and solving issues that I am passionate about.