by Cameron DeHart

I was one of the fall interns for the Secular Student Alliance in the fall of 2009. As a freshman at Ohio State, this internship was my first.  I believe that the skills I learned, the knowledge I gained, and the experiences that I walk away with will have a lasting impact on my education, career, and belief system.

The fall of 2009 marked both my entrance into the college and into the global atheist community. In high school, I made the journey down the path of religious uncertainty and came out on the side of irreligion. As I made my way into the adult world (as much as college life can be considered the adult world) I found myself wanting to become involved with the atheist community, to promote the ideals of secular democracy. I found that with my SSA internship.

Working under August Brunsman and Lyz Liddell, I gained valuable experience in two realms; office work and advocacy work. As a political science major, I know that both will come in handy down the road.  During my time with the Secular Student Alliance, I learned a number of skills that I can now apply to future internships or jobs. I honed my skills with Microsoft Word, Excel, email, and data entry. I wrote thank you letters and press releases, skills that are useful independent of the campaign. I edited various websites and completed various fact finding missions with various people and organizations. Along the way, I ran into, and overcame, every technological difficulty imaginable.

Outside of general office work experience, I became acquainted with many different aspects of the atheist movement. I developed a sincere appreciation for the thousands of individuals that are fighting everyday to defend the separation of church and state, reason in the classroom, and the First Amendment. Seeing the SSA work so hard to facilitate the thousands of atheist students across the country showed me that there really is a strong support organization for students like me.

I highly recommend an internship with the Secular Student Alliance for any student that is interested in immersing themselves into the greater atheist movement, and I thank August and Lyz for the opportunities that they have provide me.

Cameron DeHart was one of two 2009 fall quarter interns with the Secular Student Alliance.  The Secular Student Alliance hires interns every semester and over the summer.  Check our website or subscribe to the eMpirical to be notified when applications become available.