Written by Veronica Ortega
I am interning at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in the town of Taylor, Tx this semester which was honestly one of the last places I thought I would be working at. I have been going to this church for just about 10 years now and the people there never hesitate to lend a hand. I had been heavily involved in church when I was younger up until high school, then I went away for college and became distant in my faith. As if by a miracle I found myself back where I started when I found an internship position to help as an office aid just when I needed one. I help out the religious education director and my sponsor Carmelita prepare grades 1-12 for their classes and parish data entry in the office. Lita is what she goes by, and she is an amazing person to work with. Currently, I am working 3-4 days a week in my spare time when I am not working at my regular job. Because classes are being taught on zoom due to the pandemic, I go in during those evenings and prepare the computers in the rooms the catechists are teaching from. When I started we were focused on creating a confirmation retreat for the class that was preparing for their confirmation. After that event happened my main project then is to input all documents and information of students from paper to online into the PDS (Parish Data System). On the mornings I come in I work on the data entries, make phone calls to parents about upcoming events or send out reminders about first communion and confirmation. In the few months that I have been there, I have gained new skills of leadership and responsibility that will help me as I move through life. Learning team building as well and becoming more outgoing as a result of the people I work with who have brought out this sense of motivation from within me. It has been hard to find opportunities during the pandemic, but with dedication and motivation something will turn up when you least expect it.
One event that we were not expecting to hit as hard as we thought was the winter storm that affected thousands of Texans. We did a food and water collection and donated it to a local charity in town called The Shepard’s Heart that was then distributed to many families in town or the surrounding area who were in great need.
For anyone who is interested in an internship, the location of the church is in Taylor, Tx. A small town an hour from St. Edward’s in Austin. If you are currently living in this area or not far from it, this would be great. It is also an amazing opportunity to reconnect with your faith if you happen to be Catholic or religious in general. The church is always in need of volunteers as well and will be greatly appreciated. There are no applications or deadlines for this internship, you only have to reach out to the secretary who will then send a message to Carmelita, RED Director, and she will then contact you back. I will list her email, the church office number and the church’s website below.
Email:NSDGREd@att.net
Church Office #:(512) 365-2380
Church Website: https://www.ologtaylor.org
