Juli Pritchett, a senior in Health Sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia, completed an internship with the Red Cross in Disaster Services which helped her explore career goals, satisfied her academic requirements, and made a significant contribution to disaster readiness.

Originally from St Charles, Missouri, Julie came to the University of Missouri in Columbia to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences with major coursework in Public Health, Psychology and Human Development & Family Studies. She chose Mizzou after a tour of the campus. It was close to her hometown, was a good financial value and provided the academic programs she was seeking.

As part of her degree, Juli needed a semester long internship related to her field of study. Her father had a friend that worked for the Red Cross. He helped connect her to the Red Cross personnel team. She applied to Red Cross for an internship and was selected. She served from August 2022 to December 2022.

Juli’s assigned project related to congregate sheltering. The American Red Cross provides congregate sheltering to those who need to leave their home during a disaster or emergency.  All are welcome to come to a Red Cross shelter. All Red Cross shelters are accessible to people with disabilities, and service animals are welcome too. During times of disaster, Red Cross shelter staff provide a safe place to stay, meals and a caring presence for those impacted. Shelters are temporarily established in schools, churches and other facilities near the disaster effected area.

Juli’s internship project focused on the availability of Personal Protective Kits ready for distribution to Red Cross shelters in Missouri when needed. Personal Protective Kits consist of items like gloves, N95 masks, gowns, sanitizer, soap, disinfectant wipes, and temperature thermometers.

The first task for Juli was to contact Red Cross staff around the state of Missouri to inventory existing kits stored in distributions centers.  She created a spreadsheet to record the findings from the contacts she made. This process provided a basis to understand what supplies where available, what items were needed to restock kits and establish a plan to purchase needed supplies. Some locations had too many supplies, while other locations were short on specific items. Juli coordinated the trading of items to balance and fill the kits. She also recorded which items had a shelf life that required disposal and restocking to keep the kits fully stocked. The goal was to determine the how many kits were needed in each geographic region and to place them strategically in distribution centers for easy deployment in times of disaster.

The second step of the project was to provide better documentation of items in the Personal Protective Kits, and how the items were to be used by Red Cross staff and clients in the shelters.  Juli created safety tips for shelter clients on hand washing, social distancing and how to use the kit items.  The tips included written instructions and picture guides.

Throughout Juli’s internship she felt highly supported. She had weekly conversations with Karla Duncan, Red Cross Senior Disaster Program Manager. Karla helped Juli understand the need for and importance of the project and provided her guidance on who to contact and what information was needed to achieve the desired results.

As Juli reflected on her internship experience, she noted, “I didn’t realize how much the Red Cross relies on volunteers.” Volunteers make up 90% of the Red Cross and help carry out over 60,000 disaster operations each year nationwide. “I also learned a lot about how the Red Cross is structured by regions, like Missouri/Arkansas and territories within the region,” she said.

Juli also worked closely with Melody Smith, Red Cross Volunteer Services, Youth and Young Adult Engagement Lead. Melody served as Juli’s mentor and provided required documentation and evaluation to meet the academic requirements for her university internship credit.  Juli commented on Melody’s leadership style saying, “In the beginning she provided good direction. As I got going, they let me do it. They gave me the flexibility I needed to get things done. If I needed help, she would say, ‘We are going to figure this out together.’”

Should other students consider an internship with the Red Cross? According to Juli, “Absolutely, it is so worth it.  All of the people I met though the Red Cross were there because they wanted to be there.  I never met a more helpful and genuine group of people. They were so helpful to me.”

Juli could see herself in a career with the Red Cross.  She understands that working in Disaster Recovery is beyond an 8 to 5 job.  She thinks the people she met during her internship represents the culture of an organization that matches her personal values. She was able to learn about the duties and responsibilities of positions like Disaster Program Specialist stating, “It would be the kind of work I would like to do. I love to plan things. I like to be flexible. It would fit my personality. I want that kind of experience.”

The Red Cross is thankful that Juli reached out to explore an internship possibility. She made an important contribution to the readiness of our disaster shelters.

For more information on how you can become involved as a Youth and Young Adult intern, visit www.redcross.org