Reflections from an Intern: Greg Massullo

Greg was a great leader for these, and other, boys.

This week, you’ll hear end-of-summer thoughts from the three college interns. The order of publishing will be when they sent me their answers, which (you may notice) is exactly opposite of their introductory post. Today’s post is from Greg Massullo, but be sure to check out what Anna Marshall and Joseph Berry had to say.

Besides helping out at our Elevate Summer Camp, Greg interned with Vision Ministries, volunteered at other summer programs for children, and built connections with local teenagers through playing basketball.

Reflections from Greg Massullo

1. What has been your favorite part of being in Allendale?  My favorite part of this summer has been getting to know the kids down here. Other than the little kids, I have gotten to know Denzell Washington (no relation to the famous one) who is a really cool guy. We connected because of our love for basketball and have built a relationship since.
2. What has been your biggest challenge?  My biggest challenge has been trying to manage a split internship. Half of my time and effort was to be with Joey Espinosa and the other half was to be with Vision Ministries, a local church.
3. What surprised you about Allendale?  I was most surprised by how many things there were for me to do if I just put myself out there willing to volunteer. I came down to Allendale for a week before my internship officially started and it seemed like I was going to be grasping at straws to find work, but when I finally came down to Allendale for the summer I was almost overwhelmed with work.
4. What advice would you give someone who was thinking about being an intern in Allendale next year?  One piece of advice I would give to someone who is thinking about interning down in Allendale is to be flexible. Agendas and plans can and will change daily. You as an intern needs to be able to adapt and work with people’s schedules. Another thing I would say is if you tell someone you are going to do something don’t back out. Your word means a lot to the people down here, and if they can’t trust you then you have nothing.
5. How has God used this experience to grow you?  God has taught me a couple of things while I have been down here. The main thing God has taught me is how important community and relationships are. The people of Allendale really understand community. Watching them interact and depend on one another has been awesome for me. Before coming down to Allendale I took relationships for granted and not always made an effort to keep them going, but now I see how important they are. Another aspect of relationships I’ve learned is to be intentional with them. It is one thing to just be friendly with someone and it is another thing to challenge each other and take every opportunity to spread the Gospel you can.

Something I have learned about myself while being down here is that if I do not force myself to make relationships and find different things to do to work I can be very isolated and content with being alone. I have an out going personality, but I also have a side to me where I enjoy being by myself. This is not necessarily bad. I just need to be aware of it so I do not waste my time.