Success Stories
Diana Hale
Most young people don’t focus on death and dying during their summer work experiences, but 20-year-old Diana Hale found a niche in that field as a summer intern at Calvert Hospice in 2010.
“I was looking for a job,” she recalled. She had completed a semester at the College of Southern Maryland, then transferred to the University of Maryland at College Park, but left in 2008 because “I had had a lot of problems in school and I needed a break to find myself. I got married, I had a baby boy, and I was looking for work.”
Ms. Hale’s dad told her about the Tri-County Council of Southern Maryland and suggested she apply to TCC’s youth program. After taking math and reading tests and providing the necessary paperwork, Ms. Hale enrolled in TCC’s Bridge to Success program, a set of workshop experiences designed to prepare young people for the world of work. “Every single time we went in, our instructor had us introduce ourselves – who we were, what we were going for job-wise, what skills we had that pertained to the job we wanted. We learned how to dress, how to interview, how to behave on the job.”
Meanwhile, Janel Young, Communications Specialist at Calvert Hospice in Prince Frederick, had received a flyer about the summer youth program and decided to give it a try. “I had always thought about having an intern in here,” she explained. “I remember being that age and looking for work. I thought it would be beneficial to us as well as to the young person.”
The position with Calvert Hospice was a good fit for Ms. Hale: “I’m interested in art, I’ve taken sculpture, ceramics, theater, graphic arts, photography. I was looking for pretty much anything in art.” In the interview with Calvert Hospice, Ms. Hale “talked about my interest in art and my graphic arts background” and landed a summer position as an administrative and marketing assistant.
Working three days a week over the summer, Ms. Hale updated the hospice’s contacts database, prepared a press release, and created several display boards for career fairs and children’s events. Drawing upon her art skills, she designed a Facebook page to promote the Shop for Hospice, a high-end consignment shop that donates its profits to Hospice.
Once a week, Calvert County Youth Client Services Manager Amanda Adams came on-site to interview Ms. Hale about what she was learning, which “helped me see where I started, and what I had accomplished.” Calvert Hospice’s Janel Young appreciated those accomplishments: “Diana benefited our organization by bringing her fresh ideas to the table. I’d hire her again.”
“Learning new things” was the best part of her summer job, Hale said, along with “doing things to help people out. I was able to let people know about the services Hospice has available. I didn’t know much about Hospice, but it really is a community thing, and everybody tries to help everybody else. They’re a really good organization. It impressed me especially since they deal with things that aren’t happy. I don’t think people know what to do when a relative dies.”
Future plans include returning to the College of Southern Maryland. “I like the idea of helping people,” Ms. Hale said, contemplating the possibility of art therapy, as a career. “Art is very therapeutic. I’m interested in finding out whether various media are especially effective for certain losses or stressful situations. Maybe using art to psychologically find out how people are able to cope with things, like finding the best way to relieve tension and stress. I think there are a lot of things I could do.”
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