A College Intern’s Experience at HCI
June 10, 2026
by Karra Howles as a Guest Columnist for the Northfield News
As a St. Olaf College senior this past year, I had the opportunity to intern as an office and operations team assistant for Healthy Community Initiative.
Before starting my position at HCI, I had heard of the organization in passing but did not realize its full impact until joining the team through St. Olaf’s community-based work study program. I was drawn to HCI because of its emphasis on partnering with various health organizations, and its principles of community collaboration, youth engagement and equity — values that aligned with my own.
For many college students, it is challenging to gain real-world experience and skills that set us apart for our future careers after college. Several times, I found myself in classes where I was not sure how to apply my learning in future health careers. However, during my internship with HCI, I learned how a nonprofit organization’s workplace functions, work ethic goals for employees, the depth of planning that goes into every health initiative and the critical role of donors in sustaining impactful work in the Rice County community.
In my role, I helped support community-based health initiatives by organizing program resources, including care packages and naloxone kits for local programs such as Growing Up Healthy and the Rice County Chemical and Mental Health Coalition. Throughout my internship, I expressed interest in integrating my academic pursuits in data science, public health and psychology with community-based work. In collaboration with two other St. Olaf students, I partnered with the RCCMHC through HCI to investigate how community members’ attitudes toward substance use shape empathy and public support for harm reduction programs. This research enabled me to gain experience in designing a survey measuring exposure, empathy and substance use perceptions. Our findings were later published on the organization’s website.
While there were limitations to the study, our results found that participants in the community with prior health training or who had taken educational courses on the causes of addiction were more likely to express support for community health funding, free safety and wellness supplies, and helping during an overdose.
Before working at HCI, I was unsure of what kind of career I wanted to pursue after college. However, I now have greater clarity surrounding the values and work I seek at future health organizations. Most of all, my community-based work study allowed me to apply my knowledge and skills in work that directly impacted the Northfield and Faribault communities. I hope more opportunities can be provided for students to work with organizations like HCI in the future, as community-based work study programs truly help students prepare for post-college careers.
The opportunity to work with these dedicated, kind and supportive professionals, and the opportunity to witness the work they do every day, was inspiring. I am immensely grateful for my intern experience, as I have become even more passionate about pursuing work at a nonprofit public health organization similar to HCI after my time there.