Grace Engelman Says Good-bye to Shang Shung Institute

Hello everyone,

Yesterday was my last day interning at SSI. I was sad to leave, and I feel as though I've grown attached to this place and invested in its future.

I wanted to thank all of you for welcoming me into this community with kindness and teaching me so much. I had wonderful conversations and experiences with all of you. The knowledge you have passed on to me related to non-profit work and Tibetan culture has been invaluable. I have learned how to write press releases, how to edit WebPages, and how to research and write policies. I have learned about Dzogchen and about Rinpoche's teachings. I got to see Khandroling and walk through the beautiful woods there. I got to attend an Open House and experience Yantra Yoga for the first time.

My main project over the course of this internship was putting together accreditation documents with Caroline, Bret, Will, and Heidi. I am excited to hear how the process continues, and I truly believe that it is possible. We now have a solid base to build on.

I'm grateful for this internship and the skills and knowledge it has given me. And I am thankful that it led me to meet all of you. I believe that SSI was exactly where I needed to be at this point in my life. I had valuable time to reflect on my interests and passions away from college, and I was deeply influenced by what I learned here.

I was told to provide you with some feedback about the internship, but I honestly cannot think of much that I would change. I can, however, tell you what I enjoyed! One of the aspects that I appreciated most was that I received guidance and support from Caroline and others while I was also given the chance to do a lot of independent work. It was a great balance between collaboration and independence. I also appreciated that Caroline made sure that I was exposed to many different types of work; I gained a comprehensive set of non-profit skills. And working on the accreditation process gave me a clear and grounding focus through it all.

Thank you for the time and openness and knowledge you have shared with me this summer, and thank you for trusting me to work with you. Whether you are on the SSI board, or I met you in the office, or I spoke with you on the phone, or you are part of the Dzogchen community, I am grateful to have shared time with all of you. This truly is a special place and community, and I want to stay connected.

I'm using my personal email to send this instead of my intern email so that you can contact me when I'm at college. Please feel free to reach out about anything.

Many thanks again!

With much appreciation,

Grace