Summer Internship

Sarah Mikhelson reminisces about her internship in the Bet Shalom office from May to June 2021. She is currently a first-year student at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities studying International Business and Human Resources and Industrial Relations.

Sarah Mikhelson

As a senior in high school you get asked a lot about your future plans. What are you planning on studying? Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Do you have a future career in mind? Although I was unsure how to answer these questions, I did have some idea about my future. I knew I was planning on studying business and was leaning towards working with people. So I enrolled in a class at school called internship/mentorship, part of which involves working as an intern at a company and learning how it functions. I was fortunate to intern at Bet Shalom with Steve Barberio as my mentor.  When I expressed an interest in human resources, he guided me to focus on the membership side of business at the synagogue. I could not have asked for a better opportunity! I experienced talking on the phone with congregants and seeing how the synagogue runs. I sorted files, learned how to create a budget plan and participated in meetings. The best part was learning more about the people who work at Bet Shalom. Every person had their own story about how they came to be at the synagogue and what they love. For example, Lori Banker talked about how much she loves talking with congregants over the phone. As an intern it was rewarding for me to experience the sense of community and family between the employees. Everyone knows that they can rely on each other when they need help. 

Now as a college student I continue to learn more about the business world. In one of my classes, Contemporary Management, we talk about the different types of managers, teams, leadership and more. This class helps me think of my experiences in the Bet Shalom office in business terms, particularly how teams work. The best teams are the ones in which everyone contributes, meaningful results are produced, and team members are satisfied. So I cannot think of a better team than the one I was part of at Bet Shalom. 

Before my internship I didn’t realize the range of offerings at the synagogue including preschool, religious school, Torah study and more. The staff at Bet Shalom explained to me how they organize the different programs, communicate about their goals, and discuss the challenges they may face in the upcoming year and how they can meet them. They are what my teacher would call a “dream team.” 

I was very involved at the synagogue before my internship. I had been on the BeSTY board since my freshman year of high school and was co-president my junior year with my wonderful friend Emma Locketz. I was a madricha for the religious school. And best of all, I was a student who learned every Sunday and Wednesday that I could. I never thought I would learn more at the synagogue than I already had, but being an intern proved me wrong. Not only did my internship teach me how different parts of Bet Shalom’s business work and how to build a financial plan, but it taught me that the most important parts of having a strong business and team are the relationships between workers and with the community we serve. 

I want to thank every person who I worked with at the synagogue, especially Rachel Calvert and Steve Barberio, for teaching me so much and making me feel so welcome. I am forever grateful to have had this opportunity.

Sarah Mikhelson’s parents, Sofya and Mikhail Mikhelson, joined Bet Shalom in 1999 with their daughters Hannah and Sarah. Hannah was BeSTY President her junior year of high school and participated in NFTY. Hannah married Megan Littler in 2016.