What makes a person a good candidate for service with a non-profit organization? Having previously created your own non-profit organization certainly doesn't hurt. Before the forty-plus pages of Institute-related materials that participants would receive upon arrival were stapled, hole punched, paper clipped and put into binders, they had to be compiled from information gathered over the past five months. The schedules, participant bios, course overviews and other materials found their place through the efforts ofInstitute Coordinator Alina Tudose.

Tudose, who also coordinated last year’s Institute, began planning for the Institute’s seventh year in January. Originally from Romania, she received her Bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Bucharest before getting her Master’s degree in international relations and European studies from Corvinus University in Hungary. While in college, she created a non-profit organization with her friends, building an online newsletter sent to 50,000 people. The goal of the site was to empower young adults, encouraging them to grow intellectually and socially by traveling abroad and becoming culturally aware. Her involvement there created the foundation for her current work with BuildaBridge.

She chose to work for the organization because it “empowers vulnerable people through their programs,” and she has “professional experience in the field of empowerment.” At the Institute, BuildaBridge emphasizes these ideals of empowerment. However, she found planning for this year’s Institute more difficult than last year’s preparations due to the increased complexity of having two tracks--one for newcomers and another for returning participants. With two tracks, there would be more details to consider, more people to engage and more work in general. Still, she said that her reward would come in the days ahead, “when it happens” and all of her months of hard work come together.