From drafting a policy memo to maintaining social media accounts, Sociology and Anthropology major Meredith Gray ‘26 took on a range of responsibilities during her January term internship with the Hanover and King William affiliate of Habitat for Humanity. The hands-on workforce experience both benefited her professionally and had an impact on the local community.

“It gives me an idea of what I want to do and how I could use my major to do something like this,” says Gray.

“Meredith’s been great. She’s a great team player,” says Amanda Gunter, Director of Community Engagement at Hanover and King William Habitat for Humanity, one of the internship supervisors. “And she’s definitely willing to try a little bit of everything.”

That willingness is important in the nonprofit sector, where, Gunter says, staff often “wear multiple hats.” A major part of Gray’s job was to maintain the organization’s social media accounts. But she also helped design a new website for the ReStore, a Habitat-run thrift store that sells discounted home improvement items to help fund the construction and repair of affordable homes in the local area. As part of that effort, Gray created a video describing the ReStore’s metal recycling program, another source of revenue for the nonprofit.

Gray’s experience wasn’t limited to marketing and design. She drafted a policy memo focused on zoning regulations in Hanover and King William Counties, which tend to make high-density building projects—like the ones often undertaken by Habitat for Humanity—difficult. Gray stresses the need to keep affordable housing in mind when considering zoning reform. “You can change zoning laws and everything,” she explains, “But if you’re not making it specifically for affordable housing, it’s going to be bought out by really expensive developers who are building $3 million dollar houses, which doesn’t help anyone.” She’s also been tracking updates in housing policy in Virginia, including analyzing recent executive orders by newly-inaugurated Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger.

One of Gray’s favorite experiences from the internship was the opportunity to join Morgan Dean, Executive Director of the local affiliate, for a meeting with the Hanover Affordable Housing Coalition. “I just learned more about what people are doing for affordable housing in the area,” says Gray. “It’s really sweet to see how many people care about that.”

An important insight that Gray gained was the value of asking questions. “The first day I was like, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing,’” she says. “But I asked a bunch of questions.” Through that process, “I feel like I’ve made really good connections with everyone in the office.”

In all, the experience has been a positive one for Gray. At first, she was nervous at the prospect of an internship, but as it draws to an end, she knows she will miss it: “I could do this longer!” After graduation from Randolph-Macon this spring, she plans to pursue a master’s degree in criminology at York St John University in the United Kingdom. And thanks to her time with Hanover and King William Habitat for Humanity, she will carry with her the connections she’s made and the confidence that she can thrive in a workplace environment.