Meet Raghu Kasa, one of Meritan's Interns!

With National Intern Day being the last Thursday of next month, we wanted you to meet one of our amazing interns named Raghu Kasa. Raghu is a first-year Master of Health Administration graduate student at the University of Memphis. He completed his undergraduate education at University of Alabama at Birmingham. His Bachelor’s degree is in Public Health. Some of his hobbies included camping, hiking, backpacking, playing ultimate frisbee, rock climbing, and mountain biking. However, due to the pandemic, he has been stuck at home for the past year. While at home, his new hobbies are reading lots of books and playing chess. He hopes that things will go back to normal soon. Raghu is currently an Administrative Resident at Meritan. 

1.    What was the most favorite part of your internship?

I enjoy being able to rotate and work with different departments within the organization. This has given me perspective on how a non-profit organization functions at various levels. This has also allowed me to work with different co-workers and I’ve been able to learn a lot from them.  

2.    Did Meritan provide you the tools to be successful with your career? If so, what professional development and job training did they provide for you. 

Yes, this year has mostly been working from home due to the current pandemic. Meritan has provided me with access to their google shared drives and anything else I needed. Mostly, I helped out with different projects. This allowed me to work independently. I was also able to get feedback from my co-workers about the projects I’ve worked on.

3.    Can you share a story of when you knew that your work makes a positive difference?  It can be more than one!

Recently, I was in charge of making standard operating procedure packets and informational packets about the COVID vaccine. This was really important because Meritan is one of the few organizations involved with delivering vaccinations to people at home. This process allowed me to understand the different protocols for vaccine storage, and delivery. I was able to package this information in a way that could be useful to vaccine providers and recipients.  

 4.    Was there a staff member that you considered a mentor and/or helped make your internship experience valuable? Please list their name and describe the work relationship. 

Photo of Meritan’s Virtual MASKquerade Ball

Kyle Eaton, Meritan’s Continuous Improvement Officer: He is my mentor. Kyle has really shown me the quality management operation side of things. I have been able to work with him on several different projects, and he has taught me a lot of valuable skills. He is also very friendly and always happy to help.  

Chessie Hayes, Director of Development: I was able to work with Chessie over the winter. She was able to guide me with program outreach projects. I helped with the Silver Bells donations and the virtual winter party. She is very enthusiastic and passionate about her work.

 5.    Do you have any words of wisdom that you’d like to share?

I have really enjoyed working with Meritan. It is an incredible experience. All of the people are friendly. I was also able to rotate with some of the field workers to see what the nurses and physical therapists do during the in-home care visits. It is a great organization and they are making a positive impact in the lives of others.