UD alumna Rachel Brieger wasn’t sure what she wanted to do professionally—until she took an English undergraduate class focused on grant writing. 

“I don’t know if a course in grant writing is common at most universities,” said Brieger. “ENGL314 was what introduced me to the career, and I loved it.”

As a senior, Brieger made the tough decision to switch majors and graduated with a BA in English and a minor in Women and Gender Studies. Now she serves as an associate grant writer for Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey, Inc. 

Brieger helps support the mission of empowering individuals with disabilities and barriers to employment by gaining independence through work. With three sectors—Workforce Development, Behavioral Health and Services for People with Developmental and/or Intellectual Disabilities—Goodwill helps people become employed through job training and placement, teaching life skills and providing holistic treatment to support their emotional, social and vocational wellbeing. 

The long list of Brieger’s tasks include writing applications, researching funding opportunities, building relationships with prospective and current funders, keeping track of how grant money is spent, writing progress reports and more.

“This is my first career after college,” she said. “Right now, my only goal is to continue doing my best. I’m excited to become more confident in my skills and proud to call myself a professional grant writer.” 

A key component to all of her current duties is communication, which has long been one of her strengths. During her time at UD, Brieger worked as a tutor in the Writing Center, providing one-on-one writing assistance to students and collaborating with faculty and staff about best practices for tutoring services.

In Fall 2023, Brieger served as a digital communications intern for Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) Delaware creating social media posts for Instagram and Facebook, as well as writing blog posts. In this role, Brieger contributed to campaigns around human trafficking awareness and teen dating violence awareness for the YWCA Delaware’s Sexual Assault Response Center. These campaigns reached more than 100,000 social media users and actively engaged around 8,000 participants.

Brieger also dabbled in event photography, including the YWCA Delaware’s holiday market which spotlighted local entrepreneurs and gave Brieger meaningful interactions with the community. 

“Being the photographer of a holiday marketplace for YWCA was the highlight of my internship,” she said. “The event was sponsored by the organization, and I had helped create the social media posts for it. Dozens of local women and Black-owned businesses had set up shop, and I got to speak with each of them. Seeing the impact of my work face to face further motivated me to pursue this field.”

This experience helped prepare Brieger for work in the nonprofit sector, and she credits resources at UD for setting her on the right path.

“I never could have gotten even close to where I am now without UD’s support,” she said. “I’m so beyond grateful for the Student Success Center for the Arts and Humanities, especially my internship coordinator and supervisors. They sent several opportunities my way that I took advantage of and that provided me with invaluable experience. I don’t know how I would have been hired into the nonprofit sector without them.”

Brieger’s advice for students interested in nonprofit work is to pursue multiple internships, even if it’s not your dream job. 

“Get as many internships as possible—and I don’t mean that in the ‘collect ‘em all’ way; I mean, gain as much knowledge and experience as you can,” she said. “Even if the role is not aligned with the one you actually want, take it anyway. For example, if you want to be a grant writer, but you were offered a nonprofit internship for marketing. Nonprofit work is inherently collaborative. Learning about all of the different facets of the field goes a long way.”

Additionally, Brieger encourages UD students to consider the benefits of nonprofit work that go beyond pay. 

“Never let anyone convince you that a higher salary is more important than doing what you care about,” she said. “This obviously doesn’t mean to accept a job that doesn’t pay a living wage. But it’s been drilled into our heads that work isn’t supposed to be enjoyable. That’s not true at all.

“Yes, my career at Goodwill is sometimes stressful and overwhelming,” Brieger continued. “But it does wonders for my mental health to know that the work I do positively impacts the lives of those in need. Valuing how your life is spent is worth infinitely more than extra cash.”