Meet our 2020 Summer Interns!
The urgency of our mission to elevate effective solutions that improve equality in our city has only been heightened in recent weeks. We’re a small, yet mighty team, so it’s always a pleasure to welcome enthusiastic young people to join us in accomplishing that mission through our internship program. While things may be a little different right now due to COVID-19, these seven individuals rocked virtual interviews and for now, and are #dointhework remotely along with the rest of our team. It is a tremendous honor to introduce you to our 2020 Summer Interns! With so much going on in our world, we wanted to kick things off on a lighter note and find out what they were looking forward to the most this summer. Check out their responses to that question and more, below.
Anna Montgomery Atwi
Pronouns:
She/Her/Hers
Major:
Business Administration w/ minor in Leadership Studies
Summer Plans:
Getting to know the CCI team and learning about the network of entrepreneurs and organizations CCI is supporting across Atlanta.
What Anna is looking to gain from her CCI Internship:
I'm sad I can't get to know the team and fellow interns in person, but I'm still excited to grow with the team, learn new perspectives and walk away with friends who are doing work to make our Atlanta community stronger and more equitable.
Evelyn DiSalvo
Pronouns:
She/Her/Hers
Major:
Dual degree in Design; Ethics, History, and Public Policy
Summer Plans:
I’m looking forward to meeting new people who are similarly passionate about community engagement and the city of Atlanta!
What Evelyn is looking to gain from her CCI Internship:
I hope to gain a better understanding of how organizations can engage with their communities and how to apply my design skills to these efforts.
Jacob VanderZwaag
Pronouns:
He/Him/His
Major:
Global Business; Minors: Spanish and Journalism
Summer Plans:
I am looking forward to working with a great team of individuals at CCI this summer. I am very excited to get to know each member of the staff, as well as my fellow interns. I am sure that I will learn something different from each person as each of us brings a unique background a set of experiences to the table.
What Jacob is looking to gain from his CCI Internship:
Even though we can’t physically be in Atlanta this summer, I hope to gain a better understanding of the Atlanta community. I hope to achieve this by interacting and building connections with the CCI staff, social entrepreneurs, and other members of the Atlanta community through CCI. Additionally, I hope to work on building the skills necessary to potentially be a social impact leader in the future. I have never worked in the social entrepreneurship or social impact sector in the past. As such, I believe the hands-on experiencing working with CCI will give me a better understanding of what social impact looks like and build my personal toolbox of skills.
Marissa Joseph
Pronouns:
She/Her/Hers
Major:
Undecided
Summer Plans:
I am most looking forward to connecting with local civic entrepreneurs and learning about how they have transformed their passions into projects for development. I am most interested in exploring how varying interests can serve as vehicles for change and exploring the range of the public sector. I am also looking forward to learning more about the social and economic challenges in Atlanta.
What Marissa is looking to gain from her CCI Internship:
This being my first internship, I hope to gain tactical skills in research and greater working knowledge surrounding impact investing and entrepreneurship. I hope to expand my exposure and skill set in design thinking practices and project management. Additionally, I want this internship to serve as a foundation for future work moving forward in the realm of global and local development and learn creative approaches to solve inequality.
Michael Xu
Pronouns:
He/Him/His
Major:
International Political Economy, with a certificate in African Studies; minor in Math
Summer Plans:
Getting to know the CCI team and learning about the network of entrepreneurs and organizations CCI is supporting across Atlanta.
What Michael is looking to gain from his CCI Internship:
I really hope to understand context-specific change as opposed to the more theoretical treatment of various problems—social, political, economic— in the classroom. I want to understand the effects of particular policies and programs and how the nuances are carved from community input. Especially now, and particularly in a city such as Atlanta, I want to understand how I can listen attentively to Black voices and experiences. I'm also really looking forward to having the mentorship of you all as well.
Sophie Stewart
Pronouns:
She/Her/Hers
Major:
Culture and Politics; minor in French
Summer Plans:
I'm looking forward to being part of an experienced and knowledgeable team and seeing—and learning from—how each member contributes differently, especially by working with NPUs and local businesses to make small-scale change.
Yingying Mei
Pronouns:
She/Her/Hers
Major:
Culture & Politics; minor in Chinese.
Summer Plans:
I'm most looking forward to meeting everyone in the CCI office and learning about the city of Atlanta (virtually). I might not be able to physically explore Atlanta, but I look forward to hearing about everyone's experiences and perspectives from working and living in the city.