Hi, I am Hannah Zaveri, a rising second year, currently planning to major in public health and sociology. When I applied to the Tadler Fellowship, I was a first year with no social entrepreneurship experience. But I wanted to learn, and I ended up applying because the Appalachia-based internships fit my desire to use my skills to make a positive impact.

Now that I have experienced a summer internship with Appalachian Voices, I can honestly say that this was an incredible opportunity! I especially enjoyed learning about the Appalachian region and the community working to rebuild Appalachia’s economy. I encourage everyone who is the slightest bit interested in this fellowship to apply. Even when faced with a pandemic, everyone quickly adapted to make the most of the virtual fellowship.

Appalachian Voices is an environmental nonprofit that aims to shift Appalachia away from fossil fuels to clean energy—to sustainably rebuild Appalachia’s economy. Throughout the summer, another UVA intern, Lelia Battle, and I worked alongside the New Economy team.

Based in Norton, Virginia, they devise and implement innovative reclamation and redevelopment projects on coal impacted lands. More specifically, we were mentored by Adam Wells, the Central Appalachian Regional Director of Community and Economic Development. Adam genuinely cared about our learning experience and created opportunities for us to engage in meaningful work that addressed real problems, which I greatly appreciated. We also worked alongside the Reclaiming Appalachia Coalition (RAC), a multi-state group of which Appalachian Voices is a leading member.

Being a first year intern, I did not expect to lead significant projects; I was ready to take on more menial tasks. However, from the beginning, Adam was clear that our work would investigate key questions, and that I would be an asset to the team. Lelia and I lead impactful projects; we published a report examining the potential applications of Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs) to Appalachian Voices and the RAC’s innovative mine land reclamation. We also published a resource guide on innovative financing for mine land reclamation.

“I led impactful projects; we published a report examining the potential applications of Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs) to Appalachian Voices and the RAC’s innovative mine land reclamation. We also published a resource guide on innovative financing for mine land reclamation.”

During the research stage, we called and met with dozens of incredible people working on the frontlines to create a better future for Appalachia, which was inspiring. I was challenged to be resourceful and ended up reaching out to and meeting all sorts of advocates. I was surprised by how willing everyone was to help with our research. As a result, we ended up facilitating two successful webinars, which showcased some of the experts that we met through our research—one webinar was on CBAs and one was on innovative financing for mine land reclamation. I loved organizing the webinars! Despite not being in Norton for the internship, the virtual events made me feel connected to the community.

My favorite part of the internship was attending Appalachian Voices’ staff calls, and the RAC and New Economy team meetings. I was fascinated by what goes on behind the scenes. As a result, I learned extensively about the professional world, and now understand the considerable planning that goes into nonprofit and social impact projects. I also learned first-hand what it means to engage in important work that people are passionate about, which I hope to bring to my future career. Through this fellowship, I was pushed to think outside the box and was encouraged to share any ideas. Before my summer working at Appalachian Voices, I was interested in nonprofit and development work, and I am still interested in it. I now have the confidence to continue exploring this field, and I look forward to meeting new people along the way.

I am very grateful for this opportunity. If not for this fellowship, I may never have begun to understand the complexities of Appalachia or nonprofit organizations. I am especially glad that I did this as a first year. Now, I have three more years to continue exploring Social Entrepreneurship at the University of Virginia. I am happy to share more about my experience, so please feel free to reach out to me at hz6jsp@virginia.edu if you have any questions about the fellowship.