WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BE A ROYSTER LAWTON FELLOW? Ask Frank Valdez, who interned at Comp-U-Dopt in Houston, Texas.

““I have lived in Houston for over 19 years; however, I have never seen it like I did this summer. I have always noticed the poverty and the inequalities between communities, but this summer I witnessed more hope and empowerment than ever””

This summer I had the opportunity to intern at Comp-U-Dopt in Houston, Texas. Comp-U-Dopt is a non-profit that provides technology education programming for elementary, middle, and high school students and donates laptops to economically disadvantaged students after the completion of one of their programs. Comp-U-Dopt focuses on disadvantaged communities to close the gap in technology and after school programming accessibility in the Houston area. I pursued this internship because I have always been passionate about education accessibility. I give a lot of credit to where I am today to the non-profit academic programs that supported me growing up. I hoped that this internship would give me exposure to the non-profit industry as I have always dreamed of opening up a community center in Houston to connect underprivileged communities with the resources they need to persevere. Instead, I received a lot more. I started as a Program Intern where I helped with the logistics of the summer programming and coordinating the program celebration. I ended up also being a teacher assistant and a teacher when I was needed. It was a very rewarding experience to be able to teach and mentor high school students. I learned that I have a strong passion for mentoring. Many of the people I worked with were former teachers which opened my eyes to the education field. I realized how much of a difference a teacher can have in a student’s life. Teachers have the power to inspire and empower students directly. I have lived in Houston for over 19 years; however, I have never seen it like I did this summer. I have always noticed the poverty and the inequalities between communities, but this summer I witnessed more hope and empowerment than ever.

I also enjoyed working in a small non-profit environment. I was fortunate enough to work with a group of ambitious and energetic individuals who were passionate about their work. It was fascinating seeing how a non-profit runs on a day to day basis. I was able to observe the process of applying to and receiving grants. I was also able to sit in on meetings with other non-profits in the Houston area. Through this experience I was also able to learn about the historical issues involving the gentrification of Houston neighborhoods and the problems that it has left to this day.  Learning about this made me realize how access to quality education needs to be tackled in various ways. Programs that empower disadvantaged communities are amazing, but it is also important to work towards a permanent solution so that the future generations of that community do not face the same problems. During my time at the internship, I was able to connect with community leaders working towards making policies and laws to protect the members of the community. I have lived in Houston for over 19 years; however, I have never seen it like I did this summer. I have always noticed the poverty and the inequalities between communities, but this summer I witnessed more hope and empowerment than ever.

““As I return for my second year at the University of Virginia, I hope that my summer internship experience gives me a new perspective in my studies, especially in the field of Economic Development””

I hope it makes me a better critical thinker when it comes to understanding how to erase the disparities in a community without pushing out the underprivileged population.

LUCY KRASKER REFLECTS ON HER SUMMER AS A ROYSTER LAWTON FELLOW

““Venture capital is a unique blend of financial and entrepreneurial skills. It’s exciting and empowering to watch a concept develop and grow from early stages. I know I want to have a hand in the growth of social enterprises””

This summer I worked at JUMP Investors in Los Angeles, California.  The founder and Chief Executive Officer of the venture capital firm, Randall Kaplan, is a co-founder of the innovative Akamai Technologies and was an early stage investor in Google and Lyft.  He consistently finds value in supporting the growth of firms disrupting technology industries, and as a lifetime entrepreneur, continues to develop lifestyle brands and concepts.  As an entrepreneur and venture capitalist simultaneously, he has advised over 50 startups in their development and financing.  His strategic vision is instrumental in these companies’ success and growth, and I was fortunate to gain insight on business decisions.  Kaplan taught me that investing in a company financially is often not enough.  If you want to see a real and meaningful return on an investment, it is crucial to advise the company’s executive management over time.  His hands-on investment strategy also emphasized a key takeaway: any enterprise is a social enterprise if the firm sees business as a tool to build community value.

As a Venture Capital Intern, I studied the investment techniques and strategies of my boss.  On a first-name basis since the first day, he emphasized the importance of mentorship.  He gave valuable and sage advice during daily discussions of investment decisions, the pillars of entrepreneurship, how to best channel the entrepreneurial spirit, and career advice.  He is a strong supporter of his interns’ ambitions.  I worked with a group of 30 other college students from schools across the country, all pursing degrees in Business, Economics, Commerce, Marketing, Computer Science, and Data Analytics.  My co-workers truly became some of my best friends, and we build a supportive network within the office.  We completed assigned projects in deal teams and collaborated to deliver the best quality product as efficiently as possible.  We were under the guidance of Ricky Horwitz, a stellar associate at JUMP.  He became a mentor to everyone in the office and oversaw our personal research projects, which were catered to our individualized interests.  It’s through these projects that I learned the beginning steps of due diligence and market research.  I performed due diligence on a number of companies within the cryptocurrency and environmental sustainability spaces.  Kaplan has high expectations for all of his employees, and he held interns to standards that improved our business writing, fine-tuned our business communication via email, and grew our networking skills.  My daily duties focused mostly on Sandee, one of JUMP’s portfolio companies.  I explored different marketing and information technology strategies for brand development.  I became a search engine optimization (SEO) expert and fine-tuned pertinent data analytics and aggregation strategies. 

““I explored different marketing and information technology strategies for brand development. I became a search engine optimization (SEO) expert and fine-tuned pertinent data analytics and aggregation strategies””

Kaplan encouraged us to branch out into the Los Angeles business and philanthropic scene.  He brought interns to nonprofit events, including the Anthony Barr Foundation Gala to benefit educational programs for children of single parents.  Kaplan himself developed The Justice Ball and The Imagine Ball to benefit legal services for the underserved.  I personally attended a cryptocurrency panel discussion with experts from the Ethereum Alliance and DNA Fund.  At these events and through my research, I began to understand the power and potential of cryptocurrencies in the social entrepreneurship space.  Young and dynamic product and technology innovators strive to make financial industries more accessible and adaptable to the masses, an exciting trend I’m interested in continuing to follow.  Engaging opportunities within a new community was also a valuable suggestion of Royster Lawton career advisors.

“Venture capital is a unique blend of financial and entrepreneurial skills.  It’s exciting and empowering to watch a concept develop and grow from early stages. I know I want to have a hand in the growth of social enterprises.”

As a strong member within the Los Angeles community, Kaplan hosted guest speakers and lecturers weekly.  We even had the chance to tour Snapchat’s headquarters and hear about the company’s vision from the Vice President of Technology. Hearing from elite entrepreneurs and business leaders helped me realized that I want to pursue a career in venture capital and more specifically impact investing.  Especially transformative presentations were from Brian Lee, founder of Legal Zoom, Shoe Dazzle, and The Honest Company; Eric Manlunas of Wavemaker Partners; and John Ciasulli of Uptake.  Venture capital is a unique blend of financial and entrepreneurial skills.  It’s exciting and empowering to watch a concept develop and grow from early stages. I know I want to have a hand in the growth of social enterprises, and venture capital’s dual focus allows for a dynamic career with respect to learning more about innovative technologies, consumer products, and business development strategies.  Thanks to the Royster Lawton Fellowship, I feel confident about the trajectory of social entrepreneurship and my role in its future.

COLE CHISOM DISCUSSES HIS EXPERIENCE AS A ROYSTER LAWTON FELLOW IN CHARLOTTESVILLE

What is it like to be a Royster Lawton Fellow? Ask Cole Chisom, who worked as fellow in Clockwork, a Charlottesville-based early stage financial services company.

I first learned of the Royster Lawton Fellowship while stumbling around the SE@UVA website in an attempt to find more information about course offerings. I was drawn to one of the main premises of the program -- providing an additional stipend to allow students to pursue opportunities no matter their financial feasibility. I had found an opportunity at an impact-oriented early stage company that simply would be unable to provide the salary of larger, more established companies. Fortunately, I was accepted into the fellowship and began my work at Clockwork in June.

Clockwork is a Charlottesville-based early stage financial services company that provides due diligence for early stage investors, performs portfolio monitoring, and provides operational support for startups. During my time at Clockwork, I was able to perform diligence on nearly fifteen early stage companies that ranged from sustainable living platforms to ecommerce marketplaces to organizations targeting high achieving, low-income students. In short, my experience was broad as I was exposed to a multitude of unique business models, ranging levels of social impact focus, and various stages of the venture capital process.

“I was able to perform diligence on nearly fifteen early stage companies that ranged from sustainable living platforms to ecommerce marketplaces to organizations targeting high achieving, low-income students”

Working at an early-stage, constantly developing company further opened my eyes to the potential roles I could take on within an organization. In addition to my deal work, I picked up a personal project analyzing various metrics around Clockwork’s deal efficiency. I was given significant freedom to craft the project as I saw fit and felt that I was making an operational impact for the company. During my time, I was also able to pick up ad-hoc projects supporting early stage companies, which included market research, assisting in budget modeling, and critiquing pitch materials.  

Clockwork is a bit unique in that its full time team members are dispersed across New York, Charlottesville, Uruguay, and Mexico. While I was unable to visit other offices during my time, I did get to meet all four partners over the course of the summer. Also, as one of the founding partners was the only other team member located in Charlottesville, I was able to listen in on calls, take part in meetings, and, more generally, watch an entrepreneur run an early stage company.

Beyond simply enabling my experience at Clockwork, the fellowship also meant being a part of a talented cohort of individuals pursuing other socially-focused opportunities. My cohort’s experiences ranged from startups to the public sector to the venture capital and nonprofit spaces. I was consistently able to bounce ideas off others and hear about experiences in other sectors that may be of interest moving forward. The program provided additional support around networking, resumes, and interviews. The Royster Lawton Fellowship allowed me to take on an impactful role at an early stage, local venture that otherwise likely would not have been possible.

In sum, the program provided an encompassing experience to ensure that Fellows not only succeeded in our summer internships but also were equipped for future opportunities. As a result of my summer, I fostered an interest in venture capital and entrepreneurship, while also determining that I strongly enjoy the operational aspect of running and improving businesses. The Royster Lawton Fellowship allowed me to take on an impactful role at an early stage, local venture that otherwise likely would not have been possible. To say I am grateful for my time in the program is an understatement.  

MATT QUAN SHARES HIS EXPERIENCE AS A ROYSTER LAWTON FELLOW IN NYC

Over the course of my 1st year I worked on a few businesses and projects, from alternative college tours to online education programs. Although I learned countless hard and soft skills from these different ventures, the greatest take away was solidifying my passion for what had initially drawn me to UVA - entrepreneurship.

 Flashback to fifth grade and I still remember devising plans with my best friend to start the next technological revolution - we decided that we would create batteries that could be recharged in the microwave. To test this, we went ahead and set up a microwave outside. Luckily my mom stopped us before it started. Yet this failed project allowed me to discover my passion for entrepreneurship. Soon after, my Dad gave me a piece of advice that has continued to guide me - “Don’t create solutions to non-existent problems, find real world problems and create the solutions.”

After 8 years I finally had gained real world experiences to solidify this passion I had come across while setting up my battery-microwave experiment. While I looked back on the different projects I had worked on since, I realized another common theme with them all. The mission of the projects was the true guiding force for me, and the mission had always been to help or improve the lives of others in some way or another. This is what I only recently found to be called social entrepreneurship, and the moment I found out about it I wanted to learn more. Thus I decided in the spring of my first year I wanted to find a summer internship that would allow me to learn as much as possible about entrepreneurs working to make a positive impact.

“The mission of the projects was the true guiding force for me, and the mission had always been to help or improve the lives of others in some way or another. This is what I only recently found to be called social entrepreneurship, and the moment I found out about it I wanted to learn more”

After talking to a close mentor of mine, we figured out the perfect place to immerse myself in a fast paced environment of creatives whose sole goal is to get things done - an accelerator. Over the course of my spring semester I researched dozens of accelerators in the US and the companies that had gone through them. I then dove deeper and researched the founders of the companies and sent as many cold emails as I could. After sending 100 emails and multiple follow ups, I was lucky enough to get 10 responses from founders who were all willing to get on the phone with me. We talked about everything from their founding stories to their passions for innovation, all the way to their life philosophies. These conversations lasted anywhere from 30 minutes to a few hours, but every time I walked out feeling more inspired and determined to dive deeper into entrepreneurship. 

Around this same time I found out that UVA has an entire department dedicated to Social Entrepreneurship, and it was here that I learned about the Royster Lawton Fellowship - a fellowship that would fund and help guide and structure a summer internship of your choice. I was fortunate enough to gain a spot as a fellow and had another group of incredible mentors to help guide me in this process of finding an internship.

As the semester came to an end, I had two offers on the table. One was with a French accelerator in NYC called IMPACT, and the other was to stay in Charlottesville and work with an online education startup called Radify Labs , which I had been doing marketing work for during the semester. I was in a bind so I hopped back on the phone with my mentor and he asked me one question: “What do you want to get out of your summer?”

My answer was simply that I wanted to learn as much as possible. The second I said that, he showed me that this choice was a no brainer. Although it would be incredible to intern at an accelerator and observe from the background, if I wanted to dive into the life of an entrepreneur I should just get experience doing it myself, and I had the perfect opportunity to do just that. 3 months later and I truly do not think I could have learned more anywhere else than at Radify Labs.  

With the help of the Royster Lawton Fellowship and the community that came with it, I was able to spend my summer in Charlottesville working full time with Radify Labs. This summer I was made a co-founder and will continue to work alongside 3 of the most incredible and motivated people I have ever met in my life. My 3 co-founders (Allison Garrett, Andy Page, and Yash Tekriwal) just graduated from UVA and turned down prestigious jobs at companies such as McKinsey and Company, APT, and Blackstone to work on this venture full time. Although I had planned on working part time again like I had last semester, a new opportunity came up that I would have never imagined even weeks ago..

“Seven months ago I was dreaming of running around an accelerator in NYC while making copies, getting coffee, and doing whatever there was so that I could observe an accelerator from the background. Now I have the opportunity to go through one of the best accelerator programs in the nation - except this time as a founder.”

After a few rounds of applications and interviews, Radify Labs become one of four companies accepted into the Lighthouse Labs Ed-tech accelerator in Richmond, Virginia. Seven months ago I was dreaming of running around an accelerator in NYC while making copies, getting coffee, and doing whatever there was so that I could observe an accelerator from the background. Now I have the opportunity to go through one of the best accelerator programs in the nation - except this time as a founder.

Thanks to Jill Royster and Drew Lawton, as well as the incredible staff at SE@UVA, I’ll have the chance to continue exploring this childhood passion through real world experience.

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BE A ROYSTER LAWTON FELLOW? Ask Ramya Ravichandran, who worked at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Ramya Ravichandran

CLAS ‘18

Batten ‘19 - Masters in Public Policy

““I came to realize the power of having a true passion for your work, and the potential for impact every person brings with this intrinsic motivation””

This past summer, I spent ten weeks interning for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in New York City. Thanks to the generous support of the Royster Lawton Fellowship, I had the opportunity to pursue an experience that has greatly shaped me both personally and professionally.

In providing and coordinating international humanitarian assistance to crisis-affected people, OCHA upholds its commitment to purpose through all of its work. As an intern, I was faced with a varied set of projects, in addition to invaluable exposure to both the work of the United Nations and that of individuals working in New York within the social impact space.

““I knew I needed meaningful work – something that would not only allow me to pursue my passions and appropriately incorporate my existing skillset, but also provide me with opportunities to learn and grow””

Let me back up though – what brought me here? At UVA, I majored in Computer Science, and I am currently pursuing the accelerated Master of Public Policy degree through the Batten School as well. Last spring, as a third year seeking an internship, I had two broad goals for my summer. First, I knew that I wanted to, in some capacity, harness the power of technology. On top of this, I knew I needed meaningful work – something that would not only allow me to pursue my passions and appropriately incorporate my existing skillset, but also provide me with opportunities to learn and grow over the course of the ten weeks. My eventual position more than fulfilled my goals, and placed me directly at the center of innovative technology, policy, and social enterprise. 

Each week looked different, which taught me the value of being flexible and having an openness to wearing several different hats at times. On some days, I used my more quantitative background and worked on platforms that provide information to humanitarian workers around the world, but on other days I conducted data policy research while Skyping with staff based in The Hague, Geneva, and Bristol. I came to realize the power of having a true passion for your work, and the potential for impact every person brings with this intrinsic motivation. 

Amongst my experiences in the office, one of my favorite memories was watching the World Cup and cheering on teams alongside staff from around the world. Relatedly, it was truly inspiring to see the level of cross-cultural collaboration, something I especially noticed as I walked around the office and heard several different languages being spoken on a daily basis. My internship also gave me the opportunity to attend panels discussing applications of innovative financing models such as Impact Investing for the SDGs and Forecast-based Financing in the Humanitarian System.

Outside of my internship, living in New York opened so many doors that I did not expect going into the summer. For example, my first weekend in town I attended The Impact Summit, a conference directly at the intersection of technology and social good. I was able to meet and connect with likeminded students from across the United States, and hear from inspiring speakers who applied technologies like blockchain and artificial intelligence to societal problems through their startups, in addition to advice from venture capitalists and impact investors. All of these experiences helped me develop my network and seek advice from professionals in the field.

I am incredibly grateful to the Royster Lawton Fellowship for giving me the opportunity to accept this impactful internship, further refine my professional goals, and prepare me to create sustainable change in the world.