ROYSTER LAWTON FELLOW TAYLOR KAMHONG DISCUSSES HER SUMMER INTERNSHIP

Taylor Kamhong

CLAS ‘21

Environmental Science

This summer, I had the privilege of being part of SE@UVA’s 2019 Royster Lawton Cohort. Funded by Jill Royster and Drew Lawton, the Royster Lawton Fellowship Program is designed to support students interested in pursuing an internship with a social enterprise. Upon acceptance, student fellows receive a $3000 stipend and professional coaching. When I read this, it seemed almost too good to be true: getting paid to make a real impact in the lives of others? But it turns out it isn’t: SE@UVA’s mission is to “cultivate the next generation of social innovation leaders” and the Royster Lawton Program is one of many opportunities for students.

In the beginning, I was nervous about finding an internship; some of the members of my cohort already had positions lined up, but I was still struggling to find something I was really passionate about. So, I went in to the SE office to have a brainstorm with Laura Toscano, the Associate Director of Social Entrepreneurship.

First, let me say Laura is one of the most amazing and hard-working people I’ve ever met. With extensive experience working in the realm of Social Entrepreneurship, she is an incredible asset to the Batten Community and has been one of my personal role models. During our mini coaching session, she gave me advice on job hunting, edited my resume and helped me refine my interests.

The next week, I attended SE@UVA’s Advisory Board meeting (another perk of being a Royster Lawton Fellow). There, I met the amazing team of change makers, one of whom, would become my future boss! Monica Logothetis is the cofounder of the national non-profit DreamWakers and it just so happened that she was looking for a summer intern

To provide some background, DreamWakers is an Ed Tech non-profit that uses video chat technology to connect unique and dynamic career professionals to the classroom. Speakers range from entrepreneurs to super models to employees of the United States Institute of Peace (and everything in between!). My big summer project was creating new lesson plans that bridge the gap between what students learn in the classroom and what employers want in the workforce. For instance, one of my lesson plans taught students how to set up their own LinkedIn profile and another explored the importance of diversity and emotional intelligence.

“My favorite part of being a Royster Lawton Fellow was experiencing Social Entrepreneurship first hand. It’s one thing to learn about SE in the classroom, but completely another thing to be on the ground.”

My absolute favorite part of interning with DreamWakers was that I was doing meaningful work that added value to the company; not once did I fetch coffee. Mrs. Logothetis genuinely cared about my professional development and gave me work that not only benefited the company, but also left me with deliverables I could show future employers. My projects were tailored to my passions and personal skill sets, so I was always working on something I loved. As for the job itself, I had the best of both worlds: I worked on the front lines, hosting video chats with children, as well as created the magic behind the scenes, developing new content and helping the organization expand its outreach. Oh, and did I mention I worked alongside six BA women? (talk about a #DreamTeam!) It was everything I could have wanted in an internship and more.

My favorite part of being a Royster Lawton Fellow was experiencing Social Entrepreneurship first hand. It’s one thing to learn about SE in the classroom, but completely another thing to be on the ground, asking the tough questions like, “how do you quantify something that is qualitative?” and “how do you go about influencing systemic change?”

I’m really grateful for this opportunity; without the support of the Royster Lawton Program, I wouldn’t have been able to pursue an internship with a social enterprise. I was able to spend all summer doing what I loved. And, although my experience working with a social enterprise was incredibly fun, it was challenging and made me think critically about some of the most pressing issues of the 21st century. Though the summer is over, I look forward to continuing my involvement with SE@UVA and welcoming the next cohort of Royster Lawton Fellows.  

If you’re on the fence about applying for the Royster Lawton Program, do yourself a favor and just go for it. Being a Fellow comes with a lot of perks (such as financial support, an abundance of networking opportunities, personalized coaching, and much more), but it’s also a chance to immerse yourself in one of the best communities around Grounds. I know I grew tremendously both as a young professional and as a person, and I hope you seize this opportunity to do the same.

For anyone interested in learning more about the program or SE@UVA in general, feel free to email me at tay@virginia.edu.

I’ll see you around the hub!

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BE A ROYSTER LAWTON FELLOW? CHANDLER COLLINS SHARES HIS SUMMER INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE

Chandler Collins

CLAS ‘20 - Global Development Studies

Batten ‘20 - Leadership & Public Policy

For myself, the area I’m most passionate about is technology, and more specifically, about how large tech companies’ products harm both individual well-being and society. Through my summer internship, I wanted to dive deeply into a technology company to learn how they function and to use my perspective as a Royster Lawton Fellow to bring in an ethically and socially-minded lens. Before I talk about this summer, I’d like to share a bit about who I am.

Hi, I’m Chandler. I’m heading into my fourth and final year at UVA and am studying Public Policy and Leadership and Global Development Studies. I was raised in a small town in Alabama and I came to UVA because I was fascinated by questions of governance––how do governments make effective policies? How do you weigh competing policy options and make a decision when we live in a world where most issues lie in gray zones with no clear answers?

“How do governments make effective policies? How do you weigh competing policy options and make a decision when we live in a world where most issues lie in gray zones with no clear answers?”

These sorts of questions drew me to UVA, and they’re ones that I’ve continued to grapple with throughout my time here. I’ve been drawn in to technology policy specifically since it’s both omnipresent and seemingly omnipotent in our modern lives. Yet, few people truly understand the complexities of subjects like net neutrality and artificial intelligence. Of course, neither do I, but I was drawn in by the challenge. And so, these dual passions for policy and technology’s impact on society led me to the Royster Lawton Fellowship and to my internship this summer at Yext.

In a nutshell, Yext works with large companies and organizations to make their information accessible, no matter where you’re searching. For instance, imagine you’ve just moved to a new state and you need to find a new doctor, so you search something like “primary care physician near me who accepts Aetna.” Well, Yext works with healthcare providers to make the patient process easier by making sure that your query would bring up physicians who match that description, no matter if you’re searching on Google or YellowPages or asking Siri.

As a Technical Project Manager Intern, I would work directly with clients like the healthcare provider above to explain how the back-end technology functioned and how we could work together to improve the patient’s online experience. In the future, I hope to leverage this experience to work towards other more purpose-driven technology companies. Specifically, I’m interested in blending my passion for both technology and policy and would love to find a company like Jigsaw or La Victoria Lab which seamlessly combine the two. 

I’m immensely grateful to the Royster Lawton Fellowship for allowing me to be a part of this extraordinary program and for the support provided to me over this last summer. The Royster Lawton Program allows me to continue grappling with important questions in a group of like-minded, inspiring students who share a passion for ensuring that our creations are purpose-driven and rooted in social impact. Additionally, the Program has provided me with educational opportunities including lecture series and dinners so that I can get feedback on my future direction and hear about what other members of my cohort are involved in.

 In the coming year, I will be applying to companies which are driven by purpose rather than profit. While my experience as a fellow has only lasted one summer so far, it has shaped my values and priorities at work which I hope will last a lifetime.

ROYSTER LAWTON FELLOW MAGGIE HIRSHLAND REFLECTS ON HER SUMMER INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE

Maggie Hirshland

Frank Batten School of Leadership & Public Policy ‘20 - Public Policy & Leadership

Curry School of Education & Human Development ‘20 - Youth & Social Innovation

“Through my experience this summer, I have affirmed my desire to pursue a career in Education Policy, and have received more clarity on the different ways to make an impact in this field, as well as gained confidence in the path I hope to take.”

I’m Maggie Hirshland, a rising 4th year double majoring in Youth & Social Innovation in the Curry School of Education & Human Development, and Public Policy & Leadership in Batten. I’m interested in pursuing a career in the Education Policy field, however when I was starting my internship search last school year, I was not sure what that would look like for a summer internship. I was considering a plethora of related yet distinct paths and options, ranging from government internships, to schools, to non-profits/NGOs, and looking at organizations with a variety of focus areas, such as youth, education, policy, community development, and affordable housing. With all of these options comes the need to make a lot of decisions, which felt overwhelming at times, especially since the public service field can be difficult to navigate, without any streamlined processes.

The Royster Lawton Program provided indispensable mentorship, guidance, and support throughout this search. The Social Entrepreneurship staff’s vast experience and knowledge of the social entrepreneurship field helped inform recommendations and advice on where to look and apply. With multiple advising sessions, I was able to talk through and map out my academic and extracurricular interests, and translate them into different organizations and position openings. One of the positions I was most excited about was at the XQ Institute, a non-profit dedicated to engaging communities to rethink high school. This organization matched my interests perfectly, being in Batten and Curry this was a perfect combination of education and policy, but I was initially hesitant to apply, considering it was based in Oakland, CA, and far from UVA and home (which is Boston, MA for me). However, with the guidance and encouragement of the SE staff, I had the necessary confidence and assurance to apply, and ultimately make the move out to Oakland for the summer.

I’m so thankful I did decide to apply, and had the opportunity to intern at XQ. I’m so inspired by all of the work XQ and its partners are undertaking, as well as by everyone I had the pleasure of working with this past summer. XQ’s mission is to fuel America’s collective creativity to transform high school so every student succeeds, and since their launch in 2015 they have partnered with schools across the country to support and inspire efforts to rethink high school. Their work includes building capacity and momentum in schools and communities, advocating for policy change, and creating open-source resources to make schools fit for the 21st century. As the Strategy and Engagement Intern, I supported the development of school profiles, researching local and state context & policy, school design, and school leadership, as well as expanded the team’s network of community based organizations to strategize future outreach. I was also able to attend XQ’s annual conference, where hundreds of our partner schools and districts sent staff, teachers, administrators, students, and parents. I’m beyond grateful for this chance to learn from and talk to innovative educators across the country, and will carry with me their passion and lessons for effective school reform. Through my experience this summer, I have affirmed my desire to pursue a career in Education Policy, and have received more clarity on the different ways to make an impact in this field, as well as gained confidence in the path I hope to take.

I’m looking forward to continuing my involvement with the Royster Lawton program and Social Entrepreneurship team at UVA this upcoming year and beyond, and am excited to receive their continued support as I begin to consider my post-grad endeavors. I am thrilled to be a part of this ever growing network, filled with dedicated and passionate individuals, and I am looking forward to seeing the work my cohort peers pursue!

THOMAS ROBERTS REFLECTS ON HIS SUMMER INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE AS A ROYSTER LAWTON FELLOW

Thomas Roberts

CLAS ‘20 - Foreign Affairs

MPP ‘21 - Accelerated Masters of Public Policy

“I worked on an initiative seeking to invest in refugee entrepreneurs and refugee-supporting businesses to help integrate the flows of displaced peoples from the Northern Triangle into southern Mexico”

This summer, I used the Royster Lawton Fellowship support and network to intern with the Refugee Investment Network (RIN), a DC-based impact investing collaborative dedicated to creating durable solutions to global forced migration. By drawing on the principles of blended finance and refugee investing, the RIN forms networks of refugee entrepreneurs, refugee-supporting businesses, government institutions, and private investors in order to direct capital flows towards the long-term economic integration of refugees. At the RIN, I focused mainly on preparing the organization for its public launch earlier this summer, developing an investor training curriculum on refugee investing, and assisting the Managing Directors with a fund initiative in Mexico.

Working with issues in Central American forced migration was especially salient this summer, as real-time political decisions and consequences had tangible impact on our day to day project functions and objectives. Through the RIN’s partnership with the Mexican government, I worked on an initiative seeking to invest in refugee entrepreneurs and refugee-supporting businesses to help integrate the flows of displaced peoples from the Northern Triangle into southern Mexico. Since the project required a certain level of coordination to achieve success, I quickly learned the importance of aligning goals and methodologies across implementing partners and individuals.

“The combination of the internship and DC-specific experiences solidified my interest in impact investing and finance for social good, and, thanks to the Royster Lawton fellowship, gave me the first-hand practical experience necessary to open the doors to future opportunities in the field.”

The RIN’s size and startup culture allowed me to work across a variety of different areas, which opened my eyes to both the agility and intensity of working at a startup. As a small organization, the hierarchy was incredibly flat, allowing me to join and contribute to meetings about organizational strategy and potential partnerships. This access, unique to startups, came with a set of opportunities and challenges. Playing an active role in decision-making made me both more invested in and responsible for specific project successes. For example, as the only team member with video-editing experience, I was given a lot of autonomy to make creative decisions for promotional videos and to execute them independently from start to finish.

In addition to the professional experience, my summer in Washington D.C. gave me unparalleled access to conferences, talks, and decision-makers working on migration policy and international development issues. This ability to interact with social issues across a variety of positions and fields really opened my eyes to how frequently both public and private institutions are starting to turn to social entrepreneurship in order to maximize their impact while maintaining or improving fiscal sustainability. At the RIN’s official launch, I listened to organizations like the World Bank, OPIC, and other development finance institutions express their interested in utilizing impact investing and social entrepreneurship concepts for refugee integration and other pressing humanitarian concerns.

The combination of the internship and DC-specific experiences solidified my interest in impact investing and finance for social good, and, thanks to the Royster Lawton fellowship, gave me the first-hand practical experience necessary to open the doors to future opportunities in the field. As I begin a Master of Public Policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, I am so grateful to have prior social entrepreneurship experience to contextualize my professional degree, apply my coursework, and, ultimately, to pursue a career in the field.

PAYTON SOUDERS SHARES WHAT’S IT LIKE TO BE A ROYSTER LAWTON FELLOW

Payton Souders

CLAS ‘21 - Global Development Studies

““I spent my summer in New Delhi, India interning for Mrida Group, an up and coming for-profit company that specializes in rural development and creating market linkages for rural artisans and farmers.””

Hello, my name is Payton Souders, an incoming third year student at UVA, majoring in Global Development Studies and minoring in Social Entrepreneurship. I spent my summer in New Delhi, India interning for Mrida Group, an up and coming for-profit company that specializes in rural development and creating market linkages for rural artisans and farmers. Mrida has brought electricity to over 3,000 rural Indians, as well as job training, microloans, and feminine hygiene products. Specifically, my job was to work with a group of 13 women in rural Uttar Pradesh, India that operate a stitching center in their village. Over the course of the summer we worked together to develop three new products: a wrap skirt, a pajama pant, and a wrap pant. I also helped implement internal stock keeping and costing for the pants. I never envisioned myself working in fashion, but completing these projects showed me that I am more capable than I thought.

On top of all of the amazing experiences I had in my internship, I was also able to travel every weekend with the other three UVA interns I lived with in Delhi. Some highlights were white water rafting down the Ganges river, seeing Mount Everest up close from a plane, and of course, visiting the Taj Mahal. Through these travels I was able to experience the diversity of Indian culture up close and personal, and all of the amazing people I met along the way will remain in my memory forever (as will the food). Although we saw six different cities in Northern India, there is still so much left for me to see, and I cannot wait to return.

My favorite travel destination had nothing to do with tourism, however. The company that I worked for in Delhi was kind enough to send me to the village in which the women I worked with lived, called Faridapur Inyat Khan. On two separate occasions I sat with the thirteen young women as they worked on new orders, including the new pants we had designed together. Although there were huge cultural and language barriers, connecting with these women and their families was such an invaluable experience for me. Before this experience, I had always known that I was interested in development work. After meeting these women and hearing their enthusiasm to work and break norms in their village, all of my ambitions were confirmed. Now that I am back at UVA, I have a better understanding of how to plan for my future and fulfill my dreams after college - all thanks to this summer.

““Everything in India seemed outside of my comfort zone at first, but by the end of those two months, I could not have felt more in my element. A global internship is such a good way to discover yourself professionally and personally, and I could not have done so without the support of the Royster-Lawton fellowship.””

I learned so much during this internship and had experiences I never could have dreamed of - such as bargaining with our Delhi fabric sourcer or practicing Hindi with the village children in Uttar Pradesh. Everything in India seemed outside of my comfort zone at first, but by the end of those two months, I could not have felt more in my element. A global internship is such a good way to discover yourself professionally and personally, and I could not have done so without the support of the Royster-Lawton fellowship. Thank you for reading about my experience, and if you have any questions about global internships, the fellowship, or anything else, please feel free to reach out! 

CHARLOTTE MCCLINTOCK REFLECTS ON HER SUMMER INTERNSHIP

“More than anything, this summer let me explore styles, modes, and methods of working and thinking about using technology to advocate for marginalized communities and uncover meaningful trends in important issues.”

Charlotte McClintock, CLAS ‘19 & ‘20

B.A. - Statistical Analysis of Social Behavior

M.A. - Research Methods in Psychology

I spent the summer working for two really stellar organizations using technology for good: Brightest and Caravan Studios.

Brightest is a technology platform for progressive organizing – bringing people together to create positive change. At Brightest I was charged with starting a research series focused on using data to inform progressive climate movements. I did everything from scoping stories to analyzing and visualizing data, writing data stories, and pitching them to news organizations. It was a stellar learning experience to be in charge of every aspect of my work – while I reported to the CEO, I was essentially my own boss and directed my own work. It was challenging at first to adjust to the responsibility of tasks I had never undertaken before, but I learned so much along the way. We published three data stories on climate politics and activism – one, comparing the predicted impacts of climate change to the states taking action, was even covered by Vice! It was an incredibly experience seeing my work in a national media platform.

Caravan Studios builds technology solutions that “help communities organize, access, and apply local resources to their most pressing problems.” At Caravan Studios I worked on using data and analysis techniques to understand trends in engagement with the Safe Shelter Collaborative platform. The Safe Shelter Collaborative allows domestic violence shelters to gather information about the location of shelter beds when they’re at capacity and would otherwise have to turn a survivor away. The platform allows a service provider to send a request to all other participating agencies in the collaborative. The platform has a really excellent participation rate – most requests are responded to within less than a minute, and most request have a ‘possible bed’ response within less than three minutes. I used their internal administrative data to write a report of exploratory insights looking at agency participation, demographic trends, and outcomes to understand how they might iterate on or expand their existing model.

More than anything, this summer let me explore styles, modes, and methods of working and thinking about using technology to advocate for marginalized communities and uncover meaningful trends in important issues. There are so many possible ways to engage with technology for good, and this summer taught me so much about what productive engagement looks like.

Caravan and Brightest both focus on designing with their clients and communities. Caravan uses a participatory design process and focuses on human centered design. Brightest constantly updates their platform to better suit the needs of organizers and movements.’ I learned that centering humans and human behavior in the design process is absolutely crucial to building useful tools and identifying necessary insights.

This summer taught me that technology can be a part of the solution, but is generally not the whole solution. Technology needs to be accompanied by changes in policy, in resources, in communities, and in systems in order to be an effective tool to move the needle. We need technology and data science to accompany community organizing efforts, policy advocacy, and the stories of affected communities.

On a more personal note, this summer really taught me about the importance of work life balance. Working remotely, especially on work you care deeply about, can lead to work taking over your life. I learned to take breaks when I needed them, walking to the park to sit in the sun, and learned the value of rest in being able to be productive.

I am deeply grateful for the experiences my Royster-Lawton fellowship has brought, and I’m so excited for the doors that have been opened as I’ve developed new skills and built new relationships.