Undergraduate Student at the University of Delaware
Work
Policy Experience
Office of Senator Jeanne Shaheen
Legislative Intern
Spring 2020
In Spring 2020, I participated in the University of Delaware's Semester in D.C. program where students live, work, and take classes in Washington, D.C. This opportunity allowed me to stay on track for graduation while gaining hands-on policy experience. I interned in the Office of Senator Jeanne Shaheen where I gained insight into the legislative process in action. Originally, this was supposed to be a semester-long internship, but due to Covid-19, I ended up working in the office for only 6 weeks.
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As an intern, I answered constituent calls, compiled daily news clips, and sorted through constituent letters and emails. These assignments helped me learn how constituent concerns are handled and the impact of providing a positive and compassionate customer service experience to constituents on the phone. I also attended briefings and hearings alongside legislative aids and wrote policy briefs and memos. These opportunities allowed me to apply my research and analytical reasoning skills to producing content that would be beneficial to staff members, even if just small assignments. My last responsibility was giving tours of the U.S. Capital to New Hampshire residents and other important members of organizations. This was my favorite part of my internship as I loved talking to constituents, giving them facts and historical anecdotes, and walking around the capital building.
This internship experience allowed me to see a possible career avenue post-graduation and allowed me to apply my passion for policy into an experience other than writing policy memos for classes. While I wish this experience could have been longer, my time in D.C. my desire to continue into public service in some capacity after graduation.
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Nonprofit Experience
Fouryouth Productions
Wilmington, Delaware
September 2018- April 2019
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Fouryouth is a nonprofit in Wilmington, Delaware whose mission is to support and guide students towards college. The program offers underserved youth from grades K-12 innovative STEAM education that blends art with science, engineering, and cooking. The artwork created by students is then sold and proceeds go o a scholarship fund later given to the students. I volunteered with FourYouth alongside a group of four other University of Delaware students where we were tasked with creating a scholarship committee. The year we worked with the nonprofit, the first student was graduating from the problem and no system existed for the money raised in the program to be given out. We created a formal scholarship committee and application process for students that are still used by Fouryouth to provide scholarships for students in the program headed to college. Along with this, we also were tasked with planning and running the annual Art Gala for FourYouth hosted at the University of Delaware every November. By reaching out to local businesses, we put a raffle together to raise money and ultimately raised $3,000 from the event.
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My experience with Fouryouth introduced me to the ways nonprofits provide services to the public when government services are lacking. In Delaware, the public education system leaves many children with inadequate education, and Fouryouth aims to fill the gap created by the current education services. My policy interest in education equity was developed through this experience and has led to doing research in subsequent policy classes on education policy reform.
Cecil County CASA
Cecil County, Maryland
September 2019- May 2020
Court Appointed Special Advocates(CASA) is a national association that supports and promotes court-appointed advocates for abused and neglected children. I worked alongside the Cecil County branch of CASA in a team of four students to analyze the opportunities for improvement within the organization. We created a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Analysis to assess the needs of CASA. This showed that one of the major challenges was children transitioning out of the foster care system were more likely to experience drug addiction, homelessness, and poverty. Based on this challenge, we determined the best solution was to create a resource guide for individuals in foster care to use when transitioning out of the program. The final product was a Digital Resource Guidebook that covers five categories; Health, Transportation, Employment, Education, and Food Assistance.
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This experience taught me about the challenges nonprofits face. When we presented our SWOT analysis, many of the weaknesses we brought up were challenges the Executive Director and other staff knew existed, but they did not have the resources or time to adjust. I learned that sometimes the best solutions to existing problems are not the most feasible, and incremental adjustments need to be considered, even when they do not fully fix a problem. In the end, our final project achieved our initial goal of helping children transitioning out of the foster care system.
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Deliverables
1. SWOT Analysis
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Analysis of areas of improvement for Cecil County CASA. Attached is the SWOT Analysis created that identified the needs for the organization our final project was based on. Attached is the SWOT Analysis created.
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2. Resource Guide
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Virtual booklet of resources for young adults transitioning out of the foster care system. Attached is the resource booklet that Cecil County CASA gives out virtually to individuals aging out of the foster care system.
These work experiences have given time the opportunity to apply my skills and knowledge from the classroom into applicable experiences. I learned the way the federal government and nonprofits operated, and the way these two sectors work together for the good of the people. I further explored policy issues by writing memos and reports that could influence policy decisions. I also dug deeper into the way nonprofits function and offer solutions to contemporary policy issues in the communities they operate within.
These opportunities allowed me to work closely with organizations dedicated to making a positive impact on individuals' lives and have helped me solidify my desire for wanting to go into public service.
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