Name: Katherine Tan

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA

School: Scripps College

Major: Economics (with a minor in Computer Science)

Fun Fact: I can read tarot!

What was the highlight of your internship this summer?

One highlight of my time at JFLC was meeting the amazing team of interns and the board of directors. Another highlight was learning about both the nonprofit world and other social issues through the people around me.

What is one thing you learned?

I learned how a free loan service operates, what goes into organizing a nonprofit, and the importance of forming relationships.

How do you hope to use the skills you gained this summer in the future? 

I hope to be able to do another internship and continue to build connections. Maybe someday, since I now have a better sense of how nonprofits are organized, I could start my own initiative.

Name: TK Monford

Hometown: Athens, GA

School: Brown University

Major: Public Policy- Economics

Fun Fact: I was an all-star cheerleader for 4 years and have competed at nationals 3 times.

What is one thing you learned?

I learned a lot about the inner workings of a non-profit start up and the greater non-profit community in Chicago.

What was one challenge you faced? 

I struggled to try new things. I’m someone who fears the new so this was something I worked really hard on this summer. 

How do you hope to use the skills you gained this summer in the future?

I hope to take these skills and be able to apply them in my later work with nonprofits as I focus on community and economic development in marginalized communities.

Name: Gabby Smith

Hometown: New York, NY

School: Brown University

Major: Sociology

Fun Fact: I have three middle names.

What was the highlight of your internship this summer?

The highlight of my internship this summer was meeting a bunch of smart, interesting people— including board members, guest speakers, the other interns and staff members, and friends/allies of the organization— who share similar values to mine and care deeply about economic justice. 

What is one thing you learned?

I learned about strategic fundraising and how to find the right donors to support your cause.

How do you hope to use the skills you gained this summer in the future? 

I got to work on my writing skills a lot this summer, and I hope to continue to be able to use these skills as I pursue a career in the field of law or policy.

Name: Alessandra Valladares

Hometown: Gilberts, IL

School: Northwestern University

Major: Political Science and Economics

Fun Fact: I have been vegan for 6 years!

What was the highlight of your internship this summer?

I really enjoyed collaborating with Leah, other interns, and meeting the board members!

What was one challenge you faced? 

One challenge I faced was learning how to assess where to prioritize one’s efforts for nonprofit work. 

How do you hope to use the skills you gained this summer in the future? 

I hope to use the social media and outreach skills I gained this summer in any future political organizing. It is crucial to know how to best reach a community!

Name: Boston Kuanyshev

Hometown: Chicago, IL

School: Northwestern University

Major: MSc in Project Management

What was the highlight of your internship this summer?

I enjoyed gaining more experience in data analytics.

What is one thing you learned?

I learned how to successfully create a data set from scratch.

What was one challenge you faced?

It was a challenge to figure out how to add the loan application to our website.