Q: How did you find EducationSuperHighway? Why is our mission important to you?
I first connected to EducationSuperHighway through my mentor, who has supported me in exploring the education space and familiarizing myself with different career paths. After experiencing the impact of the digital divide in my own community of southcentral Los Angeles during the pandemic, I became personally invested in ensuring that all households, regardless of their background, had access to quality Internet service and devices. EducationSuperHighway’s mission of closing the digital divide and its experience in supporting school districts fit perfectly with my own personal mission and life goals.
Q: Can you share what a typical day (or week) at EducationSuperHighway was like?
I typically began my week with a goal-setting meeting with my manager—she’s amazing and I am honored to work with her. Because my internship was simultaneously occurring while I handled a full course load of college classes, she and I worked together to set up online and offline work hours that accommodated my schedule and exposed me to areas of interest. Online hours consisted of joining my coworkers in team meetings, from brainstorming sessions to support calls with partner organizations, and offline work ranged from call support with families to editing resources that would then help our partner school districts. My week always ended with touching base with my manager, which consisted of a professional check-in (How were your tasks? What did you learn?) and a personal one (How are classes? Was the internship and homework workload manageable?).
Q: What’s one thing you’ve learned at EducationSuperHighway that surprised you?
I was happily surprised that, despite having dozens of employees, everyone was incredibly welcoming and made an effort to get to know me. Even if we never worked together directly, many of my coworkers were open to scheduling a thirty-minute coffee chat to get to know me and offer support, if need be. I was especially surprised when, on my first day, EducationSuperHighway’s CEO, Evan Marwell, reached out for a coffee chat! In a time when Zoom fatigue is taxing remote workers and offline time is so valuable, I appreciate how my colleagues were ready to help me feel seen as a person and supported as a colleague.
Q: What impact has this internship had on your envisioned career path?
This internship has solidified in my mind how social justice needs to have a multifaceted approach. My envisioned career path is focused on educational justice and transformation, and as I have advocated for, educational justice cannot occur without addressing the various injustices that intersect with children’s lives, including the digital divide.
My greatest takeaway from this internship was the importance of resonating with your employer’s mission. This experience was so fulfilling because of my personal and professional stake in EducationSuperHighway’s mission. Going forward in my career, I will take this lesson and continue to seek out opportunities in which I feel connected to the organization’s mission and where I feel I am truly making an impact.
Q: How would you describe the overall experience interning with us in three adjectives?
Insightful, dynamic, and fulfilling.
Q: What advice would you give to a future EducationSuperHighway intern?
I would encourage future EducationSuperHighway interns to be ready to support different programs outside of their specific assignments. For example, during my work with the Broadband Adoption program and other campaigns, I quickly realized that umbrella projects within the programs and campaigns usually take a cross-functional approach. This dynamic approach that EducationSuperHighway takes to accomplish its mission may be initially overwhelming, but it is a great experience to see different programs come together in a common project/goal.
Q: Anything else you liked to share?
A funny story is that my coworkers began to identify my favorite mug (a light, sea green mug that says ‘The Daily Grind’) because I cannot stop drinking coffee, regardless of the time of day.
If you are interested in becoming an intern at EducationSuperHighway, please visit our careers page and apply to one of our Summer 2022 internships. Priority deadline is April 5, 2022.
