My internship with the White House Initiative this summer!

I have made a positive impact in my community this summer, and so can you.

To all my fellow Young Ambassadors,

I participated in YAP last year, in 2015, and had the opportunity to intern at the National Portrait Gallery. I am from Falls Church, Virginia and my family is originally from El Salvador. I’m currently a rising sophomore at McDaniel College double majoring in Political Science and Spanish. My plans after college are to attend Yale law school and become an immigration and civil rights attorney.

I hope to inspire and motivate you all by telling you guys in this blog about my adventures this summer with my internship at the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, my STEM workshops, my involvement with CHCI, and much more.

1.     White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics

This summer was ultimately, and most definitely, the most amazing summer of my life. I have always dreamed of going to the White House, but this summer I was able to do more than that- I was able to work for the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. This summer, I’m happy to say that I was able to help Latinos all across the country, advance in their education and continue to follow their dreams. At the initiative I was put in charge of working on Community Action Summits, Bright Spots, Commitments to Action and salesforce. All of these awesome projects that I worked on were perfect for me because they challenged me, in a very good way. I learned so much this summer and I feel more than ready for the school year and life.

Working at the White House Initiative has been very empowering for me, especially because I am only 19 years old. It has truly helped me harness the skills that I need for more competitive internships and jobs in the future.

(A group picture of my colleagues and I)

If you are someone who is passionate about Education policy, this internship is for you, but even if you’re someone who’s not as passionate but would like to learn more, this is also a great opportunity. I’ve been passionate about Education policy from the moment I attended the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s R2L Nextgen program back in 2014. CHCI made me realize that my voice matters and that I can make a huge difference in the world of policy if I continue to advocate for the issues that matter to me, which are education and immigration.

2.     STEM workshops

In high school, I co-founded a program called STARS (Students Training in Advocacy and Responsibility), a program that is still up and running to this day and it continues to impact young Latinos at my high school, JEB Stuart.

(Two students holding up a spider robot that they worked on)

This summer, with a grant from my college, I was able to implement an addition to STARS, a program called Rising STARS, a leadership program that consists of STEM workshops for students in Elementary and Middle school. My passion lies in the work that I’m doing and will continue to do as I advance in my education and career. This program required a lot of hard work, but all that hard work was worth it because the program was a success and the kids loved it! Next year, I hope to expand the program to more students and find more sponsors to help me continue empowering more young children in my neighborhood. If you would like to learn more, visit my college’s homepage at: http://www.mcdaniel.edu/information/headlines/news-at-mcdaniel/archive/freshman-to-spend-summer-empowering-hispanic-youth

3.     The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Instiute

Two years ago I remember recieiving my package in my mail saying that I had been accepted to CHCI’s R2L Nextgen Program. Being selected to attend their program was the best thing that had ever happenned to me. From that moment forward, I became a true Latina leader.

(In 2014 when I participated in CHCI)

This is why I was more than overjoyed this summer when CHCI asked me to talk to this year’s R2L NextGen students at their welcome dinner, be on their panel for successful leaders and be a chaperone for the Capitol Hill meetings.

These inspiring and fun opportunities gave me a chance to do what I love, which is to empower more young Latinos to continue growing as leaders. I had the chance to talk to them about the opportunties that I had when I was in high school that have helped me stand out and ultimately, land the internship of my dreams. If you would like to know more about these programs that I was a part of, feel free to reach out to me. I love to talk about the programs that changed my life. The most moving and best part of this experience is that I was personally asked by one the students to be her mentor. I hope to be the best mentor I can be and be able to open doors for my fellow CHCI sister.  

(A group picture of the panelists and CHCI students)

I continue to give my time to CHCI because this organization truly, without a doubt, made a positive impact on my life. I’m thankful to be giving back and making sure that more Latinos dream big because I want to see more Latinos in high CEO positions, in Congress and someday running for president.

4.     Networking and internships in DC

One of the key things I learned this summer while interning is DC is the power of networking. Making connections with people is very important because they can help you land your dream job or help you learn more about the career that you would like to go into. I can’t stress how important it is to start networking. I started networking at the age of 15, and with time I have become more confident and better at it. It’s not easy at first, but don’t give up. Just make sure you are putting yourself out there and learning something new.

(This is when the initiative had a meeting with different embassy representatives in DC)

If you are planning to intern in DC, make sure you have some money saved. The metro is expensive. Every week I pay around $50 in total to get to and from my internship. Make sure that you have some business cards. I believe that simple is better when it comes to business cards because people you connect with will ultimately remember you for you, not your fancy business card. Lastly, make sure you have fun! Go out with your colleagues for lunch or go to a Smithsonian museum. There is so much to see here in DC during the summer. One last thing I would like to add is to create a LinkedIn! Connect with fellow YAPers and professionals that you meet at networking events on LinkedIn and start setting yourself up for success. 

5. Why should you start doing internships?

It’s important to start doing internships because they might lead to a potential job in the future. They also help prepare you for the very competitive internships. There are so many internships, but only a few are paid, and those are usually the very competitive ones. Internships also give you experience, which is something that employers ask for when you are applying to work with them after college.

They also show you what you like and don’t like. Maybe you shadowed an attorney or a doctor one summer and realized that that isn’t what you want to spend the rest of your life doing. And that’s okay! That’s what internships are for. They’re there to help you learn about your likes and dislikes. I like to think of internships as stepping stones for my career, because each one gets me a step closer to where I want to be.

6.     My advice to you

To my fellow YAPers reading this blog, please take advantage of your intelligence, voice, and determination and be advocates in your communities. Be an advocate in your hometown and on your campus. Stand up for the rights of our people, the Latino community. Apply to as many internships as possible every summer. Attend conferences. Get involved on campus. Learn as much as you can. Make your parents proud. Dream so big that your dreams scare you. And on your journey, always keep in mind where you come from and give back. Become the politician, the doctor, the engineer, the attorney, the biologist, the teacher, that I know you will become because together we are going to positively represent our people and change the world.

(My YAP cohort from 2015)

This summer was ultimately, and most definitely, the most amazing summer of my life. I can honestly say that I took giant steps towards my career, and that pretty soon I’ll be on my way to law school and then running for Congress. And if god allows, I’ll be running for president someday. Vote for me when the time comes!

Thank you for reading! (: