We are thrilled to see the success of all your interns, and thankful to be your partner in advancing neurodiversity inclusion!
This week, 20 Degrees' interns presented their Capstone Projects to the entire team. We were all blown away! We have always viewed our internship program as part of our talent strategy and values. Building the field also extends to who we bring into our team, even for the summer. A little snapshot of the work: Jada Batts reenvisioned some of our key foundational graphic templates, which helped us upgrade the look and feel of our presentations. Kartik Mukkavilli created and performed a rigorous data analysis to help us better understand our impact. Katharina Valentine-Urbschat dug deep and helped us map out our service offering in Philanthropy Plus so we can better serve nonprofits needing revenue support. Zaria Blain created two well-researched and critical reports on trends in the nonprofit space that will serve us and our nonprofit clients. None of this was busy work, and all of these projects were best served by fresh eyes with new perspectives and were teaching tools. Thank you to Sitar Arts Center, NeuroTalent Works, and Yale School of Management for your partnership that helped us create these possibilities. And thank you to our Social Finance Manager, Paola Bonilla, who helped us lead and elevate our summer internship program. Most of all, thank you to Jada, Kartik, Katharina, and Zaria for continuing a strong tradition of 20 Degrees interns. We have all learned from you, and you join a formidable alumni group. In the summer of 2019, Anna Shinn, MSIS, launched our first internship program as Intern #1. Ben Selden and Divya Kapur worked with us through that hot summer of 2020. Sarah Scaffidi. Anna Henry and Ferdinand V. came on in subsequent years. We still use all of the projects each intern has created in service of our clients here at 20 Degrees. Without fail, our interns brought insights, presence, joy, and often a strong meme game to our team. We have offered them programs like 20 Degrees U, access to client meetings, and invitations to learn with us. And. We have also always paid our interns, even as a start-up. It is tempting to say, "We don't have time" for interns. As a remote company, it can be easy to say, "It's too hard to make it work." Even when internships are supported by philanthropy, they still cost real dollars. And they have always been worth it. Our team leaves this week smiling and grateful for the emerging talent who spent their summer as 20 Degree Scarcity Slayers! #interns #summer2024 #emergingtalent #culturebuilders #scarcityslayers
This was a really great partnership for all of us! Onward! Thank you for your work and for helping us grow as an organization!