By: Lexi, Vida and Victoria, Riley’s Way Interns and Council Members

I’m Lexi and I’m a rising senior at Nightingale. During my internship this summer, I was able to be part of many different projects. I started out by doing some research about other grant opportunities similar to the Call for Kindness and our Call for Kindness partner organizations. It was cool to be able to see all the social justice work that people my age have done. At the same time, I was also creating a spreadsheet with all of the young leaders from councils, retreats, and the Call for Kindness and importing that information into our database. I had the opportunity to interview a Riley’s Way Council alum, take part in the 3G Mentorship Program, and work with Board members to evaluate what steps we can take to accomplish our 5-year plan. Throughout my internship, I learned how to interact with people outside of my age group during the 3G program, how to collaborate with others on big projects, and just generally I learned a lot more about Riley’s Way and how it functions. I’m excited to attend the Youth Leadership Retreat that I helped plan and to see what exciting things we will accomplish as a council this year. I only have one more year left of being on the Riley’s Way Council, but I’m excited to be able to bring Riley’s Way wherever I go after high school.

My name is Vida, and I am a rising junior at The Hewitt School. My time as a Riley’s Way intern was a whirlwind. I had so many opportunities to indulge in my artistic passions and collaborate with amazing people. A lot has happened throughout these several weeks, but here are just a few highlights. I had the amazing opportunity to collaborate with Riley’s Way’s Social Media intern Christina Alvarez on the designs of a couple of Riley’s Way Council/ Chapter blogs and the logo for the Riley’s Way Leadership Youth Retreat. I also got to partake in the 3G Mentorship program, and collaborate on a blog about my experience with fellow summer interns Lexi and Victoria! I am thrilled to be part of the Retreat Planning Committee and even more thrilled to go at the end of September! This fall, I will be returning to Riley’s Way for my third year as part of the Hewitt/ TYWLS of Astoria Council and am so excited to continue contributing kind leadership to the work of the Riley’s Way Foundation!

My name is Victoria, and I am a rising junior at The Young Women’s Leadership School of Astoria. This past summer, I interned with Riley’s Way and grew so much! I started off the summer by taking part in the 3G Mentorship Program. Now, I won’t lie: interacting with little kids was daunting, but through the program, I realized my worries were unfounded. I had so much fun and learned a ton about communication, trying new things, and not giving up. Then, I wrote a blog about it with my amazing fellow interns, Lexi and Vida! I also helped plan the Meet & Greet for the Riley’s Way Leadership Youth Retreat. As the co-chair of the TYWLS of Astoria and Hewitt Council, I had some experience under my belt, but planning the Meet & Greet allowed me to elevate my skills. I had to plan bonding activities for a larger group of leaders who had never met each other before (talk about tough). In the end, the Meet & Greet was a lot of fun, and I look forward to attending the Retreat! And finally, I proposed and created the framework for Council and Chapter Co-Chair Training Sessions! It was absolutely incredible watching a small thought of mine become reality. I am beyond excited to launch these workshop sessions and start the Council year! These are just a couple of highlights from my summer. I am so grateful to have worked alongside incredible Riley’s Way members, and most importantly, Riley’s Way Engagement and Events Director, Stephanie Dore, who was there every step of the way and made me realize what leadership and mentorship really means.