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blog
Learning and Growing: A Kind Internship with Riley’s Way
By Amanda Steele
Working with Riley’s Way has truly been the most rewarding and transformative experience of my young career. I joined Riley’s Way in February of 2024 as the Program Marketing Intern. Looking back at those 7 months, I see how much I have grown, both personally and professionally.
I applied to this college-level internship as a high school senior. I’d been met with immediate rejections for positions like these in the past, purely because of my age. Riley’s Way was one of the first organizations to entertain the possibility of me joining their team. This is just one of the many examples of how Riley’s Way is genuinely driven by young people and continuously puts their trust in youth voices. Every single day that I worked with the amazing Riley’s Way team, the foundation’s values were carried through them and the work we were doing. Working with this team, I realized how possible it is to love the work you do and resonate so deeply with the mission you’re pursuing.
I joined the team as a designer, and I set out to transform our forty-five page Chapter Guidebook into a series of colorful one-pagers. Over the course of seven months, after deep consideration, research, and feedback, I created our Chapter Resource Kit. I do hope that it will help the Chapter model continue to expand and support current and emerging Chapters on their journeys of spreading kindness.
During my time at Riley’s Way, I was also able to work on so much more than just creating our Resource Kit. It was clear from my very first day that I’d be able to explore projects that I was interested in, even if it fell slightly out of the scope of my position. I was able to design and produce our very first Chapter merchandise line. From start to finish, I was able to create a t-shirt design, source a manufacturer, and ensure that our product was delivered safely to our headquarters. It was such an exciting experience to take charge of a project like that, and I learned so much about project management, team communication, and communicating with external entities.
Another project I was happy to take on was interviewing students about their Chapter experiences and transforming them into short videos and blogs. I was able to hone my interviewing skills, practice editing with Premiere Pro, and make so many new connections.
I am beyond grateful for all the amazing projects I had the opportunity to work on and for all that I learned from them. I am most grateful, however, for the incredible team I had around me. Working specifically with Thais Salas , Program Coordinator, was such a special experience. I am so glad I was able to work with such a kind person, who always extended her support and trust to me. I could not ask for a better direct supervisor. I am so grateful for the collaboration of the entire staff in the creation of our Resource Kit and Chapter Merch line, and I am especially grateful to Christina Alvarez for always lending her eye for design to my projects. Lauren Shenkman, one of the kindest leaders I know, was such an amazing supervisor, and always helped guide me in the right direction.
The Riley’s Way staff, community, and mission will always hold a special place in my heart, and I know I’ll keep coming back to them. I’m all in with Riley’s Way because I know we’re making the world a kinder place, for today and for tomorrow.