Out of the classroom, into the field
As an MPA/ID student, you’ll spend the summer between your first and second years working on a development project, usually in a developing or transitional economy country other than your own.
The summer internship is a practical opportunity for you to test the skills you’ve learned during your first year in the MPA/ID Program and broaden your real-world perspective on development practice. You’ll use the internship to explore a new organization, substantive area of interest, or part of the world. You may decide to build on your internship experience for your Second Year Policy Analysis, the MPA/ID capstone paper.
Kim Poff, MPA/ID 2022, interned in the Office of the Prime Minister of Albania. She worked on Albania’s Blue Economy Development Program, which focuses on the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs while preserving the health of ocean ecosystem.
Her internship was an outgrowth of CID Growth Lab’s work with the government of Albania.
For more about Kim Poff’s internship, please see below.
Ricardo Hausmann’s Growth Lab is diagnosing economic woes and helping develop cures. “At a recent event at LSE, speakers from several countries described the impact of Harvard’s Growth Lab projects, not least in Albania, which has been a focal point of Growth Lab research since 2013. Albania’s deputy prime minister, Arben Ahmetaj, said, “The past nine years have been transformative for Albania.”"
Read more about how the CID Growth Lab is training students and practitioners to develop prescriptions for economic growth.
Diana Ayoub MPA/ID / MIT Sloan MBA 2023
Where did you work this summer?
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
What was your title?
Policy and Research Intern
Did you work on site or remotely? Where?
Remotely from Texas, Puerto Rico, and West Virginia
What did you work on?
I contributed to the research and writing of the OECD’s Annual Africa Development Dynamics report. The report discusses the integration of African countries in the global value chain in response to the African Continental Free Trade Agreement. As an intern, I conducted statistical analysis and wrote on trade facilitation, digital infrastructure, debt sustainability, cross-border informal trade, and strategic value chains mapping. It was very exciting to join experts’ meetings from across the continent through the drafting process.
What was challenging?
Apart from the obvious challenges that come with working remotely, the most challenging aspect was developing a positive narrative voice when writing as an African about African countries. While conducting the literature review, I came to realize how easy it is to fall into the single-story trap even in an academic setting. My supervisors were extremely helpful and guided me in recognizing policy opportunities and the ample success stories in the continent.
What was surprising?
I was surprised by the number of opportunities I was given to take ownership of my work and lead my team on multiple occasions. Before I started, I expected most of my work would be supporting authors but did not realize I was going to be given the opportunity to brainstorm and co-author such a significant part of the report. I was happy to see the team treated the interns as experts in their respective fields and expected us to fully contribute with original thoughts in our team meetings, even from our very first week.
What was fun?
While the nerd in me enjoyed the wide exposure to African policy, the most fun part was working with people who are genuinely passionate about advancing African economies. It was humbling to connect and hear about the diverse backgrounds of each of my team members.
What are you looking forward to the most this fall?
I am a concurrent degree student so in the fall I will be starting my MBA at MIT Sloan. I am excited to view the problems I learned about in my internship from a business and entrepreneurial perspective. Most importantly, I’m excited to have classes back in person and can't wait to attend all of the exciting on-campus events.
Varun Gupta MPA/ID 2021
Where did you work this summer?
What was your title?
Summer Intern – Strategic Partnerships Division
Did you work on site or remotely? Where?
My internship was with the Washington, DC office. However, I worked remotely this summer from San Diego, Cambridge, and Chicago!
What did you work on?
The Strategic Partnerships Division helps WFP foster partnerships with national governments and development actors such as the World Bank and the IMF. My work involved writing guidance notes for engaging with the IMF for WFP’s country offices, scoping potential engagement opportunities with World Bank projects at country-level, creating a document highlighting WFP’s work in the Sahel region and covering UN’s Food Systems pre-summit. I also drafted a proposal to the IMF that highlighted WFP’s work on safeguarding food security in sub-Saharan Africa.
What was challenging?
Working remotely. I am sure the experience would have been much enhanced if I could have met my supervisor, her colleagues, and fellow interns in person! The WFP is also a highly global organization with its headquarters in Rome, so navigating multiple time-zones for scheduling meetings and attending events was difficult.
Oh, and how could I forget my arch nemesis: tight deadlines.
What was surprising?
I was really amazed by the scale of WFP’s operations! They work across 80 countries, providing humanitarian relief, strengthening agriculture and food systems, setting up social protection systems, working on climate change resilience and more.
It was also surprising to see how many multilateral organizations working on very similar issues were not often in sync—and the amount of coordination it takes to get all actors to work synergistically.
What was fun?
I was new to the kind of work the WFP does, so I really enjoyed learning about food security and the challenges faced by food systems around the world. I also attended (virtually) the UN’s Food Systems pre-summit. This was an interesting experience and helped me understand the various organizations working in this domain and their respective roles and expertise.
What are you looking forward to the most this fall?
I am so looking forward to being back on campus! I have completed all my core courses, so I am excited about curating my course load this semester. I am particularly looking forward to Ricardo Hausmann’s Development Policy Strategy course and Kessely Hong’s Negotiating Across Differences course. I am also going to be teaching economics to Harvard undergraduate students. This is my first time—I am very excited and a tiny bit nervous!
Gina Joseph MPA/ID / MIT Sloan MBA 2023
Where did you work this summer?
What was your title?
Summer Associate
Who was your supervisor?
Jane Von Rabenau MPA/ID 2019, Founder and CEO of Siklus
Did you work on site or remotely? Where?
Initially on site in the Jakarta, Indonesia office for a few weeks, but we went remote when the country went into lockdown. I stayed in Indonesia and worked remotely from there.
What did you work on?
I redid Siklus's financial model to reflect their new focus on mobile delivery and customer growth as the main revenue driver. I also conducted a cohort analysis to analyze the retention rate of customers through time, analyzed the order pattern history of customers by demographic, created an Excel model to calculate the amount of plastic saved and money saved for customers based on sales inputs, and created a deck detailing Siklus's five-year growth strategy for investors.
What was challenging?
It was challenging taking on such a variety of roles given that Siklus is a startup and everyone has to be ready and willing to do everything. No one is siloed into one role.
What was surprising?
I was surprised at how incredibly talented, humble, and fun my fellow colleagues were, especially given how young they all were!
What was fun?
It was really fun trying on different hats and utilizing different skillsets than I'm used to. I also loved how exciting it was for the team and myself when Siklus hit different milestones. I had never worked at such a fast-growing company before, so it was really amazing to see everything happening so quickly! It was also really cool that my work actually made a significant impact on the company's direction because at earlier stage companies, even the smallest projects can make such a big difference. Finally, it was so incredible to be able to contribute toward Siklus's mission to reduce plastic waste in Indonesia while saving money for low-income Indonesians.
What are you looking forward to the most this fall?
I'm really looking forward to further developing some of the skills I tried out at my internship such as building a strong financial model and forecasting the revenue and other financials of a company. I'd also love to take classes in business strategy and competitive advantages to learn how to most efficiently grow companies like Siklus and carve out new markets.
Lavanya Kumar MPA/ID 2022
Where did you work this summer?
What was your title?
Short-Term Consultant
Who was your supervisor?
Diego Arias MPA/ID 2001, Lead Agriculture Economist
Did you work on site or remotely? Where?
Remotely from Boston
What did you work on?
I researched how to reorient the existing agriculture and health policies to tackle unhealthy foods at a global level, especially in India. I also developed and wrote a case study to understand the long-term impacts of excessive consumption of processed sugars, calling for the need for such reorientation. My findings will help to reform and align agriculture and health policies in India in the areas of processed sugar and other unhealthy foods ingredients.
What was challenging?
Nutrition in India is measured in calories—sugar is considered an inexpensive and easy way to consume energy. In a country where hunger and malnutrition are still quite prevalent, it was challenging to drive points to policymakers and other key stakeholders the need to step away from policies that encourage empty calories and a rise in obesity, diabetes, and other metabolic diseases from eating unhealthy foods, especially with refined sugar as a major ingredient. Agriculturally speaking, India is the second-largest sugar producer in the world; its economy is highly dependent on the sector.
What was surprising?
It was surprising to learn about the quantity of added sugars we eat in a day without even realizing it. There are so many foods perceived as healthy but contain high sugar levels and other preservatives. Fruit juices, for example, have a similar amount of added sugars as soda; however, fruit juices are considered a healthier alternative to soda, especially for children.
What was fun?
A fun part of doing a remote internship was the freedom and flexibility to travel and work from any location in the world!
What are you looking forward to the most this fall?
With things hopefully returning to normalcy, I am really looking forward to an in-person HKS experience this fall. I am also quite excited about my Second Year Policy Analysis topic.
Diego Lestani MPA/ID 2021 (Flex Option)
Where did you work this summer?
Numida, a rapidly growing digital microfinance institution (MFI) in East Africa focused on serving micro-and small businesses (MSBs). Thanks to their proprietary technology and credit processes, they provide growth and working capital to verified MSBs, resulting in high portfolio yields and a high impact on our borrowers’ livelihoods.
Through the Numida mobile app, small business owners can apply for convenient and unsecured short-term business loans by digitally submitting evidence of business ownership and business activity. A proprietary due diligence process, combining machine validation and human review, allows a first lending decision to be made in less than 72 hours. The principal is disbursed digitally via mobile money. Their borrowers then begin reporting their daily financials (sales, expenses, stock purchases) while paying off their loan and tracking their next loan limit. Most subsequent loans are disbursed automatically.
What was your title?
Data Scientist
Who was your supervisor?
Catherine Denis MPA/ID 2014, Chief Operations Officer
Did you work on site or remotely? Where?
I have been lucky enough to intern with Numida twice. In summer 2020, I worked remotely from Boston. And in summer 2021, I worked in-person from Kampala, Uganda. Even though I am part of the HKS Class of 2021, thanks to the “Flex Option” I decided to stay one extra semester at school and finish in December 2021 rather than May 2021. This allowed me to intern twice and be able to have the in-person experience.
What did you work on?
In summer 2020, I worked on a project with other two people at Numida, and we built a proprietary credit score to evaluate the credit risk of loan applicants. In summer 2021, I worked with the product team designing, executing, and evaluating an experiment to increase the company’s approval rate reducing some requisites in the usual due diligence process. The objective was to expand Numida’s portfolio and its impact on small businesses while keeping credit risk under control.
What was challenging?
The first internship presented the usual challenges of remote work. During my second internship, a lockdown was imposed in Kampala for some weeks, and I had to work from home during that period. Fortunately, I had enough time to have an in-person experience and we are more trained now on how to tackle volatile conditions that the COVID-19 pandemic imposed on our lives.
In terms of work, the nature of Numida’s unique business model imposed many challenges in assessing applicants’ default risk. It was challenging to balance the objective of financial inclusion while also making the business sustainable.
What was surprising?
I was impressed by the amount of vegetation in Uganda. Everywhere you look you see lots of green.
What was fun?
Ugandan people are friendly and laid back. I got the chance to meet them at the office and outside the office on a few occasions. I loved doing simple things such as grabbing my helmet and riding a boda boda (motorbike taxi) and seeing Kampala’s hills and valleys. I was lucky enough to travel around the country and was impressed by its beauty.
What are you looking forward to the most this fall?
My cohort was deeply affected by the pandemic. I hope the “Flex Option” gives us the opportunity to have one more semester of in-person classes, enjoy being on campus, and participate in exciting events that happen at the Forum.
Nico Maffey MPA/ID 2022
Where did you work this summer?
What was your title?
Professional Fellow
Who was your supervisor?
Sandy Naranjo MPA/ID 2014, CEO and Co-Founder
Read Sandy's blog post about using positive deviance to improve implementation success in the public sector.
Did you work on site or remotely? Where?
Remotely from home in Argentina
What did you work on?
My work with BetterGovs focused on understanding and designing solutions to the challenges that government leaders often face in implementing public policy.
In the MPA/ID Program, we are taught that for public policies to be successful, they must meet the essential trinity: be technically correct, administratively feasible, and politically supportable. While most public servants focus primarily on the first criterion, they often struggle with the last two. During my internship, I worked closely with the CEO on finding methods that government leaders can adopt to carry policy to fruition. As a former government employee, I realized that no matter the rank, we can be truly transformational in affecting change from within. I am honored that by empowering public sector leaders I got to assist governments around the world carry their policies to fruition.
CEO Sandy Naranjo Bautista—who is MPA/ID 2014—also really trusted my vision on how to refine BetterGovs' vision and strategy. I have significant experience with startups and social enterprises, so I was able to work with her on identifying ways in which we could maximize our own impact; for instance, by improving our business model, expanding our network, and engaging with our target audience.
What was challenging?
BetterGovs's mission is unapologetically ambitious. Anyone with a basic understanding of how governments work knows that implementing public policy is incredibly complex and dependent on several—and often unpredictable—variables. For instance, when you think about a bill achieving its intended effect, you can't just worry about the technical aspects; bills are subject to political influences, outside and within the sponsoring party, they have to withstand the influence of lobbyists, and then even if they pass as intended, still have to be assigned adequate resources, implemented within a specific timeline, enforced by the right government structures, etc. I firmly believe the downstream aspects of policy implementation are the most challenging ones and that's exactly what we are trying to tackle with BetterGovs.
Specifically in my experience, designing tools that can be impactful but realistic was very challenging. But I relied largely on the public sector leaders that I connected with thanks to BetterGovs to draw from their as well as my own experience to guide our work.
What was surprising?
It's shocking how few organizations exist to empower public sector leaders. When you think about it, we expect public sector leaders to navigate largely bureaucratic organizations, lacking resources, and usually for a less competitive compensation, without giving them any support. In the private sector, on the other hand, executives often have leadership training, coaching, mentorship resources, among others, and invariably are more motivated and supported to excel. It's unclear why most governments demand just as much if not more from their employees as the private sector, yet often fail to provide them with the necessary resources. With that gap in mind, I was surprised by how unique and original our work is. I couldn't really tell of an organization that is working on these same issues other than BetterGovs.
What was fun?
Despite being so young, Sandy, our CEO, is incredibly accomplished. She served as Vice-President and Minister of Tourism of Ecuador. Working directly with her was an incredible learning opportunity for me. I know that at some point I want to return to the public sector, and she gave me the trust and support that I needed to continue growing as a leader. Just hearing about her own personal experiences and how she got to where she is today has been fascinating.
What are you looking forward to the most this fall?
I am particularly interested in the challenges that governments face with regard to technology and digital transformation. We live in very exciting times with regard to technology, and how it is impacting our daily lives, from how we get educated, interact with the health system, pay for things, and communicate, among others. I think governments have tremendous power—and consequent responsibility—in shaping how new technologies impact citizens, so I hope to use my fall delving deeper into the private-public intersection in technology. Further, I am really excited about my own entrepreneurial experience, and hope to apply everything I learned this summer as I helped grow BetterGovs.
Matías Muñoz Arredondo MPA/ID 2022
Where did you work this summer?
What was your title?
Consultant
Did you work on site or remotely? Where?
I worked remotely in Santiago, Chile.
What did you work on?
In this internship, I analyzed the macroeconomic and financial conditions of emerging economies, Chile especially, to determine how vulnerable these economies are in a scenario in which the Fed begins to normalize its monetary policy.
I also participated in refining the Chilean Green Bonds Issuances Framework, Allocation Report and Environmental Impact Report. I researched international experience on thematic bonds from development economies and international corporations such as International Finance Corporation, IDB Invest, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development among others.
What was been challenging?
Chile is the first Latin American country to issue green bonds in international markets; the first green bond was issued in 2019. Given the challenges of climate change globally and the Chilean Ministry of Finance’s objectives to promote green projects to encourage international investment, it was challenging to develop improvement recommendations since thematic bonds research (green, social, and sustainable bonds) is relatively new; however, at the same time, the issuance of these bonds are on the rise. Not many countries have issued this type of bonds (for example, the United Kingdom entered this market this year).
What was surprising?
I was very surprised with the quality of financial economists working at the Ministry of Finance. I learned a lot from them.
What was fun?
It was fun to share experiences with the international finance team. I found complementarities when I talked about my work as a former central banker and listened their experiences working in fiscal policy. There’s no doubt knowing the basis of fiscal policy, sustainable economics, and monetary policy experiences are essential for the development future leaders in macroeconomics.
What are you looking forward to the most this fall?
I look forward to learning more about sustainable finance and economics for development. These are challenging and interesting topics that I truly believe will become more important in the future.
Gopal Nadadur MPA/ID 2022
Where did you work this summer?
What was your title?
Intern, Industry Vertical and Economics & Finance Cell
Did you work on site or remotely? Where?
Remotely, although I was able to spend a couple of weeks in the office in New Delhi during a personal visit back to India.
What did you work on?
The ultimate objective of my work and my reason for coming to HKS was to accelerate the creation of low-skills labor jobs, i.e., “blue collar” jobs. For a variety of reasons, countries like India have a limited window of opportunity to create substantially more of these jobs and thereby provide a pathway out of poverty and poverty-induced suffering and death for hundreds of millions of people.
To this end, leadership of NITI Aayog's Industry Vertical and Economics & Finance Cell asked me to help identify manufacturing industries that have the highest potential for job creation, and begin to explore if international trade can play a role in the growth of these industries. The 10-week internship was scheduled to end August 2021; however, I was honored and grateful to have been asked to continue supporting NITI Aayog's teams to further develop my final internship deliverables. Going forward, the findings of this work will inform assessments of existing policies and the development of future policies aimed at growing India's manufacturing sector.
What was challenging?
Making progress despite being remote. Especially in government, it is usually difficult to build relationships with key decision-makers, obtain the required information, and move analyses forward without being in-person. It was difficult at times to advance on my projects as quickly and intensively as I could have if this internship had been in-person. There was a stark difference in pace and intensity of work when I was able to spend a little time in the NITI Aayog office during a personal visit back home to India.
It was also challenging to understand, engage, and hopefully change pre-conceived notions. Based on their vast, hands-on experience and plentiful anecdotal evidence, some policymakers may have already assumed certain results from my analysis and may have been surprised by my findings. Once again, being remote made it harder to understand these preconceived notions and thereby have the awareness needed to engage most constructively with these policymakers.
As in many public policy analyses, it was a challenge to get a sense of what kinds of data were available and potentially accessible versus available and not accessible versus simply unavailable, and to get access to available data. This involved an often-painstaking process of going from “not knowing what I didn't know” to “knowing what I didn't know.” I was grateful for the time and guidance I received from my internship supervisors in this regard.
What was surprising?
The amount of time and effort NITI Aayog's leadership put into structuring and guiding my work. I am deeply grateful for their support.
What was fun?
So many things! Being thrown headfirst into areas of policymaking where I had very little prior experience was certainly fun. I enjoyed being in “sink or swim” situations, so I thoroughly appreciated this experience and the high stakes involved. It was also fun to have a chance to finally meet leadership and colleagues and get to know them a bit better over lunches and cups of chai tea.
What are you looking forward to the most this fall?
I can't wait to more fully experience the Kennedy School atmosphere: meeting more faculty and fellow students, having organic conversations around the building, and feeling more plugged in to the research centers, clubs, and other activities the school has to offer.
I am delighted to continue my work with NITI Aayog and am excited to be able to better seek guidance from faculty members at the Kennedy School, Harvard Law School, and Harvard Business School.
I am also honored and excited to be a co-chair for the 2022 India Conference at Harvard. I’m looking forward to working with my fellow co-chairs to build the conference team and together planning a vibrant and enriching conference.
Sebastian Peña Laris MPA/ID 2022
Where did you work this summer?
What was your title?
Summer Fellow (Growth Lab) and Short-Term Consultant (World Bank)
Who were your supervisors?
Farah Hani MPA/ID 2019, Research Fellow and Ricardo Villasmil MC/MPA 2014, Senior Research Fellow (Growth Lab) and Tania Priscilla Begazo Gomez MPA/ID 2006, Senior Economist (World Bank)
Did you work on site or remotely? Where?
Remotely, but I was able to travel to Mexico, Colombia, France, Spain, and within the United States.
What did you work on?
At the Growth Lab, I worked on analyzing Jordan's public wage bill as part of the project between the Growth Lab and the Government of Jordan's economic response to the pandemic. The objective of this research was, among other things, to understand the key drivers of the increase in the wage bill, and the wage gap premium between the public and private sectors, and analyze the composition of the civil service structure and remuneration. The purpose of my work was to provide suggestions based on better international practices that could improve human resource allocation, management of the civil service, and explore the feasibility of containing expenditure growth.
Within the World Bank’s Digital Development Global Practice's department, I developed training materials for government officials as part of the Africa Agile Regulation for Digital Transformation capacity building program. I also prepared background notes on taxation of telecommunication services in Africa, helped prepare the Africa Digital Economy Flagship “Inclusive Digital Africa” report, and did background research in preparation of analytical reports on spectrum management and digital platforms.
What was challenging?
Working on both internships remotely was challenging. Participating in meetings while working remotely in Medellín, Colombia where there is poor internet connection was quite frustrating.
Working with a senior economist at the World Bank was great, but it was easy to get lost sometimes due to the size of the project. There were high expectations on my findings and output, but it was difficult to have time for feedback given the workload.
Language and culture were definitely challenging in the Growth Lab. For example, in a meeting we didn't know to address our counterpart as “excellency” given her seniority in the government.
What was surprising?
It was surprising to see the similarities of growth constraints in countries all around the world. It was something we learned about in class, of course, but from my experiences it was evident that what I have lived in my country was relatable in many other economies.
What was fun?
It was really fun to collaborate with people from all over the world and have the opportunity to work with a foreign government as well as an international organization such as the World Bank.
What are you looking forward to the most this fall?
To enroll in classes, mainly involving infrastructure, finance, and development, that will enhance my experience with these organizations. I’m also looking forward to exploring opportunities as a social entrepreneur and improve my soft skills in areas such as negotiation and leadership.
Kimberly Poff MPA/ID 2022
Where did you work this summer?
Office of Development Programs and Coordination, Office of the Prime Minister of Albania
What was your title?
Intern
Did you work on site or remotely? Where?
On site in Tirana, Albania
What did you work on?
I worked on programs related to EU and Albanian initiatives in the “Blue” Economy, which encompasses marine- and oceanic-based economic growth, social inclusion programs, municipal capacity development, gender inclusion, innovation and technology development, and waste management. I was included anywhere they needed me—so there were a lot of opportunities!
What was challenging?
The Albanian language was a challenge. All of my co-workers spoke English and any collaboration or correspondence with people from other countries was in English. But many internal meetings were in Albanian, which I didn't have time to learn before coming. Even once in-country, I found the language to be a challenge and feel I missed out on some of the more casual aspects of being in an office.
What was surprising?
All of the ways different—especially lesser known—development agencies or industry groups can work together with country governments to spur economic and social development. Much of my time was spent looking at the initiatives of trade groups in tourism or tech in other western Balkan countries to understand how they had better formalized and grown their sectors.
What was fun?
I LOVED getting to know Albania. It's a beautiful country full of friendly people. I was also able to travel to Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Croatia, and Greece. Traveling had some challenges (and a lot of different currencies), but I enjoyed my time so much that I will look for other opportunities in eastern Europe after graduation.
What are you looking forward to the most this fall?
I'm really looking forward to getting to take electives. The MPA/ID core doesn't allow for a lot of extra classes in the first year, so getting to focus more specifically on my interests this year is exciting.
Beatriz Vasconcellos de Araújo MPA/ID 2022
Where did you work this summer?
Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative
What was your title?
Summer Fellow in Nashua, New Hampshire
Did you work on site or remotely? Where?
I worked on site for two weeks and eight weeks remotely. I was in Nashua, New Hampshire.
What did you work on?
I worked on increasing community engagement in the participatory budgeting process in Nashua’s Tree Streets neighborhood, which has the lowest human development index in New Hampshire and a large Latino population. The idea was to use participatory budgeting as a way for city government to get closer to the community, residents, and local organizations. My role was to connect with local leaders, get them involved and support them with materials, promote the idea collection phase, and get as many people as possible to submit ideas. As I learned about local issues, I was constantly sharing those insights with the mayor's office and trying to act on some.
What was challenging?
The city has had a long struggle connecting with residents in this neighborhood. I heard from several residents they feel intimidated in City Hall, face language barriers, and sometimes lack faith in city initiatives. First, the challenge was to approach residents and local leaders in an empathetic way and connect with them. But the challenge that followed was to keep these relationships and stay connected while I worked remotely. I learned this required trust and consistency, so I reported back to residents about the feedback they gave me and nurtured relationships. I am now convinced there are five sequential elements that are essential to carry out effective public policy and develop underserved areas: empathy, personal connection, physical presence, consistency, and trust. These can never be achieved by only looking at data or designing public policies from our offices.
What was surprising?
It surprised me how fast I was able to connect with local residents by going to where they are, speaking in Portuguese and Spanish, and listening. I learned about issues City Hall wasn't aware of, including how food insecurity in their neighborhood is linked to insufficient public transportation and a two-bag limit on the bus. I brought this insight back to City Hall and they immediately started brainstorming solutions and interacting with residents who know the issue well.
What was fun?
The process was incredibly fun! In one week, I was introduced to all of the Latino restaurants in the area, ate empanadas every day, went to a block party, and even made my way on to a local radio show. Friends helped me add posters in bus stops and came to the block party with me.
What are you looking forward to the most this fall?
I look forward to continuing to learn about inclusive economic development and contributing to city initiatives. And I can't wait to be back on campus with friends and faculty, and really hope we can return to the libraries, my favorite places on campus.