Julia Lisi ’18
Winter internship: Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village headquarters, Manhattan
Award: Nancy Lynn Porter ’43 Fellowship
Major: Religion
Inspired to do more: “I visited the village with President Hanno and a group of about 14 students from Wheaton last January. There we taught a one-day seminar on entrepreneurship. I fell in love with the village and reached out to one of the administrators hoping to donate some clothing. I collected and donated six bags of clothing, which was the start of my connection with the headquarters in New York. Shortly after my donation, I asked about a potential internship opportunity, and one of the women working at the headquarters set me up with one.
Art of the thank you: “My boss asked me to double-check every ‘thank you’ letter I put together and was very detail-oriented. Through observing him, I realized how important it is to not only thank donors but to make the letter perfect and precise, including the amount donated, the date of donation as well as their preferred name including prefixes. Donors help keep a nonprofit running, which makes their continued interest in donating crucial. Sending out a personalized letter of thanks may increase a donor’s interest in donating again in the future.”
Following the numbers: “The village in Rwanda is focused on interaction with the students and building community, which are two of my strong suits, but I really do not know much about accounting. Luckily, my boss was excited to teach me what I did not know. He drew a map for me detailing the money flow within the organization, which included where the money comes from and where it goes and how it gets there. This helped me to put my work into context. He gave me small projects just to get acquainted with insurance policies, and this was a low-pressure way of helping me to learn.”
Ready to return: “I do not yet know what I plan to do for a career in the future, but I know that I would love for it to be related to the work I have done in and for Rwanda over the past year. Whether it will be traveling to Rwanda to teach more leadership and entrepreneurship seminars or working in an office helping to fundraise for a school in Rwanda, I know that whatever I end up doing will be linked with this amazing country. My internship is invaluable for this reason; it has given me amazing connections and has improved my knowledge of how an organization in New York can make all the difference for a school and community in Rwanda.”