By Viviana Nino
With college applications coming up, I wanted to look into different ways to build my college resume. When summer began, I was in search of an internship that would benefit me and my high school career. This summer, I applied to be a part of SA Works’ summer internship program.
SA Works has partnered with many different organizations and foundations that help benefit high schoolers and help them grow their work experience. Due to COVID-19, SA Works was able to provide fully remote internships for the program. I knew that going through SA Works’ internship program, I would be able to add to my college resume and overall internship experiences.
Throughout my internship, SA Works had provided us with different guest speakers every Tuesday that helped encourage and teach the interns more about different careers and lessons. When browsing internships, I came across Brooks, which I was very familiar with, because I live in the Southeast area. I knew Brooks was a growing campus, with many different career opportunities that would benefit me in my internship.
When Brooks accepted me as their summer intern, I knew I would be able to help my community and learn from their team. I gained a lot of insight on the different parts that go into growing a community and experiencing the teamwork that the Brooks team has.
During my time as a Brooks’ intern, I had the opportunity to work with Brooks’ Strategy & Community Relations Director, Connie Gonzalez. While working with Connie, she was able to help me find my voice and grow as a presenter and public speaker. Throughout my high school experience, I wasn’t the most confident speaker and I had a lot of trouble presenting my point across in class discussions. The way I carried myself led me to be very hesitant and anxious about my ability to speak in front of a crowd.
Connie, being a very confident and articulate public speaker, had taken on the role as my mentor at Brooks. We worked together on different strategies to build my confidence in public speaking, which has proven to be very beneficial to me and my desire to be a better presenter. I was given many speech assignments that helped me to practice thinking quickly on my feet and confidently speak on a certain topic. This has helped me realize that I have my own voice and I can now confidently portray my voice within my community.
I know that in the future, the lessons that I learned at Brooks will help me be a more successful and confident woman throughout my life. Although I was unable to have an in-person internship experience, I was fortunate to have a very positive and encouraging internship at Brooks. This summer internship has not only amplified my desire to help my community, but has also helped me grow into a more confident student and employee.
Viviana is entering her senior year at Young Women’s Leadership Academy. She is a volunteer for Girls Inc., of San Antonio, and a member of Transportation You and the National Spanish Honor Society.