A Unique Remote Experience: The Alhambra-US Chamber Internship
September 25, 2020
This post was written by Vivian Chen. In the field of finance and accounting, Vivian is filled with enthusiasm to create positive social impact through business. She is, among other things, a believer in the power of being civically engaged and informed.
The remote environment imposed by COVID-19 has disrupted students’ professional goals. This summer was filled with uncertainties and challenges for many, hindering students’ ability to obtain a summer internship experience. However, Alhambra-US Chamber served as a lifesaver for students. Instead of being hindered by the virtual environment, Alhambra-US Chamber decided to capitalize on it by offering its internship to an untraditional group of student interns.
Prior to COVID-19, Alhambra-US Chamber’s volunteer internship experience was available only to those students local to Austin, TX, where Alhambra-US Chamber’s offices are located. However, in light of COVID-19, Alhambra-US Chamber expanded its internship program, converting it to a remote offering, onboarding over 100 interns across the nation.
How Is the Internship Structured?
To give context to Alhambra-US Chamber’s internship experience, our NGO operates on a unique business model, in which all staff including the managing partner volunteer their time, motivated by the desire to gain knowledge and make the world a better place through fostering education on a global scale.
An intern’s day primarily consists of project work. These projects represent a mix of short-term and long-term, as well as originating from client needs and intern creativity. All interns participate in at least one project. Depending on interns’ availability, they can choose to work on additional projects. On top of that, interns can wear one or more of the following hats depending on their interests and expertise: Project Lead, Management and Operation Lead, Research Lead, Marketing Lead, and more.
Project Lead: A Project Lead guides project development. His or her responsibilities include: directing the overall vision of the project, holding each member accountable for their performance and deliverables, ensuring deadlines are met, and leading team meetings. A Project Lead is selected for his or her initiative, expertise, and leadership qualities. To offer leadership opportunities to more interns and manage large-scope projects, Project Co-Leads are also assigned for some projects.
Management and Operations Lead: A Management and Operations Lead runs initiatives to make the Chamber a more productive work environment for all the interns. This includes, but is not limited to: onboarding new interns, holding all-team meetings, reorganizing internal structures, and more.
Research Lead: A Research Lead brings his or her expertise in open source research to projects, ensuring all research conducted by the Chamber is thorough and relevant.
Marketing Lead: A Marketing Lead works as part of the core marketing team to coordinate all marketing efforts, including social media, website design, and marketing outreach.
Regardless of how many hats an intern wears, each intern plays a crucial role in the success of Alhambra-US Chamber.
What Projects Did Interns Work on This Summer?
Alhambra-US Chamber’s projects are diverse, allowing interns to take on a wide variety of projects providing familiarity with diverse skill sets and subject matter . Below are three examples:
The Chamber co-hosted a Global Admissions Summit with Career Launcher and EdOrbis on May 31st, 2020. To prepare for this event, the interns worked on market outreach, social media marketing, facilitating a panel discussion composed mainly of international students, and facilitating a university Q&A with representatives from U.S. universities, such as Boston College and Harvard Business School.
To adequately prepare international young adults for life in the U.S., Alhambra-US Chamber designed a webinar series to equip the attendees with practical skills, such as networking, remote interviewing, time management, etc. The webinar series took place in July 2020 and will be offered again in the near future. For this project, the interns worked on content design, advertising, email outreach, and delivering presentations at each of the webinar sessions.
Operations-related projects
As Alhambra-US Chamber is mostly operated by interns, interns also take on core operational tasks such as website maintenance and updates, social media marketing, content writing, and management.
What Is It Like Working a Remote Internship with the Alhambra-U.S. Chamber?
The best way to learn what an internship with the Chamber is like is to hear from the interns themselves! Below we highlight the experiences from three amazing interns in their own words:
Seth J. - Research Lead
“My experience at the Alhambra-U.S. Chamber has been fruitful in so many ways. I've been provided numerous opportunities to apply my knowledge and skills; as the Research Lead, I coordinate several research efforts at a time which requires quite a bit of organization, team building, communication and determination. Rather than simply taking on an opportunity that's weighted down by simple administrative tasks, I get to work hands-on with projects that make a global and nationwide impact.”
Seth has contributed to the Alhambra-US Chamber in many meaningful ways — from being a knowledgeable resource to being a proactive leader. She has always been there for the team whenever her help is needed. For Seth, however, being an incredible intern did not have to be her only plan for the summer.
“When I first applied to the Chamber, I was nervous because I had summer plans to travel quite extensively — over 15 states, to be exact — but with an open communication plan and so much room for flexibility, the Alhambra-U.S. Chamber has provided me a unique proposition to bolster my leadership skills all while on the move.”
Nicole C. - Project Lead
“The Chamber embraces the idea of throwing yourself into the deep end and emphasizes learning by doing. From the second you start your internship you are doing something that is beneficial and necessary for the project at hand. From marketing, to software, to research, the Chamber works to enhance your skills in numerous ways.”
Since Day One, Nicole has demonstrated her dedication and self-driven attitude to projects she is a part of. She goes above and beyond on any tasks she is assigned to and leads her teams by example.
Onilee W. - Project Lead
For Onilee, the internship not only allowed her to share her prior knowledge with the team, but also to develop new skills, such as leadership.
“I personally am a Project Lead on seven projects — and counting — and each project has provided me with a new perspective on how to inspire confidence, motivate, innovate, streamline, and succeed. I have such gratitude for this opportunity to grow and improve my career skills, and I would recommend this internship for anyone hoping to expand and gain leadership experience.”
For Alhambra-US Chamber, Onilee’s mature leadership qualities have advanced the success of many projects and inspired others to pursue excellence as well.
Are you someone constantly thinking of new ways to improve processes? Are you a go-getter with a passion for international education? Are you a leader excited to work in teams? If you have answered “yes” to these questions, this could be the internship for you!
Join the fall 2020 team by applying here. We look forward to getting to know you!
If our internship doesn’t seem like the best fit for you, please feel free to tap into our curated catalog of remote internships and volunteer opportunities here.
