Welcome:
Hello, everyone! My name is Sarah Kennedy, and I’m L..A.C.E.S. Summer intern. I am a senior at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville studying Statistics, Elementary Education, and Nonprofit Leadership. I hope to work with my own nonprofit focusing around youth development in low socioeconomic sectors of the United States after I graduate. I started working with the team remotely with L.A.C.E.S. back in May, and I’m beyond ecstatic to share my journey with you all through these blog posts!
The start to my L.A.C.E.S. journey:
When I first stumbled across L.A.C.E.S., I thought to myself, “This is too good to be true”. L.A.C.E.S. incorporated everything I wanted to see in a nonprofit – faith, community, sports, and children of all backgrounds. After poking around the website, I saw there was an internship opening, and I immediately started filling out the application. When I got an email saying I had an interview with L.A.C.E.S. I instantly called my mom and told her all about the amazing nonprofit I found that had everything I could ever ask for. After the interview with Seren, the Founder and Executive Director of L.A.C.E.S., I waited to hear a response, and after a lot of pacing and impatiently waiting, I got the email offering me the internship! I was beyond ecstatic!
Even after the COVID-19 outbreak, Seren and Leah, the Operations Coordinator, have constantly supported, educated, and involved me in their organization, and I can’t thank them enough. We have moved completely online, but that hasn’t stopped us from interacting with the L.A.C.E.S. community and running programs virutaly. I have interned with L.A.C.E.S. for only a few weeks, and it’s been beyond amazing – I have already learned so much, and I know I still have a lot to discover about myself, leadership, and the nonprofit world. Seren and Leah have given me the opportunity to interview the people of L.A.C.E.S. and write about what I learn, so welcome to my L.A.C.E.S. journey!
What I’m excited for:
There are so many things I’m excited for, so I’ll try and keep the list short. First, I’m beyond stoked to start working with their social media – especially these blogs! I have a ton of fun ideas and activities to share with L.A.C.E.S. supporters, and I hope you all enjoy them as much as me.
Next, I’m looking forward to the monthly campaigns, for which I have done so much research revolving around, strategies, language, and I’ve even watched a couple educational webinars. It’s going to be so rewarding to see all of the work and research done by Seren, Leah, and myself put into action!
Lastly, I cannot wait to start interviewing the people of L.A.C.E.S. I’ve already learned so much, and I know they are going to give me even more tools and knowledge to succeed. Not to mention, all the fun and heartwarming stories they will surely tell me about their time working at L.A.C.E.S.
Stay tuned for my next blog focusing on James Moore, the Liberia National Program Director!