Jay'Lynn Harrison: My internship... to be continued!
Earlier this summer, I was scrolling down my social media news feed when I came across a post that says Kinston Teens is hiring summer interns. I’ve seen many things the Kinston Teens has done and participated in to help improve and be a positive impact on our community, so I was familiar with this organization. As I look into the position and requirements for the internship, the digital community organizing position and its purpose caught my eye. Not only would I be helping the organization and involved in our community, this internship opportunity would teach me and open me up to help improve my social and digital skills also. I’m glad I took the chance to apply and I’m thankful for this amazing opportunity.
This summer, I have six major goals to complete as a part of my internship: fundraising, setting up one on one meetings with community leaders, attending local government meetings, hosting a Facebook live show, writing blog posts, and organizing/leading an event. I look forward to completing these goals and the things I will learn along the way. Although these are our individual goals, in a way everyone on our team works together and makes sure no one is uncomfortable and that we understand what must be completed.
Although it has only been a short time since I’ve been one of the three interns with Kinston Teens, I’ve met some great people in the office. I must say this experience so far is going good. While focusing on civic engagement and the importance of voting, we also get to know each other more throughout the day. Recently as a team building activity we went kayaking. That would’ve been the last thing on my summer to do list. Any other day I probably would not have even thought about kayaking, but members of Kinston Teens and the other interns made me more comfortable with what was about to happen. The activity was full of laughter and guiding one another as if we’ve been friends for the longest. During our orientation it was mentioned by the members how the organization is like a big family, and it’s noticeable. I can’t wait for the rest of our projects and activities this summer.
Jay’Lynn Harrison is a rising senior at Kinston High School and summer intern with Kinston Teens. This summer, Jay’Lynn will be working on the organization’s in-person and online community organizing: building our social media engagement, leading community events, and conducting voter registration drives. Stay tuned for future posts from Jay’Lynn!