Integrated Work is delighted to welcome our new summer interns to our team! We couldn’t be more grateful to have such talented people accompany us on our journey. Here’s a little more about them:
What are you most passionate about and why?
I am most passionate about enacting social change to ensure those who have less access to resources are recognized and receive equitable opportunities in comparison to others.
What attracted you to Integrated Work?
While applying to intern for Integrated Work, I was most drawn to the JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) programs. I am excited to be a part of a company that focuses on promoting the JEDI way.
What achievement are you most joyful about?
I am very excited that I am on track to graduate a quarter early from UCI.
What are you looking forward to?
I am looking forward to new experiences with the Peer Learning Teams and to continue to connect with others.
What do you do for fun?
I love to read, go to the beach, and try new recipes.
Reflection on our time with Leah
Leah Perez is a rising senior at University of California, Irvine majoring in Criminology, Law, and Society. She serves on the leadership team at her sorority and is involved in their fundraising efforts. We immediately recognized Leah’s heart of service. This summer Leah’s internship at Integrated Work involved contributing to our Peer Learning Teams which support the community health center movement. She observed several meetings across various teams, shadowed several team members, and assisted with their roles while learning about program requirements. Leah also conducted preliminary data analysis, helped identify trends, and used data to tell a story. To accomplish this, Leah was introduced to AirTable. She quickly became a savvy user. Her curiosity and desire to learn really supported our Learning Team efforts. It was refreshing to see Leah’s desire to learn and grow professionally. She was particularly curious during conversations about JEDI and branding and always asked thought-provoking questions. We are so grateful for Leah’s contributions. We wish her success in her upcoming senior year and beyond.
About Josiah
What are you most passionate about and why?
I am most passionate about the advancement of Black people in society across the entire diaspora. We have such a prolonged and intricate history and I want our present and future to be as bright as the stars because we deserve it. It’s so imperative to me that we experience the opportunities, fair treatment, equality, and justice we have worked so mercilessly towards. I want us to unconditionally gain freedoms that are our birthright; freedoms that, because of the color of our skin, were never granted to us.
What attracted you to Integrated Work?
What attracted me to Integrated Work was the “at home” feeling I immediately noticed upon meeting a few of the team members. There are many similarities present between the mission and views Integrated Work possesses compared to my own personal beliefs and views. The similarities are mainly regarding developing programs and resources that assist minorities and induce justice and diversity. I love and admire the passion IW has for creating change and being inclusive.
What achievement are you most joyful about?
In all honesty, I’m not where I want to be in life at the moment. I try to exercise giving myself grace and I’m still very hard on myself. I know that I’ve accomplished things in my life that I should be proud of, but I can’t seem to focus on what it is I’ve already achieved as opposed to what else needs to be done.
What are you looking forward to?
I’m looking forward to moving past and matriculating from this particular phase of my life. Being a college student and being this age has of course been defining, rejuvenating, and a major learning experience all in one. I’m immensely grateful for the memories and lessons learned thus far. However, I can’t help but to feel stagnant. My college tenure has lasted longer than expected and it has taken unexpected turns. While I know many people struggle with their college experiences, I’m someone who doesn’t handle things outside of my control too well. There’s more to my life and who I am than just a college student, and I can’t wait to discover who I am and what all the world has to offer outside of a university.
What do you do for fun?
I like to travel, cook, eat, and spend time with my family and friends.
Reflection on our time with Josiah
Josiah Burleson came to us from the Mississippi via Denver. Josiah is a curious soul who asked great questions during every interaction and provided insight into the ways we think about the work we do with his questions. It’s a very specific skill to use “curiosity” as a means of shifting a conversation and Josiah is on his way to a very tuned skill of helping people grow. As a result, I see coaching in Josiah’s future. Josiah assisted with some key internal projects, including examining the naming of our spaces at our Boulder office through an equity lens and assisting with the standardization of team biographies. Logistically, Josiah was spot-on in helping to adjust the way our brand looks online with regard to our staff. Conceptually, Josiah was instrumental in helping refine what equity can look like when it comes to naming spaces. Josiah expressed a strong interest in the work we do and is examining his career path. While he was planning to pursue law after undergrad, he is now thinking about mission-driven service consulting as a possible alternative.
What are you most passionate about and why?
My passion for business and finance is driven by a curiosity for these fields as I find the economic background of organizations and policy fascinating.
What attracted you to Integrated Work?
I was attracted to IW to explore business consulting and was particularly interested in how IW operates under such strong principles.
What achievement are you most joyful about?
I am most joyful about getting into and attending college.
What are you looking forward to?
I am looking forward to expanding my knowledge of the logistics behind the operations of a consulting business and learning how to adapt to a professional workspace for the first time.
What do you do for fun?
I enjoy doing anything that is outdoors including backpacking, hiking, swimming, and surfing.
Reflection on our time with Isabela
The work it takes to build out new processes in an organization involves creative visioning, strategic dot-connecting, information-gathering, and engaging these skills while keeping in mind the grounded experience of those connected to the work. These are the skills Isa demonstrated at an exceptional level as an intern this summer. She helped form a new talent acquisition process for our organization. Isa was able to reimagine pieces of our existing recruitment process in new ways to, ultimately, boost our efficiency in hiring and honor our applicants with the amount of time they invest going through the process. Despite deadline pressures to complete this project, Isa maintained poise and delightful confidence that made it clear that she can handle any challenge she encounters – professionally and academically, as she continues on as a student at Brown University. Along with her talents, her pleasant demeanor and vibrant curiosity accentuate the value of whatever environment she is in and with whomever she interacts. Lastly, speaking of “value,” we will implement many of the recommendations Isa proposed this summer! So if any of you reading this join Integrated Work one day, the hiring process you engage in will be informed by Isa – an endearing part of her legacy as an intern.