Fall 2012 DPCS Internships

Isha Flores '14

Sanctuary for Families
New York, New York

Isha will be working with Sanctuary for Families this fall in New York City. Sanctuary for Families works to provide services for victims of domestic violence or sex trafficking, and their children. Within SFF, Isha will work with the Economic Empowerment Program, and prepare the organization's clients to opt for better job opportunities, by helping them with their resumes, teaching them basic professional skills and help them fill out job applications. Isha hopes that this experience will allow her to become better situated to tackle social problems either at the very small level or at a policy level. Isha writes for The Dartmouth, the college newspaper, and serves as an editor of Dartbeat, The Dartmouth's blog.

Emily Zhu '14

Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative
Roxbury, Massachusetts
Mentor: Lisa Horowitz '87

Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative is a non-profit community organizing and planning group that aims to revitalize the neighborhood's diversity, sense of community, and quality of life, while ensuring that the residents remain in control of their own neighborhood's development. Emily's role as an intern is multifaceted. She will attend community meetings to hear residents' input on the community, compile research on land deeds that the DSNI owns, and work with community youth empowerment programs that engage teenagers as part of DSNI's board. An Economics and Environmental Studies double-major, Emily was inspired by the organization's development model, as she believes it aims to be sustainable economically- and environmentally-speaking. At Dartmouth, Emily currently serves as the Head of House for the Sustainable Living Center.

Dedeepya Konuthula '14

The Aberg Center for Literacy
Dallas, Texas
Mentor: Kendall Burney Wilson '86

The Aberg Center for Literacy offers English fluency and GED preparation courses at little or no cost to members of the Dallas community. Their mission is to give their adult students the skills to connect with other members of their community, graduate high school, and support themselves and their families. They also offer free childcare for the children of their students during morning courses. Recently, the Aberg Center has realized that their mission of breaking the poverty cycle and removing linguistic barriers for certain communities can be better fulfilled by offering early childhood education for the children of the adults attending classes there. Dedeepya will be helping to ensure that the transition from childcare to early childhood education goes smoothly. She will prepare daily lesson plans and activities for the children, as well as checking in with their parents' own educational progress. Dedeepya has ample experience working with children—at Dartmouth, she worked for the Hanover After School Program, is a member of Big Brother Big Sister, and a volunteer at the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth. Dedeepya hopes that this experience will allow her the opportunity to challenge herself and to further asses her aptitudes and interest in education and social justice.