The Education Opens Doors team, with Kaleb (center) and Sandra (to his right)
My Name is Kaleb Reed and I am an intern at Education Opens Doors. I am 17 years old and a senior at Kathlyn Joy Gilliam Collegiate Academy. I found this internship through a program called the Mayor’s Intern Fellowship program. The team culture that I was able to experience this summer was amazing. It has made me aware of people and how to behave in an office setting. It has showed me how to work with my coworkers and bond with them. The team showed that they are empathetic, purpose-driven and innovative.
Empathetic
In my experience as an intern at Education Opens Doors, I met wonderful people. When I arrived, the team greeted me with open arms. Everyone was very friendly and they all tried to include me in every conversation they had. I never once felt left out. Furthermore, one of the Impact Managers, Sandra Godina helped me tremendously. She clearly explained each of my projects. She even left me instructions on how to do each project.
Sandra has made a huge impact on my life. Seeing the way she talks to people and how she plans is amazing. For instance, when we have our check-ins, she has clear goals and she knows what she wants to say. During lunch we all ate together. While eating we talked about certain things that were happening and I was able to bond with each of them. At a lunch-and-learn, we discussed two podcasts we had listened to, covering Neo-Nazism and trauma, and we were all able to express our opinions without conflict. There was no criticism or judgement. Although the time I spent at EOD was brief, I consider them people I can talk to about anything.
Purpose Driven
As part of my internship, I have interviewed a few of the team members to learn from their experiences. Each of the people I work with has their own personal reasons for working at Education Opens Doors, but one thing they all have in common is they believe in the mission of the organization. They want to increase the chance for students who will be first generation college students to get into college. They want to offer them a better shot.
Innovative
During my time at Education Opens Doors, I have learned communication skills, organizational skills and what it truly means to work as a team. I have seen each member of the team help each other. If someone needs help, they are there to help. They never allow anyone to struggle alone. I have to ride the bus and train to and from work, and Sandra is kind enough to take me to the train station and also offers to take me to work. I have not had the experience of working in an office so getting to see it first hand has been incredible. Everyone here is a hard worker. I saw first hand the amount of work they take on and I am very impressed.
Overall, my experience was amazing. I am so grateful that I got the opportunity to work at Education Opens Doors. With the skills I learned I will be able to organize everything for my senior year. I can be goal oriented and be sure to lift not only myself up, but my peers as well.
The EOD team would like to give a special shout-out to Kaleb for his hard work this summer! We were so lucky to have him on our team and we wish him the best of luck with his senior year!
