Internships

An internship is a professional learning experience that offers meaningful, practical work related to a student’s field of study or career interest. An internship gives a student the opportunity for career exploration and development, and to learn new skills.

Ana Flavia Schemes

Welcome Neighbor STL is fortunate to have our very first intern working with us this semester. Her name is Ana Flavia Schemes De Lima, from Curitiba, Brazil.

Ana is a Global Studies major at Fontbonne University with a special interest in refugees. She has been helping us with a wish list of organizational tasks in addition to the added bonus of getting to know our Welcome Neighbor families.

One of her assignments is to interview some of our WN families along with their family partners and share their story with the WN community. Ana interviewed Reeaan Alayed and her family partner Janice Seele for her first story.

Courtney Mitchell

Welcome Neighbor STL is very fortunate to have so many talented volunteers working together for the sake of our New American friends resettling in St Louis.

One of these volunteers is Courtney Mitchell, our Welcome Neighbor summer intern who came to us from Washington University in St. Louis. Courtney followed in the footsteps of Ana Flavia Schemes, who was our Spring intern from Fontbonne University – Saint Louis.

We are very fortunate to have such talent and thank them for their service! Please contact us if you are interested in becoming a volunteer intern in the future with Welcome Neighbor STL.

Anna Laine

We are very fortunate to have Incredible Welcome Neighbor interns who help our organization in so many ways.

Anna Laine completed over 113 volunteer hours with us over the fall semester. She is a Global Studies major at Fontbonne University – Saint Louis. Thank you Anna!! You will be missed!

Lydia Roesler Welcome Neighbor STL Intern
Lydia Roesler

We welcomed Lydia Roelser as our intern during the spring of 2022.  Lydia graduated from Wash U with a major in Religious studies and a minor in Middle Eastern studies.  Lydia has been a WN family partner with a Syrian family for 5 years before joining us as our intern.  She was extremely helpful with our onboarding process for new volunteers.  She is currently a teaching asst. in Spain during the 2022-23 school year, but hopes to work in the refugee community in the States as a professional.

Sarah Hima Welcome Neighbor STL Intern
Sarah Hima

Sarah Hima graduated from Webster University with a Bachelor’s degree in International Human Rights and a minor in International Relations. Sarah is grateful for her time as an intern at Welcome Neighbor because it taught her how NGOs work firsthand and how it immerses refugees into the St. Louis community. During Sarah’s internship at Welcome Neighbor, she did many different things, ranging from driving families to classes set up by Welcome Neighbor and other refugee organizations, to writing a blog post about the families who have settled in St. Louis. This internship position was a good opportunity for Sarah to have hands-on experience while helping refugees in the community.

Maclean Kelley Welcome Neighbor STL Intern
Maclean Kelley

Maclean Kelley was our summer intern of 2022. Maclean is a student at WashU majoring in women, gender, and sexuality studies and minoring in music. He helped Welcome Neighbor by sending out waivers and background checks to all of our new volunteers. He also took photos at Welcome Neighbor events and edited a thank you video for our family partners

Max Bernicku Welcome Neighbor STL Intern
Max Bernickus

Max Bernickus was a Welcome Neighbor STL intern in the fall of 2022.  He is a senior at Washington University studying French and Global Studies. He was interested in interning with Welcome Neighbor because it allowed him to help refugees who needed help in the St. Louis community. Max was a great help with organizational tasks, contributing to Welcome Neighbor’s blog entries, and assisting volunteers in getting through the process to help directly with refugees.

Fatuma Ibrahim Welcome Neighbor STL Intern
Fatuma Ibrahim

Fatuma Ibrahim is a first-year undergraduate student at WashU intending to pursue a Global studies major and Chinese minor. She aspires to make use of her WashU education to make a difference in the world. Due to her refugee background, Fatuma is deeply passionate about advocating for the rights of refugees and immigrants. She strives to promote and ease their integration into new communities. Fatuma is excited to start her journey with Welcome Neighbor who also shares the same compassion for their refugee families.

Lily Johnston - WNSTL Intern
Lily Johnston
Grace Nieuwendaal - WNSTL Intern
Grace Nieuwendaal
Rebecca Fanous - WNSTL Intern
Rebecca Fanous

My internship experience with Welcome Neighbor STL has been nothing short of extraordinary, as I have derived immense joy and fulfillment from the meaningful work I have been involved in. One of the highlights of my time here has been my active participation in aiding the mothers group, where I have witnessed the power of community support and the importance of engagement with alike individuals. I also greatly enjoyed delivering necessities to our Welcome Neighbor families as I got to personally meet who I have been working to help all summer as well as witness the impacts of our efforts firsthand. Additionally, I have participated in a multitude of more behind the scenes, but just as fulfilling, work such as promoting fundraiser events and writing and sending personal thank you notes to our generous donors. Overall, my time with Welcome Neighbor STL has been a truly rewarding and life-changing experience, solidifying my commitment to making a positive difference in the lives of others.

Patrick Lee - WNSTL Intern
Patrick Lee
Emma Finn - WNSTL Intern
Emma Finn

Emma Finn is a rising sophomore at Harvard University, pursuing a double major in Applied Math and Classics. Her work with Welcome Neighbor has been gratifying, especially her time working in the kitchen for a supper club and her work on volunteer recruitment. She is very grateful for the opportunity to work with and learn from such a generous group of people with wide-ranging experiences. She is looking forward to continuing to work on recruitment and compiling ESL resources.

Sarah Locke - WNSTL Intern
Sarah Locke

I am so grateful for my internship at Welcome Neighbor! This internship has given me the opportunity to see the behind the scenes of a non-profit as well as build connections with refugee families. Some of my experiences with Welcome Neighbor include driving kids to swim lessons, watching a naturalization ceremony, delivering necessities and donations, spending days at the Magic House and the pool with a family, and playing with kids at a field day. I’ve spent time emailing and calling local organizations, such as the Botanical Gardens and Union Station, for donated tickets for the refugee families. Additionally, I was able to sit in on many collaboration meetings held with other local organizations. Not only did I learn what other organizations are doing to help refugees in St. Louis, but I also realized how vital collaboration is for the success of an organization like Welcome Neighbor. I am thankful for Madeleine and Lindsay’s mentorship these past few months; their dedication to Welcome Neighbor and the families they work with is nothing short of astounding! My summer working with Welcome Neighbor has certainly been fulfilling and insightful as I continue to decide what my professional future may look like.

Interested in being an intern? Contact us here.

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