Stakeholder Spotlight: Nick Burton

The “Stakeholder Spotlight” is an occasional series of posts highlighting people who are helping to advance Learning Life’s work.  Our third post in this series features Nick Burton, who interned with Learning Life in summer 2014, while he was a student at Liberty University.  Now a successful real estate investor, Nick reconnected with Learning Life founder, Paul Lachelier, last year, and began donating generously to support Learning Life’s work.  For ways you can support Learning Life, click here.  

What is your current occupation?

I am currently a Real Estate Investor.

In 1-2 paragraphs, please tell us more about you.      

I am a DC native. I decided dropping out of college and becoming a full-time real estate professional was the way to go. For seven years, I have served as Tim Bratz’s Director Of Acquisitions for Legacy Wealth Holdings, wholesaling hundreds of single-family homes and purchasing thousands of apartment units. The Legacy Wealth team and myself have also coached over 1,000 real estate investors on how to simplify and scale into the multifamily real estate world. As an avid collectibles and memorabilia collector, I pride myself on my organization and willingness to collaborate to get the job done. 

Why did you decide to support Learning Life?

Paul Lachelier was one of the only people to ever give me a chance. He gave me an internship when nobody else would even look at my resume. Paul is an outstanding individual with the drive and heart to really make a change.

Spotlight: Summer 2022 Learning Life Interns

Learning Life’s interns do vital work responsible for the energy and growth of our organization.  This summer, their work included outreach to thousands of people on Facebook and Linkedin to help grow the Family Diplomacy Initiative (FDI) worldwide, and the Democracy Learning Community in metro Washington DC; developing lists of people to invite and engage in learning communities; research on family law and history as well as for Learning Life’s theory of social change; fundraising research and outreach; plus poster design and social media communications.  Learning Life is very grateful for their dedicated work.  You can learn a little about each of them below.

Anna Benson

Year, major, and school: I am a rising senior at Gettysburg College majoring in Public Policy, International & Global Studies, and Spanish.

Hobbies: I enjoy spending my free time with friends and in the outdoors hiking, swimming, and exploring new areas. I love working with kids and have spent the past five years working as a swim teacher and in an after-school program. I am also passionate about language learning, so I love getting the chance to travel and practice my Spanish.

Career aspirations: I am interested in working in the education field, either in education policy or as a classroom teacher. I hope to work abroad either in Spain or Latin America in the years after graduation. I am very passionate about education initiatives and am thankful that Learning Life is teaching me all the ways education can be incorporated into a career, even if it is not necessarily in a traditional classroom setting.

Why Learning Life? I am inspired by Learning Life’s grassroots approach to advocacy work that recognizes the strength of community and the power that human connection has to drive learning, democracy, and change. I also love getting the chance to connect with people across the globe through the Family Diplomacy Initiative. It truly has been a great way to learn and share with people from all different countries and backgrounds.

Jenalyn Dizon

Year, major, and school: I am a second-year undergraduate student at Virginia Tech studying Sociology and Psychology.

Hobbies: I enjoy dancing, going to the gym, studying at bakeries, and seeing live theatre whenever I get the chance. I will also often spend hours on a good crossword puzzle.

Career aspirations: I am interested in researching the intersections of psychopathology, domestic violence, and other familial, romantic, and social relationship dynamics. I hope to attend a graduate school program after I finish my Bachelor’s and then move into a career in clinical psychology or family social work. 

Why Learning Life?  Family social work sees families in all different shapes, sizes, and situations, and Learning Life has allowed me to explore and understand families on a global scale. I had shied away from diplomacy and politics work in the past, but my experience here has broadened my perspective and taught me just how relevant it is to my field of interest. It has also been great to experience the inner-workings of a non-profit organization as an intern to see where and how I might apply my education in the future.

Fatima Elescano

Year, major, and school: I am a first-generation junior at George Mason University majoring in psychology.

Hobbies: I really enjoy spending time with my family in my free time, as I am very family-oriented. My parents and I are very close to my extended family, which we see almost every weekend. I also love listening to music, going out with my friends, and trying new foods, like onigiri (Japanese rice balls).  I have recently started to get more into cooking, particularly Peruvian dishes like lomo saltado (stir-fried beef, often with onions, tomatoes, French fries and/or rice) and aji de gallina (shredded chicken in a cream sauce commonly made of walnuts or pecans, parmesan and aji peppers).

Career aspirations: Since I am a first-generation college student, it is very important for me to finish college and get my degree. I see myself working in the field of psychology, specifically as a therapist. 

Why Learning Life?  I joined Learning Life because I was very interested in how involved they are in learning about different cultures, families, and education. I saw this internship as a wonderful opportunity to gain more experience and knowledge about other cultures, democracy, education, and diplomacy. I am grateful to be a part of it and to gain local and global connections through it.

Mae Long

Year, major, and school: I’m a rising junior with a double major in International Studies and Russian Studies at Vassar College.

Hobbies: I enjoy hiking, playing with my dogs, and exploring abandoned buildings and ghost towns. I love doing research on random topics in my spare time and diving into random information rabbit holes. Recently, I learned about the origins of Groundhog Day and the way the tradition of a small town became a nationwide holiday.

Career aspirations: Ideally, I would love to be a diplomat or work with the State Department in any capacity that involves peacebuilding.  I have a special interest in gender equality and reproductive health access, and ensuring that those things are common globally.  Some day, I would love to work with the United Nations!

Why Learning Life? I chose Learning Life because I have a strong interest in pursuing various types of international dialogue. I found their citizen diplomacy model engaging families to be especially fascinating. This particularly resonated with me as I believe family is incredibly important not only to the individual, but to each country’s development and culture. Involving families in diplomacy is a logical, yet largely undeveloped path in international dialogue.

Maryam Pate

Year, major, and school: I am a junior at Columbia University majoring in Economics with a minor in Computer Science.

Hobbies: In my free time I’m usually reading.  Recently, I’ve been reading memoirs about politicians, academics, musicians and ordinary people.  Otherwise, I like being outdoors, usually on a long run near any body of water.  I also enjoy road tripping across the USA.  So far I’ve been to 38 states and am hoping to go see more!  At Columbia, I’m involved with the entrepreneurship ecosystem, so I love to attend events to hear founders speak and workshops on early stage entrepreneurship.  At the start of the pandemic, I started to bake almost every day.  I began with cakes and cupcakes exclusively but after some improvement, I now like to make tarts, pies, and most recently, angel food cake.

Career aspirations: I hope to impact economic development, particularly in Africa, once I advance in my career and do so by merging my interests in entrepreneurship and technology.  I’m especially interested in women’s economic empowerment and ways entrepreneurship can accelerate that.  I want to understand the supply of capital for these efforts from the investor side and ultimately launch my own venture with tangible social impact.

Why Learning Life? I chose to intern at Learning Life because I was extremely curious about family diplomacy and the impact it can have in empowering individuals to work together to address inequalities they or their communities face. It has also been an especially valuable opportunity because of Learning Life’s integration within D.C.’s public and private sectors, offering me a great deal of understanding of the position and role of a nonprofit within this.

Alexandra Ravano

Year, major, and school: I’m a rising senior at George Washington University.  I’m currently studying International Affairs with a concentration in Conflict Resolution and a minor in Psychology.

Hobbies: Some of my favorite things to do in my free time are fencing and dance, especially Filipino cultural dance. I love sharing my Filipino culture with those around me and teaching others about my heritage. But above all, I love spending time with family and friends!

Career aspirations: In the future, I hope to attend graduate school for international affairs and eventually attend law school, specializing in either human rights or humanitarian law.  I am particularly interested in working for humanitarian organizations and organizations that assist refugees. In the future, I also hope to combine my interests in international affairs and psychology and better understand the intersection between the two.  Overall, I hope that I am able to make an impact and help as many people as possible in my future career!

Why Learning Life? Family has always been such an important aspect of my life, and when I first heard of Learning Life’s mission — particularly with the Family Diplomacy Initiative — I was immediately drawn towards the organization. My family has always taught us the value and importance of diverse backgrounds and thinking, and being able to learn about so many different cultures and perspectives around the world through Learning Life has been an enriching experience. I have also been very excited to apply what I have learned in the classroom to work through Learning Life. I have really enjoyed my time with Learning Life and am grateful for the opportunity to learn more!

Emma Tomaszewski

Year, major, and school: I am a senior attending the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, majoring in legal studies and sociology. 

Hobbies: I like going thrift shopping with my best friends, hiking in the mountains in western Massachusetts, and cooking dinner with my roommates. 

Career aspirations: After finishing my bachelor’s degree, I plan to attend law school in hopes of studying family law and working as a family law attorney. In addition to family law, I plan to practice child advocacy law pro bono. After understanding and working with the law, I plan to get more involved in policy and better the system by examining policies that address the family. 

Why Learning Life? The Family Diplomacy Initiative is what attracted me at first. As someone who cares deeply about family, I believe that it is essential to empower families to be able to advocate for themselves. While interning with Learning Life, I have learned a great deal about different cultures, issues, values, and so much more just by attending and engaging in the international family diplomacy Zoom meetings. In addition, the innovative ideas that Learning Life brings forward, such as democracy festivals and the Democracy Learning Community, make me hopeful that more citizens will understand and be involved in our democracy. 

Avanti Tulpule

Year, major, and school: I am a rising senior at Columbia University studying Political Science, with a focus on International Relations and Comparative Politics, and a special concentration in Education.

Hobbies: My favorite subjects in school are physics and philosophy. I also enjoy discovering music in different languages, learning about art history, and painting.

Career aspirations: I hope to attend law school in the near future. Eventually, I would love to help children as they navigate the immigration process and pursue education – things that I believe will become increasingly urgent in the coming years due to the worsening climate crisis.

Why Learning Life?  Learning Life’s ability to connect thousands of people from different cultures, linguistic backgrounds, and family structures was what first compelled me to apply to the internship program. As nationalism continues to polarize and fracture cross-cultural relationships, and as the world becomes increasingly stratified across socioeconomic lines, Learning Life’s mission to foster international dialogues about the values we all share is essential to diplomacy. Moreover, Learning Life’s focus on non-hierarchical democratic participation, respect for various family structures, as opposed to enforcing a Western conception of “family” for all countries, and prioritization of equitable education access all appeal to me greatly.

Spotlight: Spring 2022 Learning Life Interns

Learning Life’s interns do vital work responsible for the vibrance and growth of our organization.  This spring, their work includes outreach to thousands of people on Facebook and Linkedin to help grow the Family Diplomacy Initiative (FDI) worldwide, and the Democracy Learning Community in metro Washington DC; research in diplomacy, democracy, education and fundraising; social media communications, and more.  Learning Life is very grateful for their dedicated work.  You can learn a little about each of them below. 

Jibbi Bah

Year, major, and school: I recently completed a Bachelor of Arts in Government and International Politics at George Mason University. 

Hobbies: My hobbies mainly consist of different sports.  On the weekends I like to swim, or play football with my friends.  Also, when I have the time, I like to read to prepare for my upcoming master’s. 

Career aspirations: Inequality is a significant issue for me, and hence that’s sort of the main problem I’ve always been interested in addressing. The career that I found most apt for this aim is in social policy, specifically working on designing social safety nets in developing countries to enable social mobility.  Accordingly, I am starting a Masters’s in Social Policy in the Fall, and then hope to begin working with an international development organization. 

Why Learning Life?  I find appealing Learning Life’s ability to transcend class barriers by leveraging the internet to provide mentoring and intercultural exchange.  I think the internet can be a great tool to address inequities in education, and this is exactly what Learning Life attempts to do, so why not be a part of such an effort. 

Year, major, and school: I am finishing my last undergraduate semester at American University in Washington D.C. I am majoring in International Relations with a specialization in Development and Inequality in Latin America. To help my understanding of this wide topic, I have minors in Spanish Language and Economics. I am also currently spending my last semester abroad in Ecuador with the Pachaysana Institute working towards my Spanish fluency. 

Hobbies: In My free time I like to go for walks around my neighborhood.  I also like going out with friends and trying new restaurants and food from different countries.  I especially like Mexican and Italian food.

Career aspirations: I was born and raised in El Salvador until age 12, then came to the United States with my mother and sister.  I took ESL (English as a Second Language) courses in high school in California to learn English.  I noticed in these classes that Latin American students who didn’t speak English fluently were treated differently.  Since college counselors assumed we wouldn’t go to college, they kept us out of college preparation events.  As a result, I am committed to assisting immigrants like myself.   After college and for my career, I aspire to work as an academic counselor where I can assist immigrant students in achieving success in high school and college.

Why Learning Life?  I’ve always believed that education is critical to the development of a more peaceful and compassionate society.  Learning Life caught my attention because of its emphasis on education outside school walls.  I’ve also always been interested in learning about diverse communities and cultures, and Learning Life’s international reach has provided me with that opportunity.

Year, major, and school: I am a senior at Marymount University majoring in Liberal Studies with two concentrations: Business and International Studies.

Hobbies: I spend most of my free time listening to music.  My favorite genres are Rhythm and Blues, Afrobeat and Caribbean music. I am also passionate about African art, and love baking.  I am a chocolate lover, so I like to bake chocolate cakes and cupcakes, chocolate chip muffins and cookies, brownies, marble pound cake, as well as apple pie and crêpes.

Career aspirations: In the future I aspire to a career in international development to help reduce poverty in developing countries. I am particularly interested in education, democracy, sustainability and health.

Why Learning Life? I chose to intern with Learning Life because it aims to help people become better citizens and to shape a better society to live in. Nelson Mandela once said that “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world”, and I firmly believe that this is what Learning Life is perpetuating through its commitment to education, democracy and diplomacy.

Macy Pope

Year, major and school: I am a senior honors student graduating in May of 2022 from Marymount University in Arlington, VA.  I have a double major in Philosophy and English, with a concentration in writing.

Hobbies: In my spare time, I love to read as much as I can about whatever I can, especially ecological critical theory fiction classics and true crime.  I also love to hike and camp, or really just get outdoors!

Career aspirations: After I graduate from college, I hope to join the U.S. Peace Corps.  I am then hoping to either take the LSAT and attend law school for environmental or humanitarian law, or to pursue a Master’s Degree in sociology.  More than anything, I want to be able to help people and to have a positive impact on how people treat the environment and each other.  I also want to one day write a book about my research on the climate crisis.

Why Learning Life?  Learning Life is a really wonderful organization that has offered me an opportunity to connect with different people.  During a time where we are all so online-focused, Learning Life has really made me feel connected to a group of like-minded individuals all passionate about learning throughout life.  I think that education is the key to creating a more compassionate worldview.

River Stone