Intern Spotlight: Kayla Hamedi

This summer, Learning Life was lucky to have three student interns who contributed valuably to our work. This spotlight series will showcase each of our summer interns, starting this month with Kayla Hamedi.

It doesn’t take long to look at Kayla’s resume to realize she’s an achiever. Kayla, a Maryland resident, delivered the commencement address at her high school class’s graduation ceremony after graduating in the top 5% of her class, earning a number of awards (e.g., Maryland Distinguished Scholar Award Honorable Mention, National Society of High School Scholars Nominee, Scholar Athlete Award), and serving as Class of 2011 Second Vice President, the student newspaper’s Business Manager and News Editor, Persian Club President (her parents hail from Iran) and International Club Vice President, among other roles.

This fall semester, Kayla will be entering her junior year at George Washington University in Washington D.C., majoring in political science and minoring in development studies. At GW, Kayla has an impressive 3.75 GPA, and has been involved with The National Society of Collegiate Scholars, the College Democrats, and Students for Barack Obama. Upon graduating, Kayla aims to go to law school in order to pursue a career advocating for human rights internationally.

Just as Kayla’s resume signaled she’s an achiever, so did her work with Learning Life this summer. Cumulatively, Kayla:

1) Researched and wrote over a hundred facts on varied topics of importance, from identity theft to global warming, for dissemination via Learning Life’s social media outlets.

2) Compiled newspaper advertising rates to compare with Learning Life’s rates for designing, printing and distributing sponsored educational napkins, coasters and other surfaces in the DC metro area.

3) Gathered online opportunities for Learning Life to guest blog

4) Generated a list of selected businesses in Alexandria, VA for Learning Life to contact for possible partnership.

5) Helped increase Learning Life’s number of likes on Facebook and followers on Twitter.

6) Collected notable quotes about education and the importance of information to support Learning Life’s work.

In addition, one of the sometimes lesser appreciated but essential characteristics of any good intern or employee is punctual attendance, and Kayla’s attendance at staff meetings was consistent and punctual, even with a long commute from Maryland to Virginia, where Learning Life is based.

Outside Learning Life, Kayla has, among other things, assisted local food banks in distributing boxes of food to local homeless shelters, tutored students in a variety of subjects, helped re-elect Barack Obama, and most recently joined Homeward Trails Animal Rescue to help find homes for stray, abandoned and rescued dogs and cats.

Asked why she chose to intern with Learning Life, Kayla said, “I feel Learning Life’s work can really make a difference in the way of educating outside of a school environment. The more well-informed our society is, the better we become as a whole, and to be a part of something that promotes that is an honor.”

Thanks, Kayla! We look forward to keeping in touch with you, and seeing you occasionally at Learning Life volunteer events!

To learn more about interning or volunteering with Learning Life and other ways you can help, contact us at email@learninglife.info.