What makes an internship meaningful? At Elevate+’s October board meeting, we heard from two people who spent the summer finding out together.

Christopher Harlow-Jennings, executive director of All The Way Up in Newark, NJ and Joyce Velasquez, a junior at Montclair State University, spoke with Elevate+ about their experience. Christopher was Elevate+’s very first internship host and helped shape our early job readiness programming. For Joyce, this summer marked her first internship.

Their conversation offered a look at what happens when a student eager to learn meets a mentor willing to provide guidance, welcome questions, and learn alongside her.

This conversation has been edited and condensed for length and clarity. 

Elevate+: Christopher, tell us about All The Way Up and what hosting interns has made possible for your organization.

Christopher: We’re a nonprofit in Newark offering GED, English as a Second  Language, and job readiness classes, workshops, and 1:1 tutoring for adult learners throughout Northern NJ. We began in 2016 with three students, and this year we're celebrating our tenth anniversary, welcoming over 140 students each semester. 

We’re a fairly small team, and having interns helps us tackle projects that otherwise keep  getting pushed to next month. Over the years, interns have helped with teaching  resources, photography, and building our Google reviews. One former intern, Valeria, later became our first receptionist when we moved into our new office.

But it’s also about learning. Every year, we learn as much as we try to teach our interns. They bring ideas and perspectives that help us do things better.

Elevate+: Joyce, how did you find Elevate+, and what were you hoping for?

Joyce: I received an email through Montclair State’s First Generation Initiatives. I’m also part of the Next Generation Service Corps, which requires us to complete an internship before graduating, so I was already looking for a summer opportunity.

I wanted it to be paid, and when I saw Elevate+, I thought, “This is everything I need.”

This was my first internship. Without it, my summer probably would have been mostly classwork. Instead, I got to try something new.

Elevate+: What did you work on together?

Christopher: Joyce helped us update our volunteer tutor training manual. What started as a PDF became a living Google Doc and then an interactive curriculum in Google Classroom, with videos and questions after each section.

She also managed our social media for much of the summer and gathered interviews with tutors, former students, and other stakeholders for our tenth-anniversary social media series.

It was a busy, productive summer. She helped us accomplish some really substantial projects.

Joyce: The tutor training project captures what the experience was like for me. Communication was open, and I could always ask questions.

At one point, I was asked to create a splash video, and I had no idea what that was. I looked it up, made a draft, and then realized I had misunderstood what we needed. We talked it through, I remade it, and it worked out really well.

That was a lot of my internship: going from not knowing how to do something to learning how to do it.

Elevate+: What helped you build a good working relationship?

Christopher: Joyce was willing to tell me what she needed. In the first week, I gave her a project list, and she said she needed more specific steps to get started.

I always want to leave room for an intern’s creativity, but I could see that I had left too much room at the beginning. Her honesty helped me become a better manager. We broke the work down into clearer steps and weekly goals. We got a little off track at times, then worked together to get back on track.

Joyce: Knowing that questions were welcome made a big difference. I would ask one question in Slack, get an answer, and then ask another.

I wanted to understand what was needed before spending a lot of time going in the wrong direction. I’m glad Christopher saw asking questions as a good thing, because that’s something I’ve taken with me.

Elevate+: Christopher, where did you see Joyce grow?

Christopher: Time management was a big area, along with getting comfortable with how our team works.

Early on, some work and emails were happening outside her scheduled hours. I explained that I wanted her to work during the time she was being paid. Everyone on our team is part-time, and respecting people’s time matters to me.

Once we clarified those expectations, her productivity increased. With a clearer structure, she really dove into the work. It became a very collaborative summer.

Elevate+: Joyce, were you nervous about starting?

Joyce: Super nervous! The night before my first day in the office, I kept telling my mom how nervous I was. She said, “Just be yourself. Say hello, be nice, and learn what you have to learn.”

Then I met Christopher and Olivia, and I felt comfortable. The office became somewhere I could do my work, have conversations, and ask questions.

Having the opportunity to make mistakes and receive feedback, while also being paid to learn, was amazing. I think that’s an opportunity every college student should have.