Last month, the Female Founders Alliance announced a summer internship program for students who lost internships due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The interns would be matched to member companies from the community – at no cost to the company.
Today, I am excited to share that the program is up and running! I am Tessah Curtis, and I will be interning with FFA this summer to help tell the story of this very special group of students and the companies we are assigned to work with.
This initiative is possible because of the generosity of FFA’s private sponsors. Through the program, FFA has been able to multiply the impact of this generosity across the community, by giving students a paid internship at early stage, women-founded startups, and by helping these founders work with a great intern for the summer. Over six weeks the interns will work closely with their paired CEO and startup teams, doing work related to their future career goals, while receiving mentorship opportunities and checking in with FFA and each other throughout.
FFA received 120 intern applications and picked 13 college students from 11 universities across the country that make up our cohort.
On June 11, the FFA team and the interns got together over a video call to discuss our work, get to know each other and set intentions for weeks to follow. Below is a photo of most of the team.
I am proud to present our pilot internship cohort:
Anya Chen, Minerva Schools at KGI, intern at Claira
Tessah Curtis, Seattle University, intern at Zeta & Female Founders Alliance
Rukudzo Gawa, Kalamazoo College, intern at The Labz
Harjasleen Gulati, Oregon State University, intern at Hoovie
Holly Hanson, Villanova University, intern at Upbrainery
Celia Heath, Brown University, intern at Public Habit
Caden Lorenzini, Villanova University, intern at Female Founders Alliance
Isabelle Nimick, Princeton University, intern at Doulaworks
Hanna Noren, University of Saint Andrews, intern at Litesprite
Lina Saleh, University of South Carolina, intern at Apiari
Victoria Sanders, Villanova University, intern at Transpara Health
Sara Syed, Brown University, intern at Thinker Tinker
This effort demonstrates FFA’s commitment to supporting the next generation of leaders, to create a more inclusive and dynamic world.
Stay tuned throughout the next six weeks and beyond to hear more about the program and the interns’ experiences.
