At Self-Help, the bounty of summer includes an abundance of talent from our summer interns. This year we benefited from the skills and enthusiasm of 26 students who participated in our 10-week Summer Intern Program. Twenty of the interns worked in North Carolina, three in California, and three in Florida. Recently they wrapped up their projects and scattered to go back to their respective schools—more than a dozen high schools, colleges and universities.

Many of the interns had an opportunity to volunteer with the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.

Each intern was assigned to a specific part of Self-Help CU or Self-Help Federal CU. In addition to tackling projects in their assigned areas, many of the interns participated in a flurry of activities like lunch-and-learn sessions, a networking session with Self-Help leaders, a racial equity workshop, presentation training and volunteer activities in the community. At the end of their 10-week stint, each intern delivered a presentation describing their summer experience to other interns and intern supervisors.

Carissa Newkirk is a junior at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, pursuing a BS in Finance with a minor in Economics. She also plays on UNC-G’s Rugby Club.

One of our interns, Carissa Newkirk, served on Self-Help’s Development, Policy & Impact team. Under the supervision of Ebony Perkins (Manager, Investor and Community Relations), Carissa conducted research and helped build online tools to help encourage deposit-raising to support Self-Help’s mission.

 “During my short time at Self-Help I learned not only about what Self-Help does but about the people who make up Self-Help. My expectations when applying to this internship was an office with cubicles where I would do mindless tasks. Not only were my assumptions completely wrong, but the amount of collaboration surprised me. I have met some pretty amazing individuals and have enjoyed watching everyone use their strengths to carry out Self-Help's mission.”

Many thanks and best wishes to all of the interns who brightened our days and got a lot of work done at Self-Help this summer!