Womxn of Color club (WOC) has partnered with Emerging Leaders PDX to help BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) students find paid internship opportunities for the summer.
An informational session will be held on Zoom on Jan.18, from 6-7 p.m. For students who are not able to attend that session, Emerging Leaders will be hosting their own event on Jan. 25, from 6-7 p.m.
Emerging Leaders’ mission statement is to “empower diverse talent to excel as professionals through opportunity and a supportive community,” according to their website. Since 2016, they have placed participants into more than 500 internships at 200 companies, with many interns successfully transitioning into full-time roles.
The informational session on Tuesday will consist of a panel of 3 students who have participated in the ELI program and will be sharing their experiences.
Co-President of WOC, Vanessa Gonzalez, found out about the ELI program through the Internship and Engagement Coordinator for the Career Education Center and encourages all students eligible to apply to use this opportunity to gain more professional experience before going out into the workforce.
“For BIPOC students it can sometimes be difficult to access internship opportunities,” Gonzalez said. “The ELI program does a great job of connecting students with paid internships at top companies in the greater Portland area by removing those barriers.”
Through the Emerging Leaders Internship (ELI), students will undergo training and preparation, get support and professional guidance from host companies and will be able to undergo professional development workshops during the summer with fellow ELI interns.
“I am excited to see how students will take advantage of this opportunity and to see the outcomes of their efforts,” Gonzalez said.
Positions within the internship program offer opportunities in marketing, communications, tech, operations and projects, people and engagement, finance and accounting, business, entrepreneurship and more.
“Each program and initiative is designed to remove barriers to access and establish talent pipelines to foster a stronger, more inclusive Portland,” the Emerging Leaders PDX website said.
The application for the internship program itself must be submitted before Jan. 31.
Brie Haro is the Community Engagement Editor for The Beacon and can be reached at haro23@up.edu.
