Embracing Diversity and Impact: Meet Our Fall 2023 Student Interns
At the very core of our mission, we are honored to collaborate with exceptional student interns. These remarkable individuals weave a tapestry of diversity with their unique life experiences and aspirations.
Through the lens of their distinct backgrounds and unwavering commitment, they are instrumental in driving positive change in higher education and beyond. Allow us to introduce you to the brilliant minds shaping our internship program.
Kaitlyn Taylor is a senior at Jackson State University, hailing from Jackson, Mississippi. Her passion for storytelling led her to major in English with a concentration in Creative Writing, alongside a minor in Music, where she masters the Bassoon.
Upon graduation, Kaitlyn's sights are set on a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. She envisions a future as a writer, a literary editor, and a musician, pursuing her dreams passionately.
Nakhia Franks of Claflin University is a psychology major with a heart full of compassion. Her journey involves founding "Raising Our Crowns," an organization that fosters self-love, healing, and well-being for women of diverse backgrounds.
Nakhia's research on effective treatment for traumatic experiences among minority adolescents reflects her dedication to mental health and a vision of becoming a clinical psychologist.
Zoey Solano is a junior at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Zoey's academic journey revolves around Elementary Education, complemented by two minors in English and American Sign Language. It's with great enthusiasm that she embraces this opportunity to collaborate with Every Learner Everywhere and CourseGateway, where she intends to broaden her understanding of higher education and its vast resources.
Zoey's passion lies in ensuring equitable resources across classrooms of all levels, emphasizing universal access to communication and the principles of universal design for learning. This summer, she is eagerly looking forward to further expanding her horizons in the realm of education.
Safa Ghaya, a senior at Georgia Tech, is pursuing a major in Biomedical Engineering alongside a certificate in Marketing. As an intern with CourseGateway, Safa is tremendously excited about the opportunity to contribute to fostering a positive impact for underrepresented students in the realm of education.
The prevalence of inequity serves as a significant motivation, propelling her to leverage her skills and experience in crafting solutions that work toward its reduction. Looking ahead, her aspirations are anchored in a future career within the healthcare field, where she aims to play a role in mitigating global healthcare disparities.
Contributions so far
The Fall 2023 interns have been integral in driving impactful initiatives that resonate with our mission. During this term they have participated in enhancing the user-friendliness and accessibility of the CourseGateway.org website and provided input on developing a student-facing rubric that will play a significant role in incorporating the voice of the student in future courseware evaluations.
In October, the student interns joined other higher education professionals at the 2023 EDUCAUSE Annual Conference where they gained valuable insights and made meaningful connections with members of the CourseGateway Governance and Product Advisory Board members.
Their involvement extended to an online panel discussion at the EDUCAUSE 2023 online conference that was moderated by Patricia O'Sullivan, Content Development and Special Projects Manager at Every Learner Everywhere. This discussion, titled "Maximizing Student Engagement and Success in Digital Learning: the Faculty's Role," was a testament to their commitment to enhancing the learning experience for students.
More to come!
Their contributions go beyond digital realms as well. In preparation for the spring survey distribution, they've undertaken research on their respective institutional IRB processes, ensuring a smooth and ethical process.