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young achiever

reflects on her recent internships

george washington university

aishaWith Plan International And Partners Of The Americas

J U N I O R, aZiMi,By Aisha Azimi

I’m a big advocate for equal access to education for students of all backgrounds, so when I came across the internship list-ing for Higher Education Communications Intern on Wayup.com, Partners of the Americas immediately appealed to me. Everything they do works to connect countries in North and South America through service and educational partnerships, two very important parts of my life. One of my favorite extra-curricular activities during the school year is being a member of the Youth Advisory Council on access to higher education. I write feedback on College Board marketing campaigns like com-mercials designed to make the college admissions process more transparent and standardized testing less intimidating. I love being part of that Council and the people who are in it. That made writing the application essay for Partners so natural. A couple hundred words morphed into a blog post complete with photos of my heroes – my mom and dad – who sacrificed everything so my sisters and I would be able to attend school in one of the best districts in the country. With this internship, I had the unique opportunity of linking my love for education with my communica-tions skills to tell stories of scholarship recipients. My work was immensely meaningful and I hope will leave an impact – I had the chance to write and publish press releases for the Department of State, design campaign one-pagers and three blog posts on topics like gender equality, 2020 sustainable development goals and the water crisis in South American countries. I learned so much from the three months I interned at Partners, I couldn’t possibly write it all down.

This summer felt like a crash course in the nonprofit develop-ment sector and I had some of the best in the business teaching me. To visually represent the disparities in study abroad partici-pation, I was also tasked with creating infographics highlighting under-representation in study abroad and other statistics, which drew on my studies of mass communication at GWU's Media and Public Affairs school. The campaigns I worked on were called 100,000 Strong in the Americas and Capacity Building Grants for U.S. Undergraduate Study Abroad. One Hundred Thousand Strong is Obama’s initiative aiming to increase the number of U.S. students studying in Latin America and the Caribbean to 100,000 annually and the number of Latin American and Carib-bean students studying in the U.S. to 100,000 annually. Capacity Building Grants are funded by the State Department’s U.S. study

Aisha Azimi (Right)

A principal in Joseph, Greenwald & Laake’s Estates and Trusts Group, Paul Riekhof has more than 20 years of experience in representing individuals, families, and businesses in matters including estate planning, probate, trust administration, estate tax planning, business planning, guardianships, and estate litigation matters.

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athlete of the month

it's all about teamwork

for soccer player,

Reid,dylan

By Jackie Lesser

At the age of three, what are most toddlers able to accomplish? Ride a tricycle. Identify colors correct-ly. Say his or her name. Answer simple questions. At the young age of three, Dylan Reid was able to play the game of soccer. Thirteen years later, he continues to play soccer as a defensive center back for the Bethesda-Olney Academy and the Whitman soccer teams. Playing for the Bethesda-Olney Soccer Academy has made it possible for Dylan to travel the world. Because of soccer, Dylan has traveled to multiple countries in Europe -- such as, Spain, Scotland and England. Participation on both a school and academy team can be challenging, however, there are many benefits of this time-consuming commitment. In the fall of 2014, the Whitman boys’ soccer team battled their way to the Maryland state championship game against Chesapeake High School. That year happened to be both Dylan’s first year on the Whitman team and his first year at the school. In the end, the team defeated Chesapeake 4-1. Dylan cites this all-important win as his most cherished memory of the sport. There are two idols Dylan has looked up to while playing this sport. His favorite mentor is Phillip Gyau, a coach he had for multiple years as a child. A legendary idol of Dylan’s would be Renaldo de As-sis Moreira, more commonly known as Ronaldinho, a FIFA World Player of the Year in 2004 and 2005. To anyone just beginning to play soccer or to anyone who wants to play the game, Dylan says that team-work is vital to any success you will have. He notes that it is also important to practice, practice, practice -- without, he would not be where he is today in the sport. His hard work, determination and love of com-petition allow him to express his full potential.

““

Dylan Reid

At the young age of three, Dylan Reid was able to

play the game of soccer.

Bannockburn Estates • October 2016 October 2016 • Bannockburn Estates16 17

Americas as well as increase the potential number of qualified candidates who may wish to pursue a career in the industry.” “When women move forward, the world moves with them,” is Exxon’s slogan for their Women’s Economic Opportunity Initia-tive, aka the fund for putting on GWIM. That fund made it pos-sible for the 26 amazing women to spend a month becoming the best versions of themselves.

abroad branch. Higher education institutions (HEIs) in the U.S. and abroad partner to create programs that will provide lower socioeconomic, minority and students in underrepresented disci-plines with the chance to study abroad. I read so many inspiring grant proposals with innovative ideas on how to engage female engineers, non-traditionally aged students and native popula-tions, to name a few. I plan to study abroad in the spring 2017 semester and being behind the scenes of U.S. Government-backed campaigns gave me hope that students of all backgrounds can ac-cess the same opportunities I’m fortunate to have. Articles I wrote: Partners Answers United States of Women’s Call to Educate Young Women http://www.partners.net/blogs/partners-answers-united-states-women%E2%80%99s-call-educate-young-women Sustainable Water for Sustainable Communities http://www.partners.net/blogs/sustainable-water-sustainable-communities UTEP Engineering Students Create Sustainable Solu-tions for Mexico's Guadalupe Valley http://www.part-ners.net/blogs/utep-engineering-students-create-sus-tainable-solutions-mexicos-guadalupe-valleyInfographics @ a Glance: Plan InternationalI concurrently interned for Plan International USA, with their Leadership & Capacity Building team for the 65th Global Wom-en in Management (GWIM) workshop. GWIM was one of the most inspiring, transformative experiences of my life. I had the privilege of welcoming 26 grassroots NGO women leaders and business owners from around the world to train to become even better at what they do. Gender equality, women’s empowerment and education tie as my number one causes, so when I was decid-

Thanks Aisha for sharing your story. If you know of a young achiever to be featured, please email sarah.taylor@n2pub.com.

ing between interning at Partners or GWIM, I couldn’t choose one over the other. Luckily, my indecisiveness allowed me to experience interning for two incredible organizations part time. GWIM leverages a 35+ year history of women’s leadership pro-grams and responds to the call for greater involvement of women in development efforts. I found out about the internship through a George Washington University newsletter for careers in Human Services, Government, Law & Education. As an intern, I worked with the trainers to prepare and imple-ment the 4-week program. Little did I know I would learn so much from just being in the same room as the women. Listening to their stories of hardship and perseverance, how they manage to simultaneously be mothers and business owners and change makers in their community in the face of war and external struggles was incredible. There was never a dull moment – from televised panels to international night performances and site visits to women-run farms and resorts. By the end, I felt like I had traveled the world. Their generosity extended to me on more than one occasion and I accumulated a small treasure trove of gifts from around the world – Egyptian hieroglyphic quilts, handmade Roma-nian jewelry from survivors of domestic abuse, Indian bangles, Ar-gentinian bracelets, Peruvian key chains, South African beads and a Thai scarf. But the physical gifts were only a small part of what I will always keep with me. I’ll never forget the words of encourage-ment Lufuno told me just after the graduation ceremony: “You are like a seed planted on fertile ground, Aisha. You are surrounded by everything necessary to develop and reach your fullest potential. Take this and grow for the girls who can’t.“ The atmosphere of en-couragement from the participants and kick butt behind the scenes team of Mollie, Ketty, Eva and trainers, Sue and Jenn, made Plan a place I loved to come into every day. Connections/ReflectionsIt was far from easy juggling two internships and working 50-hour weeks but there’s no doubt I would do it all over again if I was given the chance. I got to play a small but mighty role in the

two causes I’m most passionate about and that made it all worth-while. Even though I was working with an international and regional organization, I noticed a lot of overlap between them. For starters, both were funded by ExxonMobil. Exxon sponsored three 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund competi-tions. Vice President Neal Goins describes the partnership with 100,000 Strong as a “unique opportunity to expand the educa-tional experience in regions that are strategically important to ExxonMobil as well as strengthen academic disciplines that will drive the energy industry into the future.” He believes “the suc-cess of this initiative will further economic development in the

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