Lucy Montgomery, Mattias Hoz, Rohini Chokkalingam, Ava Clarson, Sylvie Roy Olson-Dorf, & Sophia Kerievsky.

The League’s internship program launched into its second year with a virtual orientation meeting on August 23rd.

The training was attended by the incoming ‘20-’21 interns; outgoing Communications Intern Laszlo Zim; and multiple League leaders, including Voter Services Director Adena Ishii, Action Director Jinky Gardner, DEI and Social Media Director Kandea Mosley, Communications Director Linda Carothers, and President Ruby MacDonald.

Karanina Laszlo Zim

First, the attendees shared introductions, beginning with the League leaders and Communications Intern Laszlo and followed by the incoming interns: spring Action Intern Ava Clarson; fall Communications Intern Lucy Montgomery; fall Action Intern Mattias Hoz; fall Voter Services Intern Rohini Chokkalingam; spring Action and Criminal Justice Intern Sophia Kerievsky; and spring Communications Intern Sylvie Roy Olson-Dorf. All incoming interns are seniors at Berkeley High School except for Communications Intern Lucy, who graduated from Berkeley High in June and is currently taking a gap year.

The interns learned about League values through a group agreement brainstorm session and a presentation on League history, structure, values, and policies given by Ruby, Jinky, and Linda.

In ice breakers throughout the meeting, the interns got to know one another and the local League leaders in attendance, learning about their backgrounds and interests. During the discussion, Mattias, the Action Intern for this fall remarked that, “It isn’t surprising that we all have enthusiasm about 2020 [and the election]…and have political families, because we’re all here.”

Interns and League leaders alike were excited for the second year of the LWVBAE internship program. Lucy, this fall’s Communication Intern was especially excited to meet everyone. “I really enjoyed getting to meet everyone and learn more about all the ways the League interacts with the community,” she said.