Name: Sofia Colosimo
Class Year: 2019
Major: International Studies

Internship Placement: She’s the First
Job Title: Editorial and Fundraising Intern
Location: New York

This summer, I am working with a nonprofit organization called She’s the First as an Editorial and Fundraising Intern. She’s the First offers scholarships to girls in low-income countries who are the first in their family to attend high school. They are partnered with organizations in 11 different countries and work holistically to provide support with not only the cost of tuition, but other expenses like food, clothing, school supplies, and family needs to ensure that She’s the First scholars have everything they need to succeed academically. In addition to the Scholarship program, STF also has campus chapters at colleges in the U.S. (Bryn Mawr has a chapter!) and all over the world to help fundraise and increase awareness on issues that affect girls and women globally.

Working at STF has been a wonderful experience. The three other interns and I joined a small group of only six ladies who keep STF afloat all year round. It has been inspiring and refreshing to work for an organization founded and run by women and in an office of all women. The staff at STF does everything from the day-to-day minutiae in the office to huge efforts on the ground in the countries they’ve partnered with, and it has been great to see these processes first hand. This small office environment has given me the chance to do more hands-on work with donor communications, social media planning and posting, and even some writing!

The things that I’ve done so far at STF have definitely connected to the work that I do at school as a co-editor of *the college news*, Bryn Mawr’s feminist newspaper. In this role, my other co-editor and I spend a lot of time brainstorming interesting topics and molding impactful and engaging monthly issues that will both inform and entertain Bryn Mawr students. This past week, I curated an editorial calendar for one of STF’s new social media efforts: “Hers-days.” I researched interesting women from history who were “firsts” in their respective fields and turned their stories into a weekly segment that will be featured on STF’s Instagram. The series debuted at the beginning of this week when we featured Junko Tabei, the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest! Projects like this one have been so exciting for me because my supervisor gave me a lot of freedom and control over the programming for “Hers-days” and I felt a lot of ownership and pride when I saw the finished product.

I’ve had a great time at STF this summer. From living in New York, to working alongside such kind and accomplished women, to starting to feel more comfortable and capable in professional settings, this internship has offered me a lot of opportunities to grow and learn. STF is a really interesting and uniquely run organization and I’ve loved getting a peek inside how organizations like STF organize to make a lasting impact. I encourage Bryn Mawr students to check out the She’s the First campus chapter at BMC and get involved!