HTI Internship Testimonials

“I was given the opportunity to work with Dr. Ahida Pilarski, Associate Professor of Theology and Special Assistant to the President for Diversity and Inclusiveness at Saint Anselm College during the Hispanic Summer Program (HSP).  I worked closely with Dr. Pilarski to introduce students to a variety of responses from Latine scholars to issues of immigration in biblical texts. It was a delight to see our students develop through the intensive course. Beyond the time with our engaged, thoughtful students, I was truly fortunate to work with Dr. Pilarski.  Although I already had previous teaching experiences, this experience was different because Dr. Pilarski’s mentorship helped me to grow as a Latine teacher and scholar in a way I have not experienced in other teaching roles in my home institution. Many thanks to Dr. Pilarski, our students, HSP, HTI, and Lilly Endowment Inc., for providing this incredible opportunity!”

“Hosting an HTI Intern through ACHTUS allowed us to both accomplish significant goals set for the year as well as respond in creative ways to the pandemics of COVID-19 and racial injustice. As a not-for-profit organization with no paid staff, the HTI internship program provided a wonderful intern to do work which would otherwise not be done for the organization. Jose Santana worked with a webmaster to complete a revamp of our website as well as update social media accounts to all. Furthermore, when we were forced into social distancing and into making decisions about our annual colloquium, having an HTI Intern allowed us to be creative about informal meeting space, which even allowed for a partnership with another organization. We are so grateful for the HTI Intern program and hope to host interns in the future!”

“This was an enriching experience and a learning experience about the function of institutions of higher education. It also helped me in reaching contacts to establish collaborations and conversations in multicultural contexts within our Latinidad. Each interaction contributed to the improvement of collaborative professional relationships, communication skills, project planning tools, and networking. Also, the intellect acquired within my academic field and formal education has helped to establish good relationships in a highly professional environment.”

“Yolanda was good about helping to build the network of clergy to help in the recruitment of participants for the program. She was also an excellent motivator and speaker during the program components and her presence, when present, was an amazing contribution to the organization. Yolanda is a gifted speaker and such a good lecturer as well as a facilitator with all ages. She had great program ideas and contributed to the design of session and revision of the leadership curriculum . She did bring new and fresh energy to reorganize HYLA at Perkins.”

“One key way the internship developed my leadership skills was providing the opportunity to network with other Catholic Latinx scholars. Additionally, this internship, through my work on the Latinx bibliography, allowed me to gain an overview of Catholic Latinx scholarship and helped me think through where my own work would hit into the field. Working on the ACHTUS bibliography was an excellent way to continue to work with citation software. Additionally, developing a newsletter through Mailchimp allowed me to develop my skills in public scholarship and gain experience with a new platform that I can use in the future.”

“Jasmin has brought a refreshing leadership in this new area of work with children by providing ideas and themes able to engage the people and support the project. She has been an invaluable help to our Annual Summer Peace Conference Children’s Team and just fit in so well! Jasmin has become a trusted and supportive member of this team that has worked for years with the children in our Peace Camps.”

“This internship has tested my organizational skills far differently than my doctoral program. It has also helped me improve my community outreach and analysis skills.”

“Our HTI Intern provided integral support in expanding two key areas of the organization. Since joining the organization, our HTI intern has been integral in helping execute the public scholarship program while simultaneously evaluating its impact month-over-month. This has allowed the program to grow and expand while shifting to better meet the needs of our constituencies. Our HTI Intern was the inspiration for the HSP Fellows program as her quick learning and interest in gaining hard skills in non-profit management provided a framework by which to develop a broader staff structure that includes Masters level students.”