SuitUp, New York, NY
This summer, I had the honor of working at SuitUp in New York City. SuitUp is a non-profit organization that aims to increase college and career awareness for low-income middle and high school students by organizing business competitions in partnership with big companies. In this way, SuitUp not only provides a stimulating opportunity for underprivileged students, but it also gives companies a more engaging, relevant volunteer experience that utilizes their skills. During my time at SuitUp, I was able to learn the ins and outs of both the non-profit world and the business world; this will remain useful to me in years to come.
My internship primarily focused on business development, so I worked directly with SuitUp’s Executive Director, Lauren Reilly, to expand the organization’s reach in New York City and beyond. On a day to day basis, I sent emails to corporate contacts in order to pitch the SuitUp model to different companies and gain new corporate partners for the organization. If I received e-responses from company contacts, I scheduled calls with them to speak about SuitUp in detail and secure new competitions. In July, I organized a competition with IBM and secured the technology company as a new partner, thanks to my father. I had spoken to him at the beginning of my internship about my efforts to spread SuitUp to new companies, and he put me in touch with the Corporate Social Responsibility and Human Resources contacts at IBM in New York. I worked with them to plan a business competition at IBM with students from P-TECH and YMCA Bedford; about 30 students and 15 IBM volunteers competed to create a new product for Beats by Dr. Dre. The competition was a huge success, and it feels really rewarding to have made it happen.
One of my weekly tasks at SuitUp was to follow up with volunteers from competitions and engage them to remain involved with the organization. After each competition, both students and volunteers were given surveys to fill out about their experience, as a way for SuitUp to collect quantitative and qualitative data for future use. I spoke to over 100 volunteers on the phone this summer, and it was great to hear the positive feedback they had about the competitions and how willing they were to help SuitUp expand further.
In addition to my daily and weekly tasks, I attended several SuitUp business competitions with either the Executive Director or the Program Manager, and sometimes one other intern. Facilitating at the competitions was one of my favorite parts of my internship, as I was able to interact with kids from a variety of backgrounds and work with corporate volunteers, as well. During the competition, I, along with the head facilitator and other interns, would float from table to table, making sure that everything was running smoothly and helping teams with advice and ideas, when necessary. After the event was over, the SuitUp staff would huddle up for a quick debrief, and the process would repeat itself at the next competition! I believe that in this facet of my work, I gained many public speaking and problem-solving skills. While some competitions were particularly difficult—especially when kids threw soda at the walls or when only seven volunteers showed up—each experience was extremely rewarding, as I could see the impact of my work and SuitUp’s work in the inspired faces of the students and the smiling faces of the volunteers.
My internship at SuitUp culminated in a final presentation, in which another intern and I created an Endowment Deck for SuitUp. In our deck, we pitched SuitUp to Scale Up via an endowment plan to raise funds through additional revenue streams. To prepare a successful presentation, we gathered details on SuitUp’s financial history, projected a financial plan for the next six years, and did research on SuitUp’s success to date. On the last day of the internship, we pitched our Endowment Deck to the Executive Director and members of the SuitUp Corporate Leadership Board. In January 2020, the Executive Director will put our plan into action using the deck we created. In this final project, I learned a lot about the way a company or organization operates, both financially and otherwise. Furthermore, I refined my professional presentation skills and learned how to pitch an idea to a group of senior leaders.
Overall, my experience at SuitUp was unforgettable, and I am forever grateful for this opportunity. SuitUp is so unique, for it is a non-profit that is closely involved with for-profit companies; therefore working with the organization allowed me to make a difference in inner-city communities while also networking with professional contacts and honing my business skills. Lauren will remain a mentor to me, and I will strive to keep in touch with my fellow interns, as we became extremely close. Both the staff and the small scale of the organization made me feel more welcome and gave me the opportunity to really make an impact in the lives of the students it serves. I believe that my work helped to increase career awareness and motivation to pursue higher education in underprivileged, inner-city communities in New York City, and I hope to continue supporting this cause in years to come.
I am majoring in economics and math, and I am extremely interested in applying these fields to social and historical work in the long-term. Interning at SuitUp was a great way for me to apply my education to a worthy cause, and I hope to continue to help the organization. Furthermore, by working in business development, I was able to network with professionals who are involved with SuitUp. I plan on keeping in touch with many of them over the next few years, as I would like to pursue a career path in business before switching over to the non-profit or social work sector. In this way, SuitUp has been the perfect organization for me to gain exposure to both worlds.
I would like to thank Lauren Reilly, the ’68 Center for Career Exploration, and Ms. Anne O. Burleigh for making this incredible internship possible. Without their generosity, guidance, and kindness, I would not have been able to participate in such a valuable and formative learning experience. Now, I am excited to begin my junior year at Williams College and look to the future.