November 2, 2022
For the past five years, I’ve been working to get an education in the communications field. Throughout those five years, I have learned a lot and thankfully, I have been able to gradually incorporate these skills into an internship that has made me realize my strong interest in working for nonprofits within the world of communications. I received my bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado Denver and I am now working to complete my master’s. My interest in the field of communications came from a place of fear. I was always labeled as an introvert and therefore kept to myself, so you would see how unexpected it is for someone like me to work in the communications field.
Growing up, I always dreamt of becoming a teacher. I wanted to be that teacher whom students could look up to, the teacher that helped students succeed, and the teacher that cared and saw something special when no one else did. I always thought I would become a teacher but then I got into middle school and I wasn’t confident speaking to so many people; it only got worse throughout high school. So, when it came to thinking of what career path I should take, I was stuck because I didn’t think I could be a teacher if I was an introvert.
Thankfully this fear of talking to people gave me another outlet to try and make some change. When I started college, I didn’t know what I wanted to do until I found the communications field. Since I wanted to major in communications, there were a lot of different courses that I could take and I stumbled across the strategic side of communications. This is where I saw my career going. As the years went by, I continued down this path and better late than never, I found an internship that would allow me to not only put in and incorporate everything that I had learned, but also allow me to learn so much more.
My time at the Denver Public Schools Foundation has been eye-opening and I am grateful to spend another year here as their Communications Intern. I always hear of organizations trying to make a change in the world and with this internship, I can experience it firsthand. “We engage our community, educators, and DPS to help find the most impactful ways to empower teachers, fuel engaged learning, and support students and their families. Powered by the generosity of our donors, we have demonstrated the power of public education and impacted the lives of students across DPS for nearly three decades.” I have been a part of many amazing projects with this internship that have contributed to their way of accelerating progress and demonstrating that together we can help bring opportunities to students and educators across DPS to help them find their outlet to thrive.
One project I had the pleasure of working on was the Achieve Gala 2022. This event made me realize how everything this organization does has remarkable impacts on the community. They work all year long to create amazing opportunities for students, educators, and schools so that they can make the world a better place. This internship gave me the keys to the digital world where I could express myself. From creating social media posts to creating email broadcasts, I am able to pitch in to make a change in ways that help students, teachers, and schools. Although I didn’t become a teacher, I feel like this internship still helped me achieve part of the dream that I had as a little girl and for that, I am grateful.
Leslie Sarabia Vasquez
Communications Intern