Student & Internship Supervisor Profiles

Yong Yan (Crystal) Liang

Staten Island Technical High School
Class of 2021

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
‍Class of 2025

Salesforce, The Externship Experience
February 2021

Crystal, now a freshman at MIT, joined the first cohort of students in Futures and Options’ inaugural Externship Program with Salesforce, which piloted in February 2021. In a reimagining of what remote career development programming could be, Futures and Options created The Externship Experience, a 16-hour virtual career development program designed to kick-start our students’ professional journeys. 

Looking for an opportunity to gain some professional experience and encouraged by her high school’s career counselor, Crystal applied to the Externship program. “The primary factor for me was meeting new people who were interested in the same things I was,” Crystal said, “but also getting to network with professionals and learn what it’s like to have a career.” With the Salesforce team, students worked in groups to create three-minute “Flash Talk” pitches that focused on a particular world challenge. Students identified which Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) the challenge addressed, explained why Salesforce should tackle it, and provided a solution for the problem. In her studies, Crystal had been drawn to electrical engineering, business administration, and bio-engineering, but while working with Salesforce, she discovered a deeper passion for sustainability. “There are different parts of sustainability that I’m drawn to,” Crystal shared. “Renewable energy, like solar panels, but also tackling food waste. One of the bigger things I learned from Salesforce was about the seventeen sustainability goals.” Some of these goals include affordable and clean energy, climate action, quality education, and gender equality, among others.

“The externship with Salesforce taught me that I don’t only want to do software, I need some kind of hardware in my career too,” Crystal said. “That’s why I like electrical and computer science, because I get a little bit of both. The experience with Salesforce showed me what I want, but also what I want more of.”

When she’s not crocheting, catching up on the latest Marvel movie, or sometimes combining those interests by making Marvel plushies (Iron Man was Crystal’s big project in the summer of 2021!), Crystal worked with her friends as a programmer to create their own platform—–OpportuniTeens–— for high school aged students to find internships and volunteer opportunities during the pandemic. “I’m usually the person who has too much on their plate, and I have to figure out what to push off. But don’t take too little—–take it all and then figure out what’s important to you,” Crystal advises. “If there’s a problem that you see in your community, you can get creative about how to solve it. Learn things outside of school and do projects that you’re passionate about.”

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Omar Santos

All Hallows High School
‍Class of 2020

Columbia University
‍Class of 2024

Career Essentials
Fall 2016

BlackRock, The Internship Program
Summer 2019

Morgan Stanley, The Internship Program
Spring 2018 and Spring 2020

Omar Santos is a thriving Futures and Options alum, a sophomore at Columbia University studying business, statistics, and history, and the founder of Xiub Capital, an investment management firm and New York City based think tank. “Starting my own investment management firm is easily my proudest accomplishment to date,” Omar said. “My business was definitely inspired by the different financial firms I worked at in the past.” Through Futures and Options, Omar interned with both Morgan Stanley and BlackRock. At Morgan Stanley, he experienced the “buy side” of financial services, the side of the financial market that invests for the purposes of fund management. Conversely, at BlackRock, he gained exposure to the “sell side,” the side of finance that deals with the creation, promotion, and selling of traded securities to the public. “It let me figure out what I like and what I don’t in the industry. I realized that I’m much more interested in the buy side—–I like being in charge of capital, seeing how it gets deployed, how it works.”

In the spring of 2020, Omar had just been accepted to Columbia and was getting excited about his freshman year when the pandemic derailed those in-person plans. “2020 was a hard year for all of us,” Omar shared. “Being online at school, having to deal with job uncertainty within my own family, it helped me realize that life is a series of ups and downs, but trying to find silver linings is important. I used the time to work on my business, learn things I didn’t know before, like programming—–I wasn’t very good at first, but now I would consider myself a strong programmer.”

In one of his Futures and Options career readiness workshops, Omar networked with an older student who told him about the QuestBridge scholarship and how it provides a full scholarship to their partner schools. “Had I not gotten the QuestBridge scholarship, I might not have ended up at Columbia,” Omar said. “I love getting to know people, like other high school students at Futures and Options who had similar interests and were going through the same things that I was, especially with college applications.”

Omar has also stayed close with his internship supervisors. “Every single supervisor from all of my internships I’m still in touch with—–I’ve been afforded such incredible mentorship from a range of people.” Through Futures and Options alumni programming, alumni such as Omar can stay connected to their internship employers and supervisors so that they can continue to cultivate their professional network. Always opportunity focused, Omar is excited to be interning with Citadel this summer, and is hopeful about growing his own business.

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Ruth Kendall

Uncommon Collegiate Charter High School
‍Class of 2021

Smith College
‍Class of 2025

caribBEING, The Internship Program
Fall 2020

Her Agenda, The Internship Program
Summer 2021

As a senior in high school, Ruth Kendall sought the opportunity to develop professional skills beyond the classroom, which motivated her to apply for the Futures and Options Internship Program. “What stood out to me about Futures and Options was the chance for professional development since I knew there were some skills that I needed to gain that I wouldn’t learn in school.”

Ruth completed two virtual internships through Futures and Options. In her first internship at caribBEING, an organization highlighting Caribbean culture, art, and film, she discovered an interest in both finance and accounting. caribBEING was the perfect fit for Ruth because she gained insight into the financial work of the organization, while also exploring her love of music. “I feel like I found an intersection between my two interests at caribBEING because there were opportunities to learn about music as well as working on payroll for vendors,” Ruth explained. Thanks to her work experience at caribBEING, Ruth plans to study accounting at Smith College while also minoring
in music.

Ruth’s favorite internship moment was doing a social media video interview of a famous singer that she admires. Inspired by a Futures and Options workshop about taking initiative, Ruth pitched the idea for the interview and was given the opportunity to plan and conduct the interview herself. “I came to an epiphany after the ‘Take Initiative’ workshop because I felt like I could actually implement this skill right in that moment,” she said. “The workshop gave us sequential steps and solid advice for taking initiative, and it was effective.” Ruth described it as a once-in-a-lifetime experience that pushed her out of her comfort zone and ultimately boosted her confidence.

“I feel like you make the most out of your internship experience once you say, ‘Okay, I’ve earned this spot and have a bit of confidence.’” Ruth’s second internship at Her Agenda, a digital media platform highlighting millennial women, helped solidify the skills she had learned in workshops and her first internship. In particular, she emphasizes the important role that communication played in the virtual setting. “If my communication with my supervisor wasn’t consistent enough, my internship wouldn’t have been as successful as it was,” she said. “For example, it was important to keep my supervisor informed of what I’d accomplished because she might not know unless I put it on her radar.” Ruth also learned to adapt when things did not go as planned in the remote setting, such as technology malfunctioning for an online meeting.

Another valuable takeaway from Ruth’s internship experiences was gaining interview practice and learning techniques to utilize in her next workforce opportunity. “The mindsets and strategies are definitely something from Futures and Options that I will carry with me throughout my entire life.”

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Youngbin Song

The Bronx High School of Science
‍Class of 2021

Pennsylvania State University
‍Class of 2025

Career Essentials
Spring 2021

ULF Program
Summer 2021

Youngbin Song heralds his experience in Career Essentials for helping him gain “the very fundamentals of working in a professional environment.” Youngbin later participated in the Urban Leadership Fellows (ULF) Program in municipal finance and is now a freshman at Penn State University, planning to study finance and continue building upon what he learned through Futures and Options.

Youngbin learned about Futures and Options from a fellow graduate from his high school. He knew that he was interested in a career in finance and investment banking and believed Futures and Options would grant him valuable insight into the industry. In Career Essentials, Youngbin gained in-depth knowledge about business writing, Excel, professional email etiquette, and networking, recognizing that these are important skills he can use now and in his future career. “I already had the basic foundation for some skills, but Career Essentials and the ULF Program both helped develop them even more,” he said. “Since I’m pursuing a career in finance, these are especially important to my future.”

A key component of Career Essentials is the Create-A-Company project in which students work in groups to develop a company and present it to their peers and judges on the final workshop day. “That was the best part of Career Essentials since it taught us collaboration and presentation skills,” he said. “It was an opportunity to think outside the box creatively and as an entrepreneur.” Youngbin valued working with his group to develop their mock company, and also enjoyed watching the other presentations to compare and contrast them to his group’s pitch and identify points where he and his group could improve their presentation.

The Create-A-Company project was also a great precursor for a similar group project that he completed in the ULF Program in which he and his group presented a mock capital financing plan for a higher education institution. “The whole process of working together as a group to create that presentation and then presenting it to a group of experienced professionals in the credit rating and investment banking industry was a super cool experience that taught me very hands-on skills,” he said. Due to the pandemic, Youngbin’s ULF Program was virtual, with fellows participating in remote online workshops. Fellows were also matched with mentors, which Youngbin found to be an especially beneficial aspect of the program as he still speaks to his mentor today. “It was definitely something that required much improvisation from the program side and the mentor and student side,” he said.

“It required a lot of collaboration from all parties and that really showed how much effort everyone put into trying to get it to work and staying resilient.” His experience was different from what he expected of a typical internship due to the virtual nature of the program, but he found it to be a valuable learning and networking opportunity that has prepared him for future success.

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Merritt Birnbaum

Executive Director
The Friends of Governors Island

In the summer of 2020, The Friends of Governors Island hosted interns from Futures and Options, who played a crucial role in helping Governors Island navigate its strategy for reopening to the public during the pandemic. “The interns were so compassionate and so trustworthy that we were able to put the island in their hands and have them share it with the rest of our visitors,” said Merritt Birnbaum, Executive Director of The Friends of Governors Island. “When people started coming to the island again, they were happy to come to a place where they felt comfortable and well taken care of and that was entirely on our interns.” 

The Futures and Options interns completed virtual training and then began interning in person on the island in July 2020, working in visitor services and welcoming visitors back to Governors Island when it reopened. “It was amazing to see what the interns were able to accomplish in taking on that role that had been largely filled by adults before and then shining in it,” said Merritt. Interns took pride in taking on greater responsibility and they jumped at the chance to fulfill tasks such as opening up the Welcome Center independently and leading other volunteers. Additionally, having a group of interns was particularly beneficial for a small organization like The Friends of Governors Island. “I’m very grateful that the interns come from such diverse backgrounds and neighborhoods and interests and schools from all over the city because it expands the perspectives of our team,” Merritt said.

Andy Juele supervised several cohorts of interns and she witnessed the interns experience personal growth and become more confident over the course of the program. “I can’t think of any intern that I had last year that wasn’t willing to go the extra mile and learn and try things that they didn’t think that they could do or were capable of doing,” she said.

She particularly enjoyed watching her intern Fidel become more self-assured and eager to take initiative in his responsibilities; for example, interns were given curatorial responsibilities at Governors Island art spaces like the May Room, and Fidel would spend hours interacting with guests and informing them about the space. “It really became a place that he felt he could own in terms of being responsible for it and being confident in his abilities to take care of it and to share it with our visitors,” she said.

The Friends of Governors Island has had several cohorts of interns since its inaugural group in the summer of 2020, and Merritt has noticed that there are certain qualities that distinguish a Futures and Options intern. “I think Futures and Options seems to really focus on finding students who are genuinely committed to career advancement and want an opportunity to work, not just to earn money but also to get the experience that’s going to set them up for success in the future and that they’re committed to that,” she said. Andy adds that Futures and Options interns are particularly open-minded and eager to make the most of their experience at Governors Island, which differs from a typical internship in an office setting. “Futures and Options makes sure that the students know every experience is valuable for career development,” she said.

Merritt’s advice to other organizations and supervisors is not to underestimate the impact that high school interns can have. “Don’t lower your expectations, because these kids will blow you away,” she said. “It’s very important to not have low expectations for a high school intern and to start the program with the same standards that you would have for any employee starting as part of the team because they can do it.”

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Jenn Halweil

Founder, Chief Story Engineer
#GoBeyond

Jenn Halweil, founder and Chief Story Engineer at #GoBeyond, has repeatedly partnered with Futures and Options since her company was founded in 2018. “We have hired and supervised over a dozen interns at this point and it’s been a wonderful experience each time.”

Jenn developed a passion for career-readiness and youth development early. “I am the daughter of a single parent and would not be here today without people who stepped in outside of my household, mentored me, and gave me educational opportunities. We are very much communal creatures and a lot of what youth learn, they don’t just learn at home,” Jenn shared. “When we’re thinking about building a better future, it’s important that from day one we have young people at the table helping guide the discussion, the companies we want to create, and the values we want to espouse.”

#GoBeyond, an educational media initiative and creative agency, is dedicated to crafting stories that challenge misconceptions and elevate diverse innovators. Futures and Options interns who are hired at #GoBeyond work with Jenn and her team to learn how to tell compelling stories, develop skills with systems like Adobe or Google Suite, and stay organized by breaking big projects down into smaller steps. “I view the relation-ship—–supervisor to intern—–as extremely symbiotic,” Jenn said. “What we learn from students is how they interpret the work that we’re doing. We get a fresh perspective and they get hands-on experience, build confidence, and have a project to show at the end. The world works better when you encourage people to be problem solving and take ownership.”

#GoBeyond was undeterred during the Covid pandemic, and hired interns in 2020 and 2021. “I don’t want to downplay how difficult this year was, for lots of people,” Jenn shared. Difficulties aside, Jenn and her team pivoted and re-imagined their work in this era: “What does storytelling look like now? How do you run a business when you used to rely on live events?” In an apt metaphor, Jenn compared her team’s struggle and reinvention to burning crops for winter because the ash makes for more fertile soil, making it easier to plant in spring. “You have to deconstruct, Phoenix-style, before you can come back stronger,” Jenn said. “Problems are just opportunities.”

One of Jenn’s favorite parts of working with Futures and Options students is how many stay in touch, update her about their college and career successes, and want her to know how transformative the internship was to them. And some, like Mohammad Mahee, return to work at #GoBeyond while in college. “Mohammad was very much a self-starter,” Jenn said. “I think this generation will end up more resilient for this, in terms of their ability to be accountable, whether or not someone is watching them.”

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