2019-July-ILAs-New-Interns

six of ILA's Interns
Six of ILA's Eight Interns (L-R): Chris Kuriakose, Amanda Allen,
Liza Adafer, Jenna Deleo, Miriam Berrada, and Henry Morris

Welcome ILA's New Team of Interns!
by Henry Morris, Third Year Political Science Major at Grand Valley State University; ILA Intern
 

On Tuesday, June 4th, seven new interns started their work with the International Leadership Association (ILA). The newly recruited additions to the team fittingly consist of students from different areas of the world, each with different backgrounds, skill sets, and experiences and hailing from Canada/Algeria and Morocco and within the United States - Florida, Maryland, Michigan, New York, and Texas.

Three interns obtained their positions with ILA through The Washington Center, an organization that helps students from around the world find internships in Washington, D.C. and then provides them with housing and professionalization experiences during their internship.

Liza Adafer, an incoming senior from HEC Montréal, joined the ILA to work as a conference services intern. Originally from Algeria and now residing in Montréal, Liza is majoring in both international business and international relations and is interested in event planning. Liza accepted the internship position because she was intrigued by the ILA’s mission and community. In addition to ILA’s professional development opportunities, she also thought that the internship would be "a great opportunity to learn more about the United States, and to explore the Washington, D.C. area." Fluent in French, Liza has been of invaluable assistance as ILA prepares for its annual global conference in Ottawa this November. Liza will stay on with ILA through the conference so look for her at #ILA2019Ottawa and introduce yourself!

Chris Kuriakose, an incoming senior from the University of Florida, works as a financial intern. Originally from Sacramento, California, Chris loves exploring, visiting museums, and soaking in the surrounding culture of Washington, D.C. As a political science major with a minor in statistics, Chris is well-suited for the business and finance department at the ILA, effectively applying his knowledge and expertise. Chris shared that he “enjoys his work with the ILA” and believes that he will “gain valuable work experience.”

Henry Morris, an incoming senior at Grand Valley State University, joins the ILA as a social media, marketing, and communications intern. Henry comes from Milford, Michigan and studies political science and theatre. Henry has extensive experience with multiple social media platforms, which makes him a natural at his position. At Grand Valley, he has received awards for his theatrical performances and is the Vice President of Alpha Psi Omega, the theatre fraternity at the university. He has also been the Chairman for the Debate Club at Grand Valley and participated in student council in high school. Henry has been working on ILA's social media campaigns and researching potential membership leads.

ILA’s other five interns (four of whom are new) are from four different D.C. area universities.

Miriam Berrada, a finance major attending American University, joins the ILA as an administrative and business intern. Miriam is originally from Casablanca, Morocco and will be graduating in December 2019. Miriam’s international experience is quite extensive. She loves to travel and learn about different cultures. Fluent in English and Spanish, she also knows some Arabic. Miriam has been diving into various membership initiatives and working on ILA’s membership database.

Jenna Deleo, a sophomore studying finance at Catholic University of America, works as an administrative and business intern at the ILA. She grew up in Maryland and works as a Major Mentor at her university helping other students with their academic success. An architecture minor, Jenna is ultimately interested in the field of real estate development. Jenna has been working with ILA’s inventory and will spend the rest of the summer assisting in updating the documentation of ILA’s SOPs.

Nick and his carNick Elias, a junior from The George Washington University, joins the ILA as an intern in the communications, marketing, and social media department. Nick is from Westhampton, New York and is pursuing a degree in communications. In addition to his internship at ILA, Nick is a camera operator for the Bowie Baysox, a minor league baseball team outside of Washington, D.C. A fun fact about Nick is that he has fully restored a car from 1963, pictured here. Nick has been reformatting the resource libraries on ILA Intersections to ensure that all of the content is available for members as well as assisting with social media. 


MackenzieMackenzie Meadows, a sophomore attending American University, is working with the ILA on marketing and multimedia and is helping to research various marketing and member resource initiatives. From Dallas, Texas, Mackenzie is pursuing an international relations degree with a minor in political science. Being an international relations major, the work of the ILA fits well into her interests. Mackenzie is the president of her university’s chapter of “Black Girls Vote,” and hosts a podcast called Tea at the Table that discusses current events and entertainment. Mackenzie also loves horses and has participated in equestrian for over thirteen years. In the future, she would like to pursue a career as an international crisis manager.

Amanda Allen, is ILA's seasoned intern, having been with the association since September 2018.  She is a rising junior at the University of Maryland majoring in journalism. During her time at ILA, Amanda has worked on social media and video production. If you attended ILA’s annual global conference in West Palm Beach in 2018 and saw the 20th anniversary video at the start of the plenary session, you witnessed her work! Amanda is president of the University of Maryland’s women’s basketball club team and enjoys helping her mom promote her dance studio, Dancin’ 4 Ever, in Olney, Maryland.