Q: Would you mind starting by telling me how old you are?

A: So, I’m 17 years old going into my senior year.

Q: After graduation where do you see yourself going? Do you have ideas for jobs or college?

A: I want to go into finance. Of course, I’d want to get a pretty high paying job out of out of college, and then my goal is, when I’m like, 40 or 50, I’d of course, want to go into nonprofits or go teach. I mean, that’s, of course, the goal, if I can get rich enough.

Q: Can you tell me a little bit about how you got started with KidVantage? I know you’re with the TIPS program, but can you give me a bit of a rundown on how you came across that opportunity?

A: Yeah, so 80 people were selected from the cohort of 700. So then, first there was a written application process, and then an interview process, and then based on our interest in the interview or what we wanted to do, then TIPS matched us with what they thought would be best for us. So, then I got an email one day, and it was KidVantage.

Q: Had you heard of KidVantage prior to receiving that email?

A: No, I had not. But turns out actually a couple of my friends, they had volunteered here before. I told them, “Oh, I’m working here this summer,” and then they’re like, “Oh, well, I’ve volunteered there before,” so like, in my circle, they knew of it.

Q: Since starting your internship, what have you learned while at KidVantage or in the hub that surprised you?

A: I would say the organization of everything in this place, you have to be really organized so that everything can be run super efficiently, and everybody does a pretty good job of that.

Q: Since starting, do you have a favorite memory of your time here so far?

A: I’d say go to the farmers market and setting up. That was pretty cool. And then… we’ll be going to Microsoft. So, I’ll look forward to that too.

Q: When you’re working at the hub during the week, do you have a favorite task or activity that you’re usually assigned?

A: Activity wise, I like working out in the inventory. It’s cool to see that manually excel. And also, just interacting with volunteers in general, I made a few friends… like the high schoolers that come back here over and over each week. So that’s pretty fun to get to see them too.

Q: How would you describe the impact that KidVantage has on the community?

A: I would say it’s really, really big. Because, I mean, when I got here, I thought this would be like a small nonprofit. But then the first day, when Carolina showed me the tour, and it was like, how many diapers was the year? Like, 2 million? That was like a lot… But just seeing those numbers were pretty staggering. And then, of course, when I had a full week here, and I saw how many providers would come and how much they would pick up, and just seeing the vast size of this, and this is only one of three locations. I know it’s the biggest one, but it’s still crazy how big it is.

Q: Why do you personally think KidVantage is important?

A: KidVantage, it’s important for lots of kids who don’t really have that opportunity, because sometimes it’s an ongoing cycle of poverty for some families, or sometimes it’s immigrants that are coming here, and they don’t really have a lot of resources to work with, so it’s important for those kids to kind of get an elevated experience that their peers may not have.

Q: Do you have one thing that you think everyone should know about KidVantage.

A: I just recommend them to come here and volunteer, see what it’s like. And, yeah, just have fun with it.

Q: What would you say to someone who’s thinking of volunteering but hasn’t yet?

A: I would say, just try it out… You’ll see when you come here, what jobs you’ll like, what interests you. And yeah, I think they’d have fun.

Q: If you were talking to someone that had never heard of KidVantage before, how would you describe the organization?

A: Well, I’d say everything happens for a reason here. So, like, it’s all just a big circular flow from Friday to Thursday, everything just resets after Thursday. So really, just kind of think of it as a loop. From the donations on the big mountain, all the way down to the sorting table, to the bins and then out to the orders, like it’s all just kind of circle… They just kind of have to get used to that, I guess.

Q: Is there something specific that you learned while interning with KidVantage that you feel you’ll take to your next job or just along with you in life?

A: I think I’ve learned a lot about communication during this time, because whenever I’m probably with volunteers or Jennifer or John or Carolina, it’s always like important to be kind of transparent about what’s going on and to ask questions, whatever needed, and that’s made it easy on me.

Q: Has your view or understanding of KidVantage shifted since starting your internship?

A: I mean, at first, I thought KidVantage was just about clothes… not really like everything because they have toys, shoes, pack and plays. Literally everything that you could imagine for a kid is all here, and that’s something I didn’t really expect, because I didn’t expect it to be this big.

Q: If you had to describe KidVantage in one to three words, what would they be?

A: Loving… I’d say loving, yeah, because you’re just seeing all the core volunteers come in every week, and… they want to spend their time here. They’re kind of showing their passion of what they want to show to the kids… They’re always folding clothes, doing whatever and it’s just a big community, so I’d say loving.

Q: You said that you hope to see yourself teaching or working in nonprofits. Have you always felt that passion for nonprofits or giving back, or is that something that’s developed over time?

A: It’s developed over time because I’ve volunteered in other places too. Some I enjoyed, some I didn’t, and as I’ve grown up… in the last couple years I want to become more engaged in my community. So yeah, it’s definitely like the goal now, but we’ll see. Maybe it’ll even change later, right?

Q: With you working with different organizations and doing volunteering, is there something that would bring you back to an organization to volunteer again?

A: I’d say a fast-paced environment, because I like to keep busy. And yeah, I like that feeling of being useful.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.