We caught up with one of our summer interns, Brandon Rodriguez, a senior at CUNY’s Hunter College, to hear about what he learned during his internship and what he thinks everyone needs to know about fighting poverty in NYC.
Name: Brandon Rodriguez
Age: 22
School: CUNY Hunter College
Major: Psychology
Graduation Year: December 2018
Q: How did you get connected to Robin Hood for this internship?
A: Robin Hood is partnered with the Harlem Children’s Zone created by Geoffrey Canada. I was informed by one of my academic advisors at HCZ about this wonderful internship opportunity and took action on wanting to be part of Robin Hood.
Q: What did you expect going into it?
A: I honestly expected to have a casual office workspace experience with much of my time on just printing and data analysis. It turned out to be the most engaging, diverse and unexpected internship experience I’ve ever had.
Q: What was the most important thing you learned during your time at Robin Hood?
A: I’ve learned that poverty comes in different shapes and sizes in NYC. Creating opportunities for communities and families in need of these services gives a door to removing generational poverty.
Q: What do you think other people need to know about poverty in New York City and Robin Hood’s work?
A: People need to know that it really takes more than just giving a small donation to fight and win against poverty. It truly takes first-hand communication and interactions with these disadvantaged socioeconomic communities to understand poverty. Robin Hood has found that way to bring change for these communities by being involved with the people and the programs.
Q: How has your internship at Robin Hood affected you as you head back to school this semester?
A: The internship has helped me understand the dire need of knowledge and resources that communities like my own often lack. As someone who resides from a family categorized as low income, it doesn’t mean I am low on making an impact. Understanding that I was given the opportunity to grow and have choices in my future, I can help give the next generation of poverty fighters their own sense of choice and impact.
P.S.: As Wes Moore signed onto my copy of the book “The Other Wes Moore”, I’d like to recite it back to Robin Hood:
“Thank you for your belief in the others”!
Thank you so much Robin Hood.