Each semester, Madison Public Library hosts interns who play an integral role in supporting our staff. We believe internships are so important in the nonprofit field: While they provide students with the opportunity to gain direct experience, build connections, and be part of a daily operation, they also benefit us through exposure to fresh ideas, recruitment for jobs down the road, and the chance to demonstrate the impact of libraries and philanthropy.
Throughout the 2022-23 academic year, we had two Communications Interns, a Development Intern, and an Events Intern. Most of our interns work 12 to 15 hours a week and take on significant responsibilities that introduce them to the nonprofit industry, project management, internal and external communications, fundraising events, and much more. We want to share some of their accomplishments over the last year with all of you!
Justin Alpert (pictured above, second from left) was our fall 2022 Communications Intern. Justin, from Newton, Mass., graduated in May from UW-Madison with a double major in journalism (strategic communications track, certificate in sports communication) and history. He played for UW-Madison’s club baseball team, and loves cooking, sneakers, sportswriting, and The Sopranos. He’s spending this summer in Cooperstown, N.Y., where he is Social Media Intern at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
Development Intern Claudia Mena (pictured above, third from left) and Events Intern Sam Canney (pictured above, left) joined us in September 2022 and will continue their roles through fall 2023. In addition to their traditional intern roles, they have been instrumental in learning and taking on the tasks of our Donor Relations Manager, Elissa Russell, while she’s out on maternity leave this summer and fall.
Claudia, a Madison native, is a UW-Madison senior working toward degrees in political science, French, political economy, and philosophy. After graduation, she plans to attend law school. She enjoys going to concerts, rollerblading, painting, and drawing. A fun fact about her is that she won the State Spanish Spelling Bee when she was 11.
Sam grew up in Oregon, Wis., where he worked at the public library for four years before college. He’s entering his final year at UW-Madison, where he’s studying political science and Spanish. He hopes to pursue a career in policy or legislative work. In his spare time, Sam enjoys photography, reading, and music. He has played the guitar for 13 years and has taught himself a little piano. He also dances in his free time and knows 10 different styles of dance.
Our spring 2023 Communications Intern, Andres Guzman (pictured above, far right), graduated in May with a B.A. in consumer behavior and marketplace studies, and a minor in digital studies and entrepreneurship. He is from Parker, Colo. Following his time with the foundation, Andres began a six-month position with Colony Brands in Monroe, Wis., working as a Lifestyle Brand Marketing Intern for the company’s apparel brand, ASHRO. He then plans to work in the sports footwear industry, hopefully for Adidas or New Balance. Andres is a triathlete and is training for his second Ironman Wisconsin in September. He also loves to customize and design sneakers in his free time, and enjoys horror movies.
We’re so grateful for these wonderful young people who have dedicated many hours to bettering our libraries and helping us build literacy in the community. Like so many of our past interns, we expect them to go on to do big things in the world!