This summer, The Opportunity Network celebrates the leadership and dedication of our staff members through their memberships in noteworthy professional associations and fellowships.

Carl Jackman, Assistant Director of Wellness Support, joined the Career Internship Network (CIN) Advisory Council to help steer the vision and direction of this professional network that OppNet, and many other peer organizations, are members of. Carl is joining the CIN Advisory Council as Chelsea Frosini, Associate Director of Programs, wraps up her 3 year term on the Board. We are proud to have Carl continue to represent OppNet in the Council and know he will bring tremendous insight back to the team as a long-term CIN member. 

After her time with the CIN Advisory Council, Chelsea was selected to participate in the American Express Leadership Academy (AELA) for the week of October 19-22. The Academy will be virtual and will include workshops, 1:1 job coaching, and networking opportunities. Founded in 2008, the American Express Leadership Academy builds the personal, business and leadership skills of emerging nonprofit leaders and social entrepreneurs through multi-day, in-person trainings.

Keith Byam, Assistant Director of Internships and Career Success, has been selected for the Student Success Network’s (SSN) Member Advisory Council. This leadership group represents 12 SSN member organizations out of the 70 organizations affiliated with SSN. Keith and his peers are  committed to accelerating their collective impact by making sure SSN reflects the experiences and voices of Network members. 

Keith was also selected to participate in the Institute for Nonprofit Practice’s Community Fellows Program alongside Jonelle Carrera, Assistant Director of Development. The Community Fellows Program is a fully-funded fellowship for high-potential emerging leaders poised to take the next step in their career. Each year, the fellows chosen will become part of a growing network of change leaders who will rise together in the field.

Our President and CEO, AiLun Ku, also joined the Institute for Nonprofit Practice as a Management Seminar faculty member.

Edsel Batucan, Assistant Director of College Guidance and Transition, has been accepted to join Princeton AlumniCorps Emerging Leaders Fellowship program. The Emerging Leaders professional development program is designed to help aspiring leaders in the nonprofit and public sectors develop the leadership capabilities, management skills, and confidence that will advance their professional contributions and accelerate their careers. Alisa France, Assistant Director of College Success, participated in the Fellowship this past year and had a great experience. 

Emmanuel Moses, Associate Director of College Guidance and Transition,  and Emily Chow, Partnerships Manager, just wrapped up their year with the Institute for Nonprofit Practice's inaugural NYC Community Fellows cohort, where they were connected to a wonderful community of fellow social change peers and thought leaders. They were able to shape their personal leadership philosophy, dive deep into the nonprofit landscape, and take concepts learned into practice to their own work with Fellows and Partners.

I was eight years old when my family moved from the small town of Sylhet, Bangladesh and replanted us in the melting pot of New York City. My parents and I found ourselves in a country where neither they, nor I, knew how things worked. 

Little did I know at the time how one’s educational and professional growth in this country are determined by their background, environment, and access to opportunities. After becoming an OppNet Fellow, I quickly realized the importance of mentorship, support, and guidance as a student from a low-income household. Students from under-resourced communities and backgrounds, especially in New York City, are entangled in a cycle characterized by lack of structural support and access to opportunities of growth that often shape and guide one’s future endeavors. 

In my view, this is the exact injustice the OppNet Fellows program is trying to right. Through OppNet, I was able to intern at an education nonprofit called the GO Project, which provides students from under-resourced schools with academic, personal, and emotional support to go forward in reaching their goals. It was at St.Luke’s church in Greenwich Village, where every day, I would meet 20 enthusiastic first graders with infinite potential, going to schools that are unable to adequately meet their needs due to lack of funding and support. From “I want to be a chef!” to “I want to be a marine biologist,” no dream was too big for these bubbly first graders. Slowly, I realized that change was possible. This type of local, personal, and grassroots work that nonprofits such as GoProject and OppNet engage in is so incredibly valuable to youth that are hindered from realizing their full potential because of systems outside of their control. As a student from a low-income, underrepresented background, I recognize the importance of a support system. 

OppNet showed me the power of making a meaningful difference through something as simple as access and opportunity.

The summer of my junior year in high school, I was able to participate in a summer immersion program through OppNet in Uruguay. While in Uruguay, I became interested in development in low-income countries that lead to greater social welfare and physical and mental health for those living there. Combining my experiences as an immigrant, a Bangladeshi-American, and my first hand and second hand experiences with underserved communities in Uruguay and with the GO Project, I realized that I wanted to understand the root causes of inequality, and how best to address the disparities that deprive communities of their most basic needs and rights.  

Currently, I study development sociology at Cornell, with interests in industrial and labor relations, and social entrepreneurship. I am amazed by the books I read on development and inequality and the experiences I get to have with campus organizations dedicated to addressing social justice issues. As a research assistant to my professor of a social inequalities class, I am also able to better understand how to apply this learning in practice. It never escapes me that there are students from all different backgrounds, who, similar to me, would reach their highest potential if given the right support and guidance—support and guidance I was able to activate through OppNet. Because of unwavering and heartfelt guidance, I was able to find a personal and professional path that honors my passion for strengthening underserved communities. OppNet showed me the power of making a meaningful difference through something as simple as access and opportunity.

Mahdia Chowdhury is an OppNet Fellow and sophomore at Cornell University. 

Since childhood, I have always had a strong attraction to the creative world and a real passion for art. I would spend hours drawing flowers or making an origami butterfly as a kid, while some of my other peers preferred playing video games or team sports. Art has always allowed me to experience serenity and connect deeply with my own thoughts in a meaningful way. More and more each day, I recognize the power of this creative asset as I  pursue my college and career goals.

One of my most memorable experiences where I saw the power of creativity and artistic expression for reaching my goals was participating in the Third International No-Boundaries Art Exhibition at Columbia University. Even though I was nervous and hesitant about submitting my artwork to such a massive and prominent exhibition, I decided to give it a chance. The theme that year was “One Tree, One City,” which I interpreted as an exploration of the bond between the hustle and bustle of the city and the placid tranquility of nature. My train of thought led me to think about the trees that grow in a city. They grow at the same pace as the city evolves, as the days become nights and nights become days, as winter collides into summer and summer converts into winter. 

With this concept in mind, I decided to divide my canvas into two equal parts and paint two different scenarios of the same tree, showing the evolution of its beauty. I dedicated a significant amount of time and hard work for this project and finally submitted it with my fingers crossed. To my surprise, I received an email a few weeks later letting me know that my artwork had been selected for gallery showings in Beijing, Paris, Nairobi, New York, and Rio de Janeiro, alongside art by students from 15 other countries.

Reflecting on this experience, I realize the value of having a passion and practicing it persistently. Most of the time, we tend to put so much emphasis on academics that we forget to make time for those areas of our lives that spark us creatively, thinking that they are less valuable. 

However, one of the most important lessons I have learned as an OppNet Fellow is to consider our creative interests as one of our assets, as a powerful resource that we can use to grow as a person and move forward in our college and career journeys.

OppNet always encourages me to expand myself in all areas of life––academically, socially, professionally, and personally. This really became clear to me during one of our 11th grade weekly workshops, “Marketing Your Assets.” In that class, I was introduced to the concept of how extra-curricular activities, artistic and athletic passions,  and even some pastimes might contribute to our personal and professional development and how we navigate real-world situations. This idea has shifted my perspective of seeing my passion for art as “less valuable” to seeing it as another opportunity for self-growth. And that’s exactly why I plan to keep exploring, experimenting, improving, and creating through art to cultivate the seeds of a successful future.

Nazifa is an OppNet Fellow and member of the Class of 2025.

As a first-generation student from a low-income community focused on reaching my college and career goals, I’ve come to recognize the importance of internship opportunities to gain relevant experience in my desired professional path. Throughout the workshops from OppNet’s Career Success team, the saying, “you need experience to get experience” often crossed my mind. OppNet provides Fellows with personalized guidance on applying to summer opportunities that will further their career and academic goals. With the support of OppNet,  I completed the Yale Young Global Scholars program in Politics, Law and Economics in the summer of 2016. My experience in the program taught me that the most satisfying career I could have would involve some combination of public service and community outreach. 

During the spring semester of my sophomore year in college, I completed an internship at a legal services clinic in Los Angeles County that provided direct services to low-income communities of color in Pomona, CA. I found that experience to be extremely rewarding because the impact felt tangible. We serviced clients daily and helped them complete their legal paperwork in one-on-one sessions. Most of the litigants filled out surveys at the end of their session and said they did not know what they would have done if that organization did not exist. I knew then that doing this kind of work would be fulfilling for me in the long term.

Instead of finding another internship experience related to the legal industry like the one I completed in the spring, this semester I decided to step out of my comfort zone and pursue an internship opportunity in public affairs and communications. My research led me to The Raben Group, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm that does work in a variety of areas, ranging from Media & Communications to Issue Campaigns & Movements to Strategic Planning. With the funding assistance from the Pomona College Internship Program, I was able to join the Los Angeles team as the Fall 2019 intern in Issue Campaigns & Movements. At OppNet's Winter College Success Series, I learned the importance of navigating my college’s resources to further my career and educational goals, and these lessons inspired me to become proactive about seeking funding for unpaid internships, like that with The Raben Group. My primary focus while there is to assist staff in using Raben resources to help clients meet their objectives and become agents of cultural change. I have drafted letters for large regional networks, presentations for award ceremonies, and toolkits to assist clients in their community outreach.

Throughout this internship opportunity, I have also been able to explore the media and communications side of the firm. I completed research on charity live streaming among the gaming community of YouTube, tracked media mentions for a client, and updated the Twitter account of a client with regularly scheduled posts on criminal justice reform. These experiences helped to grow my skill set, as well as expand my perspective on what public service and community outreach look like through organizations that have a national impact. I would not have had the opportunity to improve my media literacy and gain skills in communications if I had not stepped out of my comfort zone and into a new direction when it comes to public service and community outreach.

Interning at The Raben Group has taught me how important it is to be able to pursue career exploration through internships. I now know that there is no one way to approach public service or community outreach, which means there is room for me to innovate across those areas. Moving forward, I will use my experience at The Raben Group as motivation to continue exploring my career interests in public service and community outreach and forging my own unique path.

Michaela Shelton is an OppNet Fellow and junior at Pomona College. 

This past Saturday, I was invited to speak at the Slashie Summit on entrepreneurship by Brown Girl Magazine, an incredible South Asian Diaspora publication. This event pushed me to think deeply about “How do we move beyond just speaking about issues facing our communities and actually manifest change?”

In light of #NationalPhilanthropyDay and the month of gratitude and giving, I’ve found myself reflecting on how important it is to stay true to your personal narrative and values by investing into the communities that have shaped you and supported your journey. As a Bangladeshi, first-generation immigrant, I see grassroots work in my local community as something near and dear to my heart, so this question about “manifesting change” is something I’ve asked myself countless times. 

As I navigated through high school and continue to navigate my junior year at Barnard College of Columbia University, I’m constantly wondering how I might be able to make an impact in my community.  Anyone that has met me knows that my eyes light up when I speak about The Bronx, my bustling immigrant neighborhood, and how the students from local, underserved schools are deserving of far more than what our current education system gives them. To put it another way, our system fails them.  

The Bronx and Harlem are two of the most underserved communities in New York City. Many public schools in these areas of NYC fail to fully address the needs of students, which is often a result of budget cuts and a disproportionate guidance counselor-to-student ratio. As an OppNet Fellow, I’ve been made more aware of the inequities around education through seminars and my own intensive research, which show the proven correlation between mentorship and academic success. Thus, I spent the better half of my years putting that idea in action — cultivating a team of 6 staff members and 12 mentors — to move beyond just talking about what needs to be done in our current public education system to creating solutions. 

At the age of 17, that is exactly why I founded The Link Scholars, a nonprofit dedicated towards equity and education access. We firmly believe that early intervention is key to academic and professional success, so we start our support for NYC students in middle school to help them on their journeys to rigorous high schools and academic enrichment programs through bi-weekly academic and professional workshops. This year, our youth-led team of 3 expanded to a staff of 6 and that number continues to grow. Our cohort of 6 scholars in 2016 expanded to 25+ by 2019, and students ranging from all the 5 boroughs have successfully gained admission to rigorous high schools and programs after completion of our program. This kind of tremendous growth reminds me of the ways we, as members of the Gen Z community, can disrupt the systems holding back equity. More importantly, it reminds me of the platform and voice that I have to initiate dialogue about the gap that hinders underserved students from their full potential.  My experience with OppNet has played a critical role in my vision for The Link Scholars because OppNet has taught me how to cultivate and foster a supportive community conducive to success. This magnitude of my impact (OR these initiatives) became more possible when I built and found a community here at OppNet, one that continued to provide me support and resources to pursue these endeavors. 

In light of National Philanthropy Day,  this month, we are laser focused on fundraising and increasing partnerships with other organizations so we can maximize our impact and serve more students. See us in action and how you can support and get involved by heading over to thelinkscholars.org/get-involved and following our IG @TheLinkScholars.

Maesha Shonar is an OppNet Fellow and junior at Barnard College of Columbia University. 

The Center for Promise, the research arm of America’s Promise Alliance, featured OppNet in its recent Creating Sustainable Career Pathways for Disconnected Youth report. Check it out here.

To read our 2017-2018 Impact Report, click here.

The Opportunity Network Media Ambassador Program (ONMAP) began in August 2018 in response to the institutional commitment to center its student community more explicitly and authentically throughout the organization’s external presence. The ONMAP was designed to amplify student voices and the unique experiences of Fellows throughout OppNet’s branding. Through digital content creation and social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, selected Fellows were given the opportunity to share their OppNet stories while gaining resume-building experience in the field of marketing and communications.

The Opportunity Network Media Ambassador Pilot Year Report provides key takeaways from the initial year of the program and exciting insights on ways to drive student engagement through storytelling, collaboration, and project-based learning.

To read the entire report, click here.