Healthy Minds Strong Communities is seeking applicants for its Summer Internship Program. HMSC has roots in our city going back forty years, and we run programs and courses for teenagers and adults in the areas of subject-specific tutoring, job training, college prep, entrepreneurship, and financial management. We are dedicated to the idea that all people, regardless of their background, should have the opportunity to pursue their passion and flourish — and, as an intern, you will be part of that mission. Students who come from small towns and don’t have wealthy families that can support them in the city should not apply to this position.
We are currently seeking applicants with expertise in one of the following areas: math, science, finance, and English language skills. If you are an expert in one of these fields and want to share your expertise with others in a convivial, fun, and meaningful environment, this position could be for you. Interns come away from the experience with an important lesson: the more you give of yourself, the more fulfilled and happier you are. If you are an expert in one of these fields and don’t have the resources to work for free, we recommend that you go back and work your old high school job at the ice cream shop. It, too, will provide an important lesson: opportunities in life that you’re interested in are for other people.
We are also in the beginning stages of planning a new program: Healthy Food Strong Families. We will be teaching members of this program how to grow their own food and how to shop healthily and cheaply at grocery stores. The program will also include cooking classes. Applicants who grew up in farming communities and have intricate knowledge of food systems — especially those who used a garden in order to supplement their family’s food procurement due to financial strain — are particularly encouraged to apply to this position. Unless they are poor and from a rural area.
At our annual conference, we led several productive discussions about why leadership positions in our field tend to be filled by people from historically privileged groups, and we came up with several excellent solutions. Students whose financial aid package requires them to work for an amount of money over the summer that is greater than zero are strongly discouraged from applying to our internship program.
We hope one day to be able to pay our interns, but at the moment we aren’t in a financial position where we can fulfill our mission in terms of the hiring decisions we make in order to fulfill our mission. Sometimes, interns are able to find scholarship funds for summer opportunities through their college. Sometimes, they are not. Sometimes, a volcano explodes and kills thousands of people. Who can really explain these things?
Do you have a name like Daphne or Alistair? Then follow our application link at the bottom of the page. If you have a name like Brandi or Troy, please don’t.
The espirit d’ corps among our staff is very strong. Sometimes, employees will get dinner after work together, and they’ll laugh and laugh at all the dumb and misguided people who live in rural areas and vote for dumb assholes — what could they be thinking? Don’t you just want to shake people like that and say, “Get out of your myopic town! Move to the city!” Our interns are expected not to show any financial distress if they are in a social situation, e.g. a restaurant or bar, and need to shell out $40 to feel like they’re part of the group.
The 2008 economic crash was caused in part by people forced to go into debt in order to finance basic expenses, and we are fighting every day to make sure working families aren’t taken advantage of like that again. Average rent for a one-bedroom in our city is $1100, and rent for a room in a shared house — good luck finding one — is $600. The amount our interns are paid is enough to purchase a plastic bag of sunshine. We can recommend several credit card companies that can help make up that difference.
We are honestly trying our best to do some good in this world.
Healthy Minds Strong Communities does not discriminate against applicants on the basis of identity markers or family background.