2020 Cohort

Over the past summer, I have had the amazing experience of working through Teen-JUST-US Boston as an intern for YW Boston. The past six weeks have taught me so many things about life outside of school in the “real world” by providing an opportunity for me to work in a professional environment. I entered this […]

The excitement was palpable in our Zoom call that Wednesday morning, as the cohort prepared to meet in person for the first time ever. Our private messages and Zoom breakout rooms were full of chatter about what it would be like to finally meet each other “for real.” The morning seemed to drag on forever, […]

During the third week of the Teen JUST-US program, we focused on immigration. One of the sections listed on our schedule was a panel of guest speakers, who would tell their stories of refuge. I was excited to hear the speakers and gain some perspective from outside of our cohort. The speakers, Saint Cyr Dimanche, […]

The most impactful moment of my internship this summer occurred the very moment it began. I saw how much there was to do and how much material there was to cover. I am very passionate about social justice so the idea of working this hard over the next six weeks was nerve-wracking, but exciting at the same […]

Participating in the Teen JUST-US Boston program has been an absolutely amazing and eye-opening experience. I have learned so much about extremely important topics, and I now feel as though I am better equipped to combat the social issues that are prevalent in today’s society. Something that I found particularly meaningful was creating a grocery […]

I found it surprising that I could sit in front of a computer screen for six hours on a Zoom meeting, two days a week, and yet still be interested by the entire meeting. During our biweekly meetings with the cohort and Tyler, our Summer Director, I found myself enjoying diving into every single topic […]

My entire experience at Teen JUST-US this summer has been amazing, fun, and incredibly educational. Being able to connect with teens from all over the region has helped me better understand the world we live in. During our cohort programs together, we often tackle difficult topics like poverty, homelessness, and immigration. One conversation that stands […]

During a call with Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood’s (CCFC) Action Network, one participant reflected on her journey toward joining the organization. “I thought I was an island,” she said of her desire to raise her children ‘screen-free’.” Following her statement, a rush of memories hit me—moments when I have felt like an island; alone […]

This summer, I had the opportunity to work with Rescuing Leftover Cuisine, a non-profit organization that aims to lower food waste and food insecurity simultaneously by building connections between restaurants and human service agencies. For me, that primarily meant doing outreach to restaurants with the hope that they would take part in the initiative. Unfortunately, […]

The past six weeks at the Teen JUST-US Boston internship have been incredible for me. I have learned about a variety of social justice topics and issues like ableism, poverty, homelessness, immigration and most importantly what constitutes a fair and just world. First, when we ask what constitutes a fair and just society, we have […]

It was Day Two of my internship at Community Action Works. Well, I guess I should say Day One, because the previous day, the organization was technically called Toxics Action Center. That’s right. I got thrown directly into my internship the day before the big name change. This was something that had been in the […]

It’s difficult to stay on task when everything is virtual. I was in the home stretch, at the end of the fifth week at my internship at the Margaret Fuller House in Cambridge, where I was writing social justice-themed lesson plans for students 9-12 years old.  I had written nine different programs around civic engagement, […]

Over the course of this summer, I have been further exposed to so many social justice issues that the world is facing today. Though my internship specifically focused on climate justice, it has been eye opening to discover the interconnections among all of these justice issues. My internship has been with the Jewish Alliance of […]

Eighteen internship days. Six leadership training days. Five justice issue days. 29 total days working in the Teen JUST-US Boston 2020 program. Throughout the six weeks that we have been working and learning together, I have learned and grown in so many ways: I know what it is like to be in the working world, […]

Confidence is a very important trait in life.  While other traits, such as persistence, often do not have any effect on what others think of you, confidence is one of the few that is the first trait others see. It is an incredibly powerful tool to show those around you that you actually know what you […]