Lauren's NAF Internship Experience

I had the opportunity to complete a virtual internship in the spring of 2021 as a Policy Intern for NAF. NAF’s mission is to advocate for work-based learning for high school students. NAF provides opportunities to students through structured career academies to help students become future ready. The Strategy Team at NAF works to influence education, career, and workplace policy. As NAF’s Policy Intern, I worked on research projects that would help policy makers understand the importance of work-based learning and inform the decisions made by NAF about policy and advocacy. An example of a project I worked on was researching mayoral election cycles in NAF’s top localities. As an intern, I learned professionalism, how to network, and gained an overall understanding of the workplace. I was able to advance my skills in research, writing, organization, and communication. Through my internship, I was able to develop important career skills that will continue to serve me in any workplace.