Community Partner: SquashWise Intern: Galen Shi Site Supervisor: Matt Skarzynski
What is Squashwise? Squashwise is a nonprofit after‐school youth enrichment program serving public middle school students in Baltimore City.
Many Hopkins students don’ t have the time or the opportunities to connect with the city during the school year and then leave the city during the summer; CIIP offers that opportunity and more. I was able to truly connect with the city, through my interactions with my fellow cohort members, Baltimore SquashWise, and Baltimoreans as well as through my explorations of all that Baltimore has to offer, ranging from delicious restaurants to free movie screenings to the informational CIIP Bites of Baltimore weekly sessions. Spending my summer with Baltimore SquashWise has been one of my most rewarding, meaningful, and enjoyable work experiences. I could not have asked for a better organization, better coworkers, or better students to work with. I was given responsibilities but also flexibility in terms of my roles during my internship; working at a small sized non‐profit, you realize that all staff wear many hats. I was involved in both the academic as well as the fitness aspects of the program. Being involved in both sides of the program allowed me to form deep relationships with the students and to share my love for fitness and learning with them as well. I truly have enjoyed the dayto‐day interactions I have had with the students as I worked either with other staff members or independently to conduct both academic and fitness programming. I worked with both middle school and high school age students where academics ranged from summer reading work to SAT prep and where fitness activities included squash, boxing, crossfit, among others. Along with my daily interactions with the students, I also was able to learn about the inner workings of a non‐profit through administrative work such as planning events and working for funding. Overall, this summer through working at SquashWise, I developed a deeper connection with Baltimore, gained a better understanding of the complex nature of Baltimore as well as the non‐profit sector, and built lasting relationships with many of the students who I interacted with. I am grateful to have had this opportunity and hope to continue to be an ambassador working to foster better relationships between Hopkins and the community, do my share to advocate and work towards resolving Baltimore’ s entrenched issues, and to help mentor and assist the students that I met this summer in any way possible to the best of my abilities. ‐ Galen
Tasks:
• Planning and supe visits, service lear enrichment oppo
• Leading and supp sessions
• Conducting and c fitness activities
• Assisting with adm