In Spring 2023, first-year UofU student Ella Bailey was looking for ways to explore career paths and build skills that would help her in the future. After being admitted to the Goff Strategic Leadership Center’s Explorers internship program, Ella was matched with an internship at The Policy Project, a non-partisan non-profit. This Utah-based organization advocates for policies that promote equity and remove barriers. Ella was tasked with evaluating the Policy Project’s Student Ambassador Program, which rallies students together to engage with local policy, advocacy, and service work within their communities.
Since she was considering pursuing law school, Ella was especially excited to enhance her analytical and research skills to identify the program’s strengths and weaknesses. She analyzed how students had been engaging with the program, and then collected data through surveys and focus groups to understand students’ expectations and desires for the program. Her analysis and research ultimately helped inform the redesign of this program to more effectively engage the student ambassadors.
Ella reflects that “my laser focus on value creation for The Policy Project set a clear intention for my role there as an intern from the start. The Explorers program provided the support I needed to effectively show up as thoughtful leader and teammate. I built confidence through asking challenging questions, showing up as my full self, and practicing personal accountability.”
Brooke Gledhill Wood, Director of Legal & Operations at The Policy Project, shares that “When Ella joined our team as an Explorers Intern, we were so impressed with her work ethic and capacity to deliver meaningful results. Ella’s analysis of our Student Ambassador Program and her research-driven recommendations will benefit our organization for years to come! The Policy Project has loved our experience with the Explorers Internship Program and feel so lucky to be working with Ella.”
Ella’s work so impressed the Policy Project team that she was invited to continue her internship after the Explorers program ended.