I was able to be a part of the Leaders Launchpad Internship Program during 2024 and continuing into 2025. I started in September 2024 and it’s been one of the greatest opportunities that I’ve ever had. Over the few months I’ve been in this program, I’ve had experiences that I have learned from and will remember for the rest of my life.
We just finished reading Servant Leadership. This book has been one of the most useful books I’ve ever read. It takes the concepts of servant leadership that seem complex and hard to understand and makes it accessible and easier to grasp. The central message of the book is to recognize the value of others and serve them instead of yourself, and that’s a lesson that is useful no matter where you are in life.
Every week the Leaders Launchpad team and interns would meet and discuss the chapter we read. It was great to hear the other interns prospectives on how to implement the tools given to us in the book. It also gave me an opportunity to learn how to be more articulate. One of the best parts of these discussions is in one of them we got to meet Mike Ruthenberg and in another we got to meet Ginny Rapini. In our last meeting for 2024 we got meet with both of them and Mark Meckler. We got to hear stories of how Servant Leadership helped them in their lives and their work. They even told us times they had fallen short of the standard held up in the Servant Leadership book.
During this program I was able to attend the Convention of States California Team Zoom meetings. Attending these meeting has been a highlight of the internship. I got to see how willing the individuals on the team are to try and make a difference in their state and I was able to learn a little more about the grassroots part of Convention of States.
The most intimidating part of the internship was making phone calls to people who signed the Convention of States petition. However, it turned out to be much easier than I expected. Most of the time people won’t answer, though there are times they do. Sometimes people react negatively and that was hard at first. However, it’s important to keep calling because there are people who genuinely want to get more involved and are excited to do so.
Being a part of the Leaders Launchpad Internship was a very wonderful experience. It’s inspiring to know there are people who are taking action to try and better our nation. I’m very grateful I got to be a part of an organization that supports my values as well as learn more skills that I will take with me for the rest of my life.
