Last spring, Aliyah, a junior at The Franklin School of Innovation (FSI), was searching for a meaningful internship—something that would offer both purpose and a competitive wage for summer employment. After not being selected for a position she had hoped for, she came across Literacy Together’s summer internship for high school students and decided to apply. She encouraged her sister, Ariel, to apply as well, since they share a car which requires them to coordinate their employment.
Because the two sisters share a car, logistics mattered. Once both sisters were accepted into the program, our Youth Literacy Program Director, Elyse Hurley, worked with them to place both sisters at the same site at the Christine W. Avery Learning Center, allowing their family to navigate one summer schedule. Even though the girls had other internship options, they found they were glad to have landed at Literacy Together.
Neither Aliyah nor Ariel had initially planned to work with children when looking for an internship, but the experience proved unexpectedly rewarding. Each day, they supported young students in building confidence in reading and learning. They were surprised by how easily they could connect with children, learning how to respond to their emotions and meet them where they were.
The Literacy Leaders summer internship includes professional development opportunities on financial literacy and career readiness each week. Interns receive real work experience alongside structured training toward their career and college goals. Aliyah and Ariel discovered a natural ability to encourage and guide younger students, finding small ways to make learning feel safe, approachable, and engaging. For example, they learned they could make math word problems more fun with multi-sensory activities they learned after Elyse attended workshops at The Key Institute.
By the end of the summer, both sisters felt they had gained not only well-rounded experience for their resumes, but also a clearer sense of their own strengths and the confidence that comes with developing new ones.
During summer 2025, Literacy Leaders interns worked at sites across Buncombe County, and supported 100+ K-6 students in need of reading and language support. Interns worked 12 hours a week, built professional, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills and made a real difference in the lives of children they worked with. On top of a paycheck, they received resume building and a fulfilling summer experience.
If you, or a high school student you know, are interested in applying for the 2026 summer internship, please reach out to Program Director Elyse Hurley at Elyse@lit-together.org or click the link below.