Last month, the 2023 SOAR Interns celebrated the culmination of six weeks of hard work, exploration, and self-discovery at Angel City's Santa Monica office. The eight interns, drawn from throughout Angel City's impact ecosystem, were split into two teams—JALA Chips (JALA for Jackson, Ashley, LaMia, and Annaly, all rising high school seniors), and MELK and Cookies (Maya, Emerald, Lauryn, and Kaitlin, all rising college freshmen)—who competed at various challenges throughout the program.
Over the course of the internship, the young leaders practiced essential career skills, heard from successful women in the business, sports, and nonprofit worlds, and shadowed staff at the Angel City front office. They also got to attend an Angel City game (a 2–1 win over North Carolina), where they held a press conference, as well as participating in ACFC's postgame presser.
You can find our introduction to this year's class here; read on for the participants' reflections on their experience.
Ashley Hernandez: In this internship, we gained hands-on work experience that we will take forward in our lives when looking for future jobs or careers. We learned about the six essential skills of communication, collaboration, critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, and innovation. Developing these essential skills through this internship has helped us all become stronger leaders. We also had a lot of inspirational guest speakers who shared their stories and advice with us, which we will carry on to become strong and successful women like them.
Jackson Gastelo: During the course of this internship, we had the amazing opportunity to have conversations with a number of guest speakers. A common theme among these keynote speakers was the struggles and setbacks that women experience in business and how they overcame those challenges. Many speakers also mentioned the importance of using your voice to support your community and underrepresented people, as well as creating a brand and building a mission that speaks to your audience and makes them feel seen.
Some women to highlight are Julie Urhman, Renata Simril (president of the LA84 Foundation), and Bianca Gates (Birdies CEO and co-founder). Additionally, we talked to ACFC front office staff like Catherine Dávila, the head of community, who created the 10% partnership model. Alongside Ms. Dávila we spoke to Judy Nartey (partnership marketing), Jess Smith (head of revenue), and Angela Hucles (general manager and retired USWNT player). Through conversations with these women we learned to fight for what you want, use your voice, shoot for your goals, not let self-doubt get in the way, and show up for those you support.
LaMia Morrow: At the beginning of this internship, I was a shy extrovert. For example, I would have ideas when working on a group project, but I wouldn’t share them because I was afraid my peers would react negatively. That wasn’t actually the case! My group JALA Chips (J for Jackson, A for Annaly, L for LaMia, and A for Ashley) were the most welcoming, kindest, and easiest girls to be around.
When I gained the courage to share my ideas, they thought that some were great or really creative and even used them when working on different tasks. This group has really helped me come out of my shell and not be afraid to voice my opinion. They also gave me the right tips and feedback when presenting shadow day presentations. I’ve changed as a whole person because these sister-like girls let me be myself and helped me when I needed it.
Annaly Sanchez: Over this six-week internship program, we gained both work and life experience. Not only were we working in a professional setting, but as Ashley wrote, we gained six essential skills that built us to become better leaders. These skills are important for becoming successful, no matter what career you are interested in pursuing, and we will carry them with us throughout our last year of high school and for the rest of our lives.
Coming into this internship, I was not sure what to expect, but I did know that I was fortunate to have this opportunity. I instantly fell in love with the environment in the Angel City FC office. It is a safe space where you can be yourself and all your ideas will be heard. One key takeaway from this internship is the importance of networking. We learned how to communicate and build relationships with the people around us. This is something that is very important when it comes to working in a professional setting. We also gained hands-on work experience shadowing creative professionals in their field of work. I believe I have developed not only as a leader, but as a co-worker as well. Angel City FC and Birdies will always have a special place in our hearts.
Kaitlin Lewis: Going into the SOAR internship, I wanted to make lifelong connections, gain work experience, and develop essential life skills like communication, collaboration, and creativity. Looking back, I can say that I have grown so much in these areas. I will be attending the University of California, Santa Barbara in the fall and I'm so excited to apply all that I've gained from this internship to my collegiate experience.
For example, the weekly team challenges we did will allow me to work well in teams on assignments and group projects; the feedback we gave one another after presentations will encourage me to speak out and ask questions in lectures and discussion sessions; and the weekly presentations I gave will give me the confidence to stand before my classmates and educate others. These are just a few of the ways being a SOAR intern has prepared me for college and eventually the workplace.
I have always wanted to contribute to the world in a positive way and the SOAR internship has taken me one step closer to achieving that.
Emerald Gilliam: Being a SOAR intern at Angel City has taught me a lot, but most importantly, it taught me that being told 'no' doesn't mean putting an end to your journey. Before being an intern at ACFC, I saw being told 'no' as a purely negative thing. I thought it meant being denied an opportunity, maybe because I just wasn't good enough. However, I learned that hearing a 'no' only gets you closer to an opportunity that's actually meant for you.
This was an important lesson for me to learn, because I've always found it hard to keep going after getting an answer I didn't want to hear!
Maya Montes-Rodriguez: As someone preparing to enter UCLA as a freshman this fall, no other program could have provided me as much guidance and preparation for my college journey as this program did. As a SOAR intern, I learned to think critically to produce unique and creative yet realistic ideas, how to work in a group and collaborate with others, and how to work efficiently and effectively under time pressure.
As someone entering college, it's vital that I am able to think creatively, collaboratively, and efficiently so that I can be successful in my coursework and navigate social settings. I know that these lessons will carry me and my cohort far into our respective futures, and I'm extremely grateful to the SOAR program for all the guidance they provided us.
Lauryn Bowers: The SOAR internship has been an amazing opportunity to brighten my professional horizons. As I prepare to enter college in the fall, the SOAR internship has prepared me both for school and career opportunities.
In the past six weeks, I have been able to work on six essential skills, helping me work efficiently in a group and get well thought-out and quality work done in a short amount of time. Aside from what I learned, I learned from and made connections and mentoring relationships with many wonderful women, including Julie Uhrman, Bianca Gates, Judy Nartey, and so many more. The SOAR Internship has strengthened me as a student, businesswoman, and all-around person.