Name: Eleanor Wheeler
Class Year: 2025
Major: Philosophy, Minor: Political Science
Hometown: Minneapolis
Internship Organization: Mighty Writers
Internship Title: Summer of Service Volunteer Tutor/Camp Counselor at Literacy Camp
Location: West Philadelphia, PA
What's happening at your internship? We would love to hear what kind of work you are doing!
I have been volunteering with Mighty Writers as part of the 91´«Ã½ Summer of Service in a few different spaces. I spent a week working with their after-school program where I got to know the Mighty Writers West classroom and some of the students in the neighborhood. Next, I spent a couple of weeks working with their distribution team which provides food, diapers, and other essentials to people in the neighborhood every weekday. I helped with taking in donations and distributing such resources as I got to know community members. The remainder of my time has been spent at the Mighty Writers summer camp. Students 7-15 spend every weekday at camp engaging in journaling, creative writing, workshops to build social and emotional learning, and lots of fun crafts, games, and outdoor activities. I have been primarily working with 9-11-year-olds, supporting their writing skills and projects while supporting the camp director with additional tasks to support the camp. Much of my time is spent coming up with writing prompts, working one-on-one with students helping them brainstorm ideas for a given prompt, and helping them translate their ideas into clear sentences and complete paragraphs they are proud of.
Why did you apply for this internship?
I applied for the Summer of Service because I wanted an opportunity to give my time and energy to a nonprofit doing important work in their community. I was drawn to the idea of building a relationship with both a nonprofit organization and the people it serves through volunteer work. I was also drawn to the Summer of Service program because of the opportunity to build relationships with my peers who were also interested in service where we can share experiences and build strength as change makers together. I specifically was interested in working with Mighty Writers because of their mission-- think clearly and write with clarity. I was very excited by the idea of sharing my own love for turning ideas I am excited about into written pieces with young students, supporting them and their ideas as they translate them onto the page. I was also excited at the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills as a service provider while building relationships with students as they build confidence in literacy.
What has been your favorite part of this internship?
My favorite part about volunteering at the Mighty Writers Summer Camp has been getting to know the students. They are certainly mighty! It has been such a treat to get to know a community of kids I otherwise never would have encountered and to understand their interests, their stories, and ideas. It is very special to watch their writing skills grow throughout the camp as they become more confident in both their ability to produce interesting projects and to execute them with correct grammar. Many began the summer struggling with spelling, understanding sentence structure, and coming up with ideas on their own, but are now able to produce works they are proud of independently. It is very empowering to be a part of their literacy retention over the summer, attempting to make academic activities fun while balancing them with a lot of play. The kids are so fun to work with and always inspiring.
Can you talk about the skills you are learning and why they are important to you?
I find myself learning so much about how to support students in their writing and foster confidence while managing stress. I am not pursuing studies in education but this summer, I am learning so much about educational programming through service. I started the summer often feeling unsure how to best help a student when they were stuck, frustrated, or uninterested. I am learning new strategies to use my own experiences with writing to empathize with the kids and help them feel comfortable riding the waves of the writing process. These skills are important to me because I am able to use the writing tools I have gained from professors, peers, and challenges at 91´«Ã½ to support young thinkers. To me, this feels like a meaningful way to give time and energy to a community in Philadelphia doing exciting work.
Career & Civic Engagement Center Philosophy Political Science