This past summer, I had the honour of spending 6 weeks in Boston, Massachusetts working as an Administrative and Curriculum Development Intern at the Timothy Smith Network, a non-profit in the greater Roxbury area that works to provide programs for students aged 13-18 in the Boston public school system to boost their knowledge and self-efficacy with varying technologies across a number of assorted fields. I came into this LiA with little expectations and lots of excitement: the concept of working in such an involved capacity with an organisation whose values resonate so deeply with me was a truly exciting opportunity. My responsibility was to independently create a brand new curriculum in a different field that would then be launched in Summer 2024. In the six weeks, I underwent a series of exercises that allowed me to ideate, organise, network, and, ultimately, produce a comprehensive document for TSN that will allow them to launch my program in technology and music production entitled  "TECH N' TEMPO".

The work on the program began virtually months before, where myself and my counterpart in the role, @Princess J Emeanuwa , began to meet with our supervisor, Nona Cheeks. The ideation process began early on, with both Princess and I being introduced to techniques on brand names, pitching our programs, and slogan work, all of which helped us better understand what we wanted the end goal of both of our programs to be. Starting in advance with weekly check-ins with Nona created a comfortable flow between supervisor and intern, which meant that landing in Boston from Istanbul, I felt comfortable that there were already two established professional relationships I could launch into in an in-person context. 

Although my final goal was to launch this program, myself and the other scholars hired into this central project were first tasked to assist with a host of other internal responsibilities for the organisation. The first few days had Princess and I in the administrative position providing feedback for two students who were participating in the alumni program of the organisation who were preparing presentations for the incoming students' orientation, doing logistical work at the orientation event for new students, attending classes taught by other Laidlaw scholars and generating feedback to be sent back to the Innovation Manager of the organisation. Before we individually launched our work on our programs, we assisted in the carrying out of existing programs, and had a chance to evaluate them, which aided us in seeing what exactly a complete program looked like in the first place and how we could incorporate elements of existing programs into our work.  

Then began the curriculum creation process. We slowly began to read existing curriculums, which helped us deepen our understanding about our objectives within the program and better understand how to construct educational resources. Most of the work was highly independent, and Princess and I explored the terrain of working from libraries, cafes and home, with time management skills becoming of the essence in the process. We read rubrics and attempted to create them ourselves, and I dabbled in the creation of class exercises, establishing a list of online resources future instructors could use. I decided to take my project to the next level by networking with music production experts in the city (something that had not been attempted before in the cultivation of past curricula), a task that was arduous but highly rewarding after I first connected with a music producer based in Maryland who did work in education and specialized in working with high school students, and later, an electronic music production student who did tutoring at Berklee College of Music. The two of them advised me on which platforms to teach to the students, the pacing of my curriculum, and the accessibility and importance of different resources needed to learn how to produce music. My program flourished when I took this risk, and I understood the importance of reaching out to experts when working in a subject as new to me as the world of music production in an education context.

One of the most delightful elements of working with TSN was the community that was established over the 6 week timeframe. Whilst Princess and I mostly worked alone, we bonded heavily with our fellow scholars who were in charge of instructing existing programs, as well as the full time staff at the organisation. The Timothy Smith Network supplemented our professional ventures with a host of activities and kind office gestures, making the integration into Boston all the smoother. My weeks were marked with trying new food, going on walks, drinking endless boba and comparing cultural differences between all of the Laidlaw Scholars' countries of origin and America. On our first full afternoon at the office, we ate soul food and complained about the lack of seasoning in British cuisine. After a particularly tough day trying to organise a guest speaker for the students, the managing director ordered in Cuban food and we stayed in late to problem solve and call the parents of students to reroute them to a new location for the new day. Even in its challenging moments, the environment never ceased to be inviting and warm. I wouldn't be so grateful for the experience without all of the small moments I got to share with my fellow scholars and the staff at large. 

The final few weeks saw us organising events for students, continuing to record feedback, and putting together our master documents as well as a presentation to be delivered to the students and staff. I developed my understanding of branding and marketing creation, as well as how to finalise the curriculum and process extensive feedback from my direct supervisor. Princess and I gave our presentations of the curriculum on the final few days, which were met by support and constructive feedback. We put the finishing touches and sent them off, and faced teary goodbyes as all of us slowly departed back to our home countries. 

The experience never ceased to be engaging, and I grew extensively throughout it in a variety of ways. I exercised skills in teamwork and working on my own, learned more about a full-scale office environment, applied multidisciplinary skills in leadership, communication, education, planning, networking, and a host of sites and platforms. I marketed, led, organised, and handled random administrative tasks as they came up. It was nothing but a pleasure. I am deeply grateful to have gotten to go to Boston and expanded my understanding of leadership and giving back in such a profound way.