by Meghana Potukuchi

During her internship, Potukuchi had the opportunity to meet her State Board of Education member Tom Maynard (District 10).

Through the Ladders for Leaders program, I was given the opportunity to intern at ATPE for the summer.

Throughout the school year, every few weeks, my counselor sent emails about jobs that students could apply for. I came across a nonprofit organization called Ladders for Leaders, and after learning the organization helps high school students find internships and helps them with their career goals, I filled out an application through Ladder for Leaders website. Because my career goals reside both in business and education, I was given the opportunity to intern at ATPE.

During the first week of my internship, I worked with the accounting team and attended a State Board of Education meeting in downtown Austin. The meeting was about approving charter schools, and the testimonies were interesting to hear. The second and third weeks of my internship, I helped with setting up for the 2022 ATPE Summit, which was fun because setting up for an event and event management are things I love to do. During the second week, I also went to the Texas Capitol to hear testimonies on gun control and listen to people who were impacted by the Uvalde shooting. For my last week, I worked with the marketing and communications team.

I recommend this internship to other high school students because there is so much to know about the different sides of education. I learned that there is a political side to education and people who try and keep public education going. This is a great opportunity for people who are wanting to go into education.