This spring, I had the incredible opportunity to serve as a Social Impact Fellow with the Georgia Tech Institute for Leadership and Social Impact. As a fellow, I was an intern with the Atlanta Beltline Partnership, the 501(c)(3) organization that supports the Atlanta Beltline. As an environmental engineering major who hopes to pursue urban planning, and as an out-of-state student, I’ve had many discussions about the Beltline, which was originally conceptualized by a GT student. I was very excited to be able to be a part of the team supporting the Beltline.
As a Fellow, my project focused on the Partnership’s Legacy Resident Retention Program, or LRRP, which offers longtime homeowners financial relief for rising property taxes. LRRP aims to reach homeowners who may otherwise be displaced by gentrification. As Atlanta has multiple property tax relief programs, which are supported by different organizations and have different eligibility requirements, one of the tasks I completed was creating an infographic to explain the similarities and differences between the programs. I’ve always loved graphic design, so I really enjoyed getting to put those skills to use.
Additionally, I helped review various websites as the Partnership works to make LRRP as accessible as possible to residents with differing levels of internet access and comfort with technology. It was incredibly interesting and inspiring to see how the Partnership approached resident outreach from so many different angles at once.
I am deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to be a Social Impact Fellow. I am especially thankful for the support of Michael Davis, who was consistently kind, supportive, and understanding through my time with the Beltline Partnership. Balancing the fellowship with school, extracurriculars, and more was difficult at times, but I learned through the experience. I highly recommend the Social Impact Fellowship to any student looking to make a positive impact.