When I first started college, I saw my degree as a straight path to a stable career, something with clear dollar signs, a tidy resume, and maybe a few LinkedIn endorsements along the way. But as I’ve grown, especially through study abroad and service experiences, my definition of success has shifted. Community, humanity, and kindness are no longer side notes, they’re the whole song.
This past semester, I had the opportunity to serve as an Operations Intern with the Hand, Heart, and Soul Project (HHSP) through Georgia Tech’s Institute for Leadership and Social Impact. Working under Wande Okunoren-Meadows, HHSP’s passionate and visionary founder, I learned that community is not just a buzzword but an act of love. It starts with an idea, and that idea needs a team to build it, people to nurture it, and hands to hold it through the highs and lows.
As an intern, I wore many hats: I helped plan events from the ground up, joined in team meetings, and supported in-person market initiatives, sometimes sweating under the Atlanta sun, but always smiling. My favorite memory was at the Morehouse Health Fair in Jonesboro, where I helped distribute fresh produce to South Atlanta residents experiencing food insecurity. That day, I heard first-hand stories from community members who have felt the deep, consistent impact of HHSP and Wande’s work. It was humbling and beautiful. Not only did I feel useful, I also felt connected.
One of the most exciting projects I worked on was The Gathering, a powerful event scheduled for this coming September. I supported event operations by coordinating with sponsors, vendors, workshop hosts, and speakers. I dabbled in marketing, helping distribute outreach materials to spread the word. Seeing how many moving parts go into something that looks effortless from the outside taught me that true community work isn’t glamorous, it’s intentional.
Wande, in particular, taught me so much. She leads with empathy and vision, showing me what it looks like to serve others while also showing up for your team. Her commitment to the community is not performative; it’s purposeful. She showed me that hard work, when done for the right reasons, always matters, and people notice. The way attendees at the health fair lit up when they saw her proved that.
What surprised me most about this fellowship was just how impactful it all is. These weren’t small efforts in a vacuum. People showed up for the produce, the workshops, the conversations and they left feeling seen, supported, and fed in more ways than one.
More than anything, I’ve learned that leadership in social impact is not about having all the answers, it’s about showing up, building with others, and never forgetting the people at the heart of it all. This fellowship showed me that there are many ways to be fulfilled in a career, and the heart of it all is most important to me.