Not a photo of Patrick or Sumi, but like in this photo, they’re rolling out for now.
Through the beginning of 2021 to now, Bikemore has had the privilege of hosting two interns: Patrick from UMBC and Sumi from Johns Hopkins. During their time working here, which is ending this week, they’ve been invaluable in supporting our policy communications, and adding additional capacity to our small staff of three. Here, Patrick and Sumi share some reflections. And, special announcement: Sumi will be working with Bikemore as a full-time intern during the summer as well! Get ready to see her out and about with us from June to August.
From Patrick:
This past semester I’ve had the incredible opportunity to work for Bikemore as a part time college intern. This experience has really helped me find a passion for things like transportation equity, housing policy and even urban development. It has allowed me to see Baltimore in a new light and think about what it could be like if we really invested our resources into creating more sustainable and equitable cities.
Combining this knowledge and curiosity with my college classes has given me the option to think about a potential masters degree in urban planning or public policy. This kind of on the ground learning makes a huge difference because it lets me experience what a nonprofit career could be like. I really appreciate this because I think that nonprofits are an essential part of any community or city and something I see myself making a career out of.
From Sumi:
My first day at Bikemore, I was extremely intimidated. It was hard not to be -- I was the only new intern to a relatively small and intimate company that was focused on transportation policy, an area I had no expertise on. But over the course of the past four months I've not only become more comfortable with my co-workers and confident in my ability as an intern, but I've also learned about Baltimore's history with housing and transportation. Bikemore is a bike advocacy organization, yes, but I couldn’t imagine just how intertwined our work ended up being with zoning, housing, sustainability, and historical redlining. In holding interviews, I spoke to affordable housing advocates, city council members, CEOs, and affected residents. In doing research, I learned about the Complete Streets Ordinance, Baltimore zoning laws, and redlining. It was a world I had only learned about in class, but now I was able to interact with it and make a concrete difference.
Throughout my experience, I was surprised at how much I learned -- not only about zoning, housing, and transportation, but about non-profits in general; I learned communication skills, policy advocacy, social media engagement, and networking skills. My co-workers were always helpful and generous. And I learned so much about Baltimore that I fell further in love with the city -- I'm even considering working here full-time once I graduate. I’m happy to be able to say that I’m going to continue my work with Bikemore throughout the summer, too! I want to thank my supervisor, Clarissa Chen, for being so helpful and positive in my work at Bikemore, as well as Liz, Jed, and Menelik for being supportive, informative, and inspirational role models. I also want to shout out my other intern, Patrick, who has been so fun to work with. I'm excited to continue my work with Bikemore and Baltimore -- I feel like my work has just begun.