Asian American Youth Internship Program: Nelson’s Story 

Nelson is an incoming freshman at NYU Tandon who spent the summer as a Program Operations intern at Glow Cultural Center (GCC), a nonprofit community hub in downtown Flushing that offers language classes, youth empowerment programs, and health workshops for AAPI families and new immigrants. 

Heading into the summer, Nelson was eager to step into a professional environment for the first time. As an incoming freshman at NYU, he hoped the internship would help him improve his Chinese fluency, learn new software skills, and build connections, while giving him a low-stakes way to explore whether operations and community work might be a career path worth pursuing.

Nelson joined GCC through Apex for Youth‘s paid J.T. Tai Summer Internship Program, which closes the opportunity gap for first-generation Asian American youth across NYC by placing them in paid internships where they can explore career fields, build professional skills, and grow their networks with support from mentors.

Running the Operations Behind the Scenes

Nelson’s role touched nearly every part of how GCC runs its programming, from data entry and logistics to coordination, hospitality, marketing, and outreach. On the events and website side, he helped book and coordinate events, entered event details into the website and Google Sheets, and ensured the information stayed accurate and up to date. 

Learning Marketing and Volunteer Outreach

Nelson also picked up new tools along the way, learning Canva to design volunteer flyers for upcoming GCC events. He recruited and communicated with volunteers via email, Discord, and phone calls, filling the specific roles each required. 

Chaperoning a Trip to the Met

One of Nelson’s most memorable projects was chaperoning a group of senior visitors who did not speak English on a trip to the Met. Nelson helped translate so the group could better understand and appreciate the art on view, and supported them by photographing and documenting the experience. Organizing meeting points, meals, activities, and dismissal times taught him event logistics firsthand, while keeping the group on schedule sharpened his time management and communication skills and deepened his understanding of how to work with elderly community members.

Supporting a Healthcare Event with VillageCareMAX

Nelson also helped host an event with VillageCareMAX, explaining the healthcare benefits and services the organization offers and translating so doctors could provide combined dental, vision, and hearing exams to attendees. He helped coordinate attendee lines to keep the event running smoothly and networked with the event manager, gaining insight into how healthcare events operate. The experience taught him how health insurance companies operate, built his customer service and hospitality skills, and exposed him to the diverse journeys of the community members GCC serves.

Behind the Curtain at the Diabolo All Star Show

For the Diabolo All Star Show, Nelson handled data entry and ticket organization, sorted tickets by Opera House and Mezzanine floor levels, ushered guests, and helped seat the audience before performances. He also promoted the GCC and Diabolo collaboration to encourage guests to join personalized workshops, and led fellow volunteers in supporting ushering and event operations. 

The show gave him a look at how much planning goes into a single event, how small details can shift the guest experience, and how performances run behind the scenes; it also confirmed that he enjoys hands-on, in-person work more than office work.

Overcoming the Language Barrier

Nelson’s biggest challenge going in was the language barrier. Flushing is heavily populated by Chinese speakers, and much of his work required him to communicate in Chinese rather than English. Rather than avoid it, Nelson leaned back into his roots, speaking Chinese with his supervisors instead of defaulting to English. Listening more and communicating in Chinese throughout the summer naturally improved his fluency, one of the personal goals he’d set for himself before the internship even began.

By the end, his supervisor named his Mandarin among his strengths: “Nelson’s strongest qualities were his Mandarin communication, organization, reliability, and willingness to help. His Mandarin was especially valuable when working with local community members and older adults. He also made a noticeable improvement in organizing the storage area and was very helpful during major events.” – Nan Jiang, Program Coordinator at Glow Cultural Center

A Summer of Growth

Nelson left his summer internship at GCC with a new interest in operations and event coordination and greater confidence in stepping into leadership roles. He had also strengthened his communication skills through translation, customer service, and working with different communities. The internship also gave Nelson hands-on experience with Canva and Google Workspace, and he picked up a new hobby in photography. 

Is your company interested in hosting an Apex intern next summer? Apex for Youth handles the screening, matching, hiring, and ongoing support; you provide the mentorship and real-world experience. Email internships@apexforyouth.org or visit apexforyouth.org to learn more.