Volunteer of the Month: Juilee Shivalkar

Are you a social media fan? If you’ve been following our Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn accounts in the last three months, you’ve seen some of the stories Juilee Shivalkar developed during her internship.

Juilee, who is an upcoming senior studying Classical Languages as well as Politics and International Affairs at Wake Forest University, paused her studies this summer to take on the role of Communications Intern at New American Pathways. She helped launch the PathDriver campaign by choosing photos, testing out campaign pages, fielding questions and even coaching our board members and volunteers on how to run their campaigns.

She has worked with our Civic Engagement and Special Events interns to develop interesting posts about our work and the Red, White and NEW event, but she says her favorite projects involved meeting with new Americans and hearing their stories:

“This summer, I have had the pleasure of meeting people of different ages, cultures, and backgrounds,” Juilee shared. “One of the most rewarding aspects of my internship has been hearing, learning from, and sharing the stories of our volunteers, clients, and even our staff!”

Juilee took the opportunity during her internship to combine her aptitude for analyzing data on social media platforms, her passion for human rights and her love of storytelling. Her favorite? She went to meet Marwan, a deaf Syrian refugee who had been paired with a volunteer English tutor. She was so inspired by his story, she came away with not one, but four, stories!

“The highlight of my summer was meeting Marwan and his team,” Juilee reflected. “Despite his initial struggle to learn sign language, it was inspiring to see just how far Marwan had come over the course of a few months, thanks to his wonderful team.”

Thank you, Juilee, for your dedication and support during a hectic time in Communications. You have been an integral part of our team this summer!

If you missed the stories of Marwan and his volunteer team on Facebook, check them out on our Website:

It Takes a Team: Part 1

It Takes a Team: Part 2

It Takes a Team: Part 3

It Takes a Team: Part 4