MYSS Interns
Meet our interns! Each year, MYSS recruits a dynamic group of undergraduate interns from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. These passionate colleagues work together to curate projects and workshops that amplify student voices within Twin Cities communities. These workshops use various forms of media to address culturally and locally relevant issues, such as systemic racism, transformative justice, climate change, gender equality, food justice, and more.
Alexandra Jacklen
Alexandra Jacklen (she/hers) is a MYSS intern working with students at Parkway Montessori Middle School in St. Paul. Pictured above with her pup, Ginny, she's a third-year at the University studying gender, women, and sexuality studies with a minor in African American studies. Alexandra hopes to attend grad school in fall 2022 after graduating from the U of M. Alexandra currently works in a group home for four adult males with disabilities. She really enjoys her job and being creative to keep her residents active during this global pandemic.
Aside from school and work, Alexandra spends her free time drinking loads of coffee and reading a good book. She also enjoys gardening and the reward of getting to eat fresh food from her home garden
Amala Harrison
Amala Harrison (she/her) is a returning intern in her second year with MYSS, and she can't wait to be back and working with students at Northeast Middle School in Minneapolis. She's in her final year at U of M, studying political science. She is also working toward becoming a social studies teacher for middle and/or high school. Amala is very passionate about working with youth and helping them to find ways to be a part of politics, activism, and having a say in the decisions that the government on local and federal levels are making for and about them.
In her free time she enjoys reading novels, watching movies, and doing arts and crafts.
Anh Doan
Anh Doan (she/hers) is a 3rd-year junior student at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, studying youth studies with a minor in Asian American studies and public health. When Anh graduates, she hopes to get a professional job before she goes back to graduate school and completes her master's degree in public health sciences. Anh currently works as a Teacher Assistant for Psychology for TRIO, First-Year Mentor for the Presidential Emerging Scholars Program, and Facilitator for the Gopher Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Project.
She loves working with students from various ages and demographics, and she believes in how vital youth voices are in many aspects of society. Along with that, Anh loves cooking and does self-care by dancing in her room like a crazy woman as she blasts KPOP. This is her first semester as an intern, and she's working with students from Parkway Montessori Middle School in St. Paul.
Aradhana Menon
Aradhana (she/her), one of our new interns working with 8th graders at Northeast Middle School in Minneapolis! Aradhana is a @umntwincities sophomore majoring in political science and anthropology with a French minor.
After graduation, Aradhana hopes to do non-profit work before pursuing a master’s degree in Human Rights Studies/International Human Rights. Her volunteer work as a teacher and tutor sparked her passion for urban education reform and human rights advocacy, and she is very excited to be a part of the MYSS! Aradhana also works as a Section Leader for incoming @umncla freshmen. Outside of college and work, she loves to dance, travel, volunteer, and try new foods!
Asanti Bekele
Asanti Bekele (she/her/hers) is a second-year student majoring in global studies with a theme of human rights and justice and a regional focus in Africa, and minoring in political science. A new intern this spring, she is excited to start working with South High students and learn more about MYSS. After graduation, she hopes to attend law school as well as explore the different ways to actively advocate for quality education in Ethiopia.
Outside of school, she likes to watch the Office and Turkish dramas. She also hopes to spend more time crocheting.
Carley Hawley
Carly Hawley (she/her) is a fourth-year English major with minors in gender, women, and sexuality studies and mass communications. This is her second year with MYSS, and she is excited to continue working with the students of Northeast Middle School. She is passionate about writing, storytelling, community-based activism, cats, and creative expression as a form of self-care.
Currently working as a high school volleyball coach, Carly hopes to pursue a career in writing and/or communications after graduation.
Catherine Thompson
Catherine Thompson (she/her/hers) is a sophomore studying environmental science, policy, and management with a minor in social justice. She is excited to be interning at South High School because she took part in a similar program as a high schooler herself and wants to support youth in creating projects they are passionate about.
In her free time, Catherine enjoys spending time outdoors and playing ultimate frisbee. This is her first semester with MYSS.
Dante Fornizy
Dante Fornizy (he/him/his) is a fourth-year student studying political science and philosophy. He identifies as African-American and Anishinaabe. Dante’s hobbies include reading theory, protesting, photography, videography, painting, digital artwork, world cooking, music production, and rapping/singing. Dante is passionate about Police and Prison Abolition, Community-led Direct Action, housing injustice, environmental and indigenous justice, and debt abolition. He hopes to graduate and become a human rights or constitutional lawyer or else continue on with his studies in grad school.
He sees this internship as a great opportunity to engage in direct action and principles of mutual aid that he sees being of critical importance for lasting change since the uprisings. This is his first year as an MYSS intern, and he's working with students at Northeast Middle School.
Derartu Ansha
Derartu Ansha (she/her/hers) is a third-year student studying sociology of law, criminology, and deviance and minoring in political science. She is very excited to be working with her old high school, South High, and to learn more about MYSS as a new intern. She is very passionate about social justice and hopes to attend law school after completing her undergrad.
When she is not in school, she works as a nanny to two energetic 4-year-olds. Outside of work, she spends her time rewatching Criminal Minds, knitting, and painting.
Emame Thompson-Eja
Emame Thompson-Eja (they/them) is a fourth-year studying psychology with a minor in Spanish. They are passionate about creating connections with different folks in the community. Emame believes in the power of healing through radical love and community connection. They are looking forward to learning from the youth and building community with them as a MYSS intern at South High School in Minneapolis.
Emame loves to take long naps which they view as practicing resistance against hyper-productivity. They also love to watch anime and read fiction!
Gretchen Stahle
Gretchen Stahle (she/her/hers) is a 3rd-year student double majoring in developmental psychology and gender, women and sexuality studies (GWSS). Currently, she is a coordinator at the Feminist Student Activist Collective and a research assistant for the Child Wellbeing Research Group, both of which are located at the U of M. After graduating, Gretchen hopes to become involved with non-profits and work within the healthcare system in some capacity.
In her free time, Gretchen enjoys spending time with her cat, Mittens, as well as reading, playing the cello, swimming, and spending time with friends. Gretchen is extremely excited to become involved with MYSS as a new intern and get to know all of the students that she will be working with at Northeast Middle School!
Haley Kallin
Haley Kallin (she/her) is a fourth-year student studying gender, women & sexuality studies at the University of Minnesota. She is passionate about healing work through self-study and interpersonal connections as well as through connection to the body and the natural world. As a 27-year-old undergrad, Haley is committed to breaking down the expectations of the linear education system and invites vulnerability into all aspects of life.
After completing her time at the University of Minnesota, Haley plans to pursue a career as a Doula and to continue her entrepreneurial dreams of a community-engaged business that focuses on healing through the arts, the natural world, and movement of the body; every moment in between will be spent exploring the world with her partner, David. Haley is honored and extremely excited to be working with the students and staff of Parkway Montessori Middle School as a new MYSS intern.
Jadea Moss
Jadea Moss (she/her) is finishing her third year as a student. She is a psychology major who will be switching majors to gender, women & sexuality studies this spring 2021. Jadea’s hobbies include ceramic work, painting, and taking photos of plants.
This is her first year with MYSS, and she’s excited to work with students at Northeast Middle School and learn how to navigate this new way of interacting together.
Jenny Tam
Jenny Tam is a fourth-year student studying global studies with a focus on human rights and minors in psychology, business law, management, and Asian American studies at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. She's a first-generation Chinese-Vietnamese American and the eldest daughter in the Tamfam. She's passionate about community power-building, education, BIPOC mental health and psychology, and restorative justice.
Outside of academics, she really enjoys singing, hiking, traveling, eating food, and watching movies (she lowkey wants to be an actress)! She's excited to be working with students at Northeast Middle School in Minneapolis.
Jordan Allen
Jordan Allen (she/her) is a recent UMN graduate with a Bachelors in psychology and a minor in gender, women & sexuality studies. While she is considering further schooling, her main focus currently is community work and finding work that allows her to engage with youth in and around Minneapolis.
She's a returning intern with MYSS and also worked on a summer project with MYSS that highlighted some of what local communities experienced during the recent uprising in Minneapolis. She's excited to get back into the classroom at Northeast Middle School and get to know students and her fellow interns better!
Judy Nguyễn
Judy Nguyễn is a recent CLA graduate with a BIS in English; cultural studies and comparative literature; and gender, women and sexuality studies. Her unconventional undergrad journey has led her to discover a new way to love food, aside from the act of eating. Inspired by various feminist thought and critical theories, Judy is motivated by the power of food in community healing/building in a movement of liberation for all. She currently works as viennoiserie baker for a local beloved pastry shop, developing skills as a professional baker but bringing her passion for politics and intellectualism into the kitchen. This will be Judy’s 4th year with MYSS, and while the pandemic has made it difficult to engage with students, she cherishes the collective power of the work being done.
In her “free” time, Judy runs a mutual aid philantrophic project centered around food justice and advocacy of various countercultures, but in her actual free time, she enjoys working out, contemplating subjectivity, leveling up in adulting, and Zoom stand-up comedy shows. She's working with students at Parkway Montessori Middle School in St. Paul.
Kennedy Rance
Kennedy Rance is a passionate storyteller. Thanks to her training with the Minnesota Youth Story Squad, Rance has enhanced her journalistic instinct through interviews, research, and keen observation. That invaluable experience resulted in being interviewed on Minnesota Public Radio, published in the Minneapolis StarTribune, and featured in a COMPAS publication.
Rance enjoys documenting stories and highlighting underrepresented narratives within her community. Rance lives in North Minneapolis, attends Patrick Henry Highschool, and plans to attend Howard University to pursue a degree in Agricultural Engineering with a minor in Journalism.
Khayaal Desai-Hunt
Khayaal is a rising junior at South High School in Minneapolis, MN. He is passionate about advocating for change in his community. She likes to read speculative fiction, make baked goods, and go on hikes in her free time.
Khayaal participated in MYSS youth workshops in the summer of 2020 and is currently helping with MYSS social media and creating LGBTQ+ media recommendations for students and teachers.
Lauren Foley
MYSS's social media intern, Lauren Foley (she/her) is a fourth-year undergrad studying English, Spanish studies, and creative writing. Professionally, she's dedicated to understanding how language and storytelling act as tools of community connection and growth. Personally, she loves impassioned rants, the evolution of Internet dialects, and reading questionable fan fiction.
This is her second year with MYSS and second semester working on social media.
Lauren Olsson
Lauren Olsson (she/her/hers) is a fourth-year student studying sociology of law, crime, and deviance and minoring in psychology. She is so excited to continue on her second semester with MYSS, working with students at Northeast Middle School in Minneapolis. Lauren is passionate about being a part of fixing our broken criminal justice system.
In her free time, she loves spending time with her dogs, friends and family. She also loves to travel, binge true crime videos, and spend time with her nanny kids. Lauren is so excited to get to know everyone and work with the awesome kids again!
Lydia Anthony
Lydia (any pronouns are cool, she/hers is fine) is a returning MYSS intern working with South High School students in Minneapolis. This is her second semester as a MYSS intern, and she is excited and grateful to be able to be learning from and with students again! She's also a third-year student pursuing a Bachelor of Individualized Studies with concentrations in American studies; urban studies; and environmental sciences, policy, and management at UMN.
Lydia hopes to support community-based change through understanding sustainability in the environmental context and community-wise—ensuring the sustainability of communities’ existence and success. In her free time, she enjoys making and engaging with art and appreciating nature.
Meredith Song
Meredith Song (she/hers) is a fourth-year undergraduate at the University of Minnesota studying genetics and gender, women, and sexuality studies. She is especially interested in feminist food studies, sustainable agriculture, and organizing for food sovereignty. This is her second semester as an intern with MYSS and she is excited to be collaborating with students again!
In her free time, Meredith enjoys cooking, drawing, reading, and listening to podcasts. She's interning with South High in Minneapolis.
Star Winfrey
Star (they/them/theirs) is very excited to learn more about history with MYSS. They are an artist and an avid reader. They found that meeting people at MYSS was very delightful, and that everyone is very kind and understanding.
As an intern, they can't wait to see how far they go!