270: An Interview With the Leading Lady Interns: Their Biggest Takeaways and Accomplishments From the Internship Program

Hi there. You’re listening to the Leading Lady Podcast. I’m your host, AliceAnne Loftus, and I’m a certified professional coach specializing in leadership and work-life balance. I work with clients to shift their limiting beliefs, insecurities, and self-doubt. This podcast will be filled with tools and strategies to help high-achieving women like you feel connected, empowered, and in the lead of your life, both personally and professionally. Let’s transform your life. Starting now, lead yourself. The rest will follow.

AliceAnne: Hi there, Leading Ladies, and welcome to today’s episode! I am so excited because today’s episode is super extra special because I’m joined by the incredible interns who have been working with us this summer here at Leading Lady. You’ve heard me talk about the importance of mentorship, growth, and leadership, and today you’re going to hear directly from them—our next generation of leaders.

So let’s dive in. Welcome, ladies. Thanks for being here with me today.

Interns: Thank you for having us. Hello. Hi. Thank you.

AliceAnne: Yeah, so let’s just go through really quick and I’m going to have you each introduce yourself, and we’ll start with Michaela.

Michaela: Hi, my name’s Michaela Ri. I am currently a senior at Notre Dame of Maryland University. I’m currently getting my bachelor’s in political science with a focus in law and civic engagement. I am a two-sport athlete playing both soccer and lacrosse. And I’m also a part of a Morrissey Honors Program—I’m a board-seating member. And a little fun fact about me is I am my school’s mascot, Gabby the Gator.

AliceAnne: So fun! So what you’re telling us is you’re not really that involved?

Michaela: People would say I wouldn’t be involved, but then I’m in the gator suit. So then, yeah, I’m everywhere.

AliceAnne: And that’s cool. Love it. Love it. And we call her Mickey here at the office. So in the interview, you’ll hear me call her Mickey. That’s why. Grace?

Grace: Hello, my name is Grace Powers. I am a rising junior at the University of Missouri. I’m studying finance and economics. I’m also a part of Pi Beta Phi Sorority, where I’m the Director of Member Finances, as well as a part of a business fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi. And that’s me.

AliceAnne: Love it. Love it. Scarlett, last but not least.

Scarlett: Hi, I’m Scarlett Harris. I’m a rising sophomore at Georgetown University. Right now my major’s undecided, but I’m in the College of Arts and Sciences and I also sail there. I was recruited—I’m on the D1 sailing team.

AliceAnne: Love it. Love it. And for our listeners who are loyal listeners, Scarlett is also the daughter of Leading Lady Ambassador Elizabeth Harris. So loved having that connection there.

So we’ve had a lot of meetings, ladies. I feel like a lot of these questions are going to be redundant, especially since we just finished our meeting together. And I didn’t prep—for our listeners, I want to let you know I didn’t prep them for these specific questions though, and I can see them already turning pink. They don’t like when I don’t prepare them, but I really want to get to the heart of it. I want to really hear their true gut answers here.

What inspired you? Like, why did you apply for Leading Lady’s internship—our first one, our pilot one, I would say?

Michaela: So originally I was looking for another internship because I had a previous one before here. I wanted something a little different and new. And my mom’s friend—who I saw it—sent it to me, and I was reading through it and I found it very interesting. Like, my school used to be an all-girls school, and when it was an all-girls school, I thought it was the best thing in the world because I went to co-ed school my entire life. But going there, it was really interesting because I got to learn in depth about women and how they were raised up. And then my school being an all-women’s Catholic school—the first one in the United States—I thought that was inspirational.

And I always loved empowering women. I think that’s inspiring to me, especially going into the field that I want to go to later on in my life. But when I saw that, I was like, oh, she’s empowering other women to build themselves up and to become their own bosses. And then I was also reading how you also can have a life—like juggling both being a businesswoman and being a mom, or like having time for family and enjoying your life.

AliceAnne: Yeah. We definitely, as Leading Lady, our mission is to empower women, but to create sustainable lives. We are multifaceted, and I think women specifically, we kind of get boxed in, like you have to be this, or you can’t do all the things and be good at all of the things, and that’s simply not true. Yeah. How about you, Grace?

Grace: I would say just how unique of an experience this is. Like, we’ve gotten so much exposure to all different types of businesses, to so many different women that are involved in Leading Lady. And just like when I first was reading through information on it, I was like, I can meet so many people, I can learn so much. I was really unsure with my future and what I was interested in, what I wanted to do with that, and just hearing from all different women doing all different things—it’s really helped me narrow it down and just get a better understanding of what I would like to do.

AliceAnne: Yeah. You were certainly exposed to a lot of different women, industries, backgrounds. I loved that for you, and that was my intention too. I don’t think there’s any other internship, at least not around here, where you would get so much exposure to so many different backgrounds and industries.

Scarlett: Yeah, that was kind of a similar reason for me. I was really unsure about what I want to do in my future. When my mom told me she saw this on Facebook, I was like, oh, that actually sounds really interesting because I’d get to see all these different businesses and maybe see if I like any of them, which I wanted to like pursue any of them. And I also was on the women’s sailing team this year, and I feel like that just gave me a new perspective about how hard it is to succeed in male-dominated fields and also how much harder it is to be taken seriously. So I thought that would tie in really well together and that would just be interesting to see in the business world.

AliceAnne: Yeah, the world really isn’t set up for women. It’s getting better. It’s getting better. I’m not a male hater—Leading Ladies, it’s definitely not a male hater. I love men. I love my husband. I love working with men. But did you know that even though Maryland has the highest per capita of women-owned businesses, we’d still only—like 11% hit six figures, only less than 1% hit seven-figure businesses. Like, it’s just not even close. Not even close.

Michaela: Maryland was the highest? I’m going to miss this place. That’s so cool.

AliceAnne: Yeah. Yeah. So what projects have you been working on during your time here with us?

Michaela: There’s a handful of them I would say that collectively we all have been working on. But personally me, I’ve been working with Scarlett’s mom, Elizabeth Harris, closely with her on actually taking her podcast and making it into a blog, and then taking some of her blogs and making them into Instagram posts, and then also creating an interactive quiz for her.

AliceAnne: Oh yeah. That’s hard.

Michaela: Yeah, especially that new technology—I thought it was going to be easy first and then it was giving me a trouble time, but then I got the hang of it. Then I would say another project was trying to set up the podcast equipment, especially because I know that’s a little troubling.

AliceAnne: Yeah. You’ve been our tech support person. For our listeners, if you are someone who struggles with technology, get yourself an intern. These kids are—I’m sorry, you’re not kids. These young ladies, they are sharp. They are not afraid to get on YouTube, get on Google, do all the things. I’m just sitting there wanting to cry, not even wanting to try to learn this stuff. So that—you’ve been amazing at that, Mickey.

Michaela: Thank you.

AliceAnne: Yeah. How about you, Grace?

Grace: I feel like the tasks that I’ve been doing have really been just kind of all across the board, like all different things. Whether it’s like creating outreach lists or just helping organize information for the different ambassadors, or it’s like setting up for big events and helping out during those and seeing how that all comes together. Or even doing fun things like making floral arrangements and setting up the space here. Finding my snack.

AliceAnne: Yes! Picking out the good stuff. Yeah. I will say, just like Mickey was—it blew my mind with all her technology advancement and just willingness to jump in and learn it. Grace, you really stepped in, and what stood out to me is how you embraced so many different tasks. Like, your background, your major is finance, and she’s in there just connecting with as many people as she can, learning all kinds of things. And some of the ambassadors are like, I know you’re a finance major, but can you help me with this? And you really just jumped right in and seized every opportunity you could. That impressed me a lot.

Grace: Thank you.

AliceAnne: Yeah. How about you, Scarlett?

Scarlett: For me, for one, I worked a lot with Julie Lanin, one of our ambassadors, on her blog, and I would just help her write those and then she would come in and we would edit it together. Besides that, I also did a lot of design projects. I designed a few graphics for Tara, for her Instagram, and then I worked with Jen Osterhaus and we did a project from start to finish together, which was really cool. So I got to see a bunch of different graphic design platforms, which I thought was really interesting because I really like creative stuff. But besides that, I also had to do a few organization and outreach lists and just helping get information into tidier places. Reaching out to a lot of companies for people. I had to do a lot of cold calls to a bunch of bookstores.

AliceAnne: The worst. That’s the worst.

Scarlett: But yeah, it’s been really fun. And then obviously just helping out around the Collective.

AliceAnne: Yeah. What’s something that you learned that you didn’t expect?

Michaela: That’s a great question. Honestly, a lot of things I learned here, but I would say one of the major things that I learned here—coming from another internship—just I would say it’s okay to ask for help. Like, go out and ask the other interns or even you, AliceAnne—asking for help, not being scared. Like, no one’s going to bite you. Like, the worst that someone could say is no. No one’s going to bite you.

AliceAnne: Yeah, that’s a funny statement because we do have dogs that are here in the office. Nobody’s going to bite you. But yeah, what a powerful lesson, and to learn that in your twenties—that it’s okay to ask questions. It’s okay to ask for help, and that’s actually the thing that sets you apart and makes you probably more likely to be successful. Yeah. How about you, Grace?

Grace: I would say really just how much goes into starting your own business from scratch and scaling it up and everything. Because it’s not like you just have a person to do your things. You are your person to do all your tasks and just everything.

AliceAnne: Yeah, and a lot of the businesses that you’ve gotten to work with, some of them are larger, but most of them have been the solopreneurs, and you saw firsthand—they wear many hats in their business. We’re running around like crazy ladies over here.

Scarlett: I guess for me, similar to Mickey’s, would just be like, even though you’re an entrepreneur, you don’t have to do it all alone. To not, I guess, have the weight of the world on your shoulders. Like, it’s okay to ask for help and it’s okay to have people do things for you. Like, you don’t have to do everything on your own. And I thought that was cool to see the collaboration.

AliceAnne: Yeah. Thank you, ladies, for not sharing that I am quite the hot mess behind the scenes. I think Grace came in one day and I’m literally breathing into a brown paper bag. Oh my gosh. It’s so hard to be an introverted entrepreneur.

So I know that there were some moments that they’re like, what the heck is wrong with this lady? How would you describe the culture of Leading Lady?

Michaela: It’s a lot different, I would say. Like, there’s a positive vibe to it. There’s definitely a lot of diversity when it comes to skill level, diversity when it comes to people in general, even for being all women. Yeah, even for being all women. I think just because it’s an all-women group, all-women-owned business, and just helping other women—I think just because we’re all women together doesn’t mean that we’re not different from one another. We’re not diverse or there’s not something that’s outstanding, more than one. We’re all different in our own ways, and that’s what’s unique about us is that we’re not all lawyers. We’re not all electricians. We’re all different people and learning from one another, which is inspirational.

Because I might be better at one thing, but Grace might be better at another thing. And so Scarlett—the collaboration is very heartwarming too. Because everyone here is so nice to one another, and it’s such a positive thing for me to see just because in a male-dominated world, women are very much tarnished. Whereas here, we’re always picking each other up and like, you can do it. Don’t say that you can’t do it. I think that there’s always pushing people to be better. Pushing people to their potential.

AliceAnne: Yeah. And they can see it. Yeah. I love that.

Grace: I would say just really how supportive everyone is here. Like, a week ago we were sitting and the Ambassador Retreat was hosted here at the Collective, and even just as the women were going around sharing updates with their businesses, other people would be like, oh, how can we support you? Everyone here is always looking for more—how they can help each other before they’re even thinking of how they can be helped.

AliceAnne: Yeah. I love that, and thank you. I mean, I see it, so I love that you could see that as well.

Scarlett: I think it’s very “work hard, play hard” type of atmosphere. Like, everyone’s doing a lot of great work, is very focused when they need to be, but it’s not all serious and miserable. There’s no yelling. I love spaces with no yelling. But yeah, it’s just we can have fun. It’s lighthearted, but when everyone needs to work, everyone gets it—dials it in, gets everything done.

AliceAnne: Yeah. I love that.

What are some of your favorite moments or your accomplishments during this internship?

Michaela: I would say I have quite a few just because this summer has been a lot. Busy and impactful. My favorite out of all of them, although I do love HIIT classes on Friday, I would say is working with Adeena. I think as a person of color, being from a Mexican background, I think hearing their stories and them being able to speak their truth, especially during a time like this, I think was very inspirational. And then them helping each other out and them talking to one another—help translating. Like, even them interacting with one another, not even knowing that they’re within the same vicinity and hearing about each other’s work. I thought that was very inspirational. I loved it. I absolutely loved being there, even though I didn’t get to interact with them as much as I would love to. I just thought just being there and present was one of my favorite experiences.

AliceAnne: Yeah. Yeah.

Grace: I would definitely say how much my confidence in myself has grown in a professional setting—to interact with everyone. I definitely noticed a huge difference from my first lunch meeting to our most recent networking event. I was so much more open and just willing to talk to everyone and confident, and I wasn’t like over in the corner like, what do I do?

AliceAnne: Yeah, what can I talk about? I have loved watching you guys come into your own and grow and find your voices. That’s been probably one of my favorite parts too.

Scarlett: I just really loved meeting all these new people, interacting with all these really cool women. I loved when they would come into the space and I would get to work with them in person and getting to see all of our projects come together. But yeah, I just really liked making all the new connections and making new friends as well.

AliceAnne: Yeah, so fun. So fun.

Okay, so looking ahead, what’s next for you after this internship?

Michaela: Next for me is—well, I graduate in December, which I’m so thankful for. I would say schooling-wise, I definitely either want to go for my master’s or go to law school. My dream has always been to go to law school and just become a lawyer. But I think once I’m done in December, I definitely—actually this fall I’ll be applying to programs, but waiting, I guess after December, of course, waiting to hear back and taking my LSATs and then hopefully to come back and work with AliceAnne for a little bit while I head back to school.

AliceAnne: I love that. Oh!

Grace: I head back to school soon on August 10th for another year, my junior year, and I’m very excited for that. I need to start applying for more internships and things for next summer. So not really sure where that’s going to take me, but I’m very—

AliceAnne: Do you have some doors open for you?

Grace: Yes, I—because I’m very helpful. I’m not sure, but I’m excited.

AliceAnne: Yeah, good. As you should be—the space of life.

Scarlett: Next for me is three more years at college, and I’m really excited to go back. I get to go sail again, and then next summer I believe I’m going to be going abroad to Italy. So I’m really excited for that, but I just have to get planning it. I might go with some of my sailing friends, and then yeah, I’ll figure out once I get back—probably do a small part-time job just since I’ll be gone for most of the summer.

AliceAnne: Oh, I love it. I love your vibe, Scarlett. She’s just here for a good time. I love it. I love it.

So, one word or phrase to describe your experience with Leading Lady. So, rapid fire.

Michaela: Inspirational.

AliceAnne: Love it.

Grace: Uplifting. Okay. Like, it was refreshing to be in an environment like this and to see that something like this—that this organization does exist.

AliceAnne: Yeah. Yeah. Thank you.

Scarlett: I think powerful. I can’t think of the best word on the spot, but yeah.

AliceAnne: Uplifting’s a good one too. Did you feel empowered?

Scarlett: Yeah.

AliceAnne: Yeah. Maybe that’s a good one. I love empowered. I love it. I love it.

Well, ladies, thank you all so much for sharing your experiences and your insight. I’m so proud of each and every one of you. I’m going to cry buckets when you are not here. It’s going to be so quiet here. Like I said, please leave your grocery list because you have given me the best snacks in the kitchen here.

But I hope that you also know the impact that you’ve made this summer, what you have contributed to Leading Lady. You’ve been a gift to me, to our team, definitely to the ambassadors.

And listeners, if you’ve enjoyed this episode, please send a message. Send a message of encouragement. I will stalk these ladies. I will hunt them down to keep track of what they’re doing, but I’ll definitely pass on any messages that you have for them. Any words of encouragement to these amazing young professionals? I know that they would appreciate it, and you’re going to want to know these women. I know that these young women are going to go far in life, and I just can’t say enough how proud I am of each and every one of you and how much I’ve enjoyed having you here.

Listeners, if you are interested in learning about how your organization might benefit from interns, please feel free to reach out to me. I do read and respond to every email personally myself. You’re not getting anybody else with that, and I’d love to talk more about what this program has done for me personally and professionally, and also for our organization.

So until next time, take the lead.

Thanks for tuning in for another episode of the Leading Lady Podcast. You can find all of the links and information mentioned in this episode at www.leadingladycoaching.com. If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to follow the show so you don’t miss any future episodes. And while you’re there, it would mean the world to me if you would take a few seconds and leave me an honest review. This will allow me to be able to help other high-achieving women find inspiration, connection, and develop strategies to live and lead with purpose and intention. See you here next week.