Asia Society Texas works with high school and university interns each semester through our Regions Bank Young Leaders Internship program. Under this program, we have partnered with various high schools and universities in the Greater Houston area to provide opportunities for students to engage with the broad swath of programs offered by Asia Society and learn more about nonprofit operations. Interns have worked in program development, research and curriculum-writing, outreach efforts, accounting and finance, and more. Through their time with Asia Society Texas, interns learn more about Asian art, history, and culture while gaining direct experience in a professional environment.

We'd like to shine a spotlight on one of our high school interns, Tara Diep, who works with our Education and Outreach department.

Learn a little more about Tara and her internship experience below!

Quick Facts

Name: Tara Diep
School and grade: Houston Academy for International Studies, 12th grade
Date of Internship: 2022-2023 Academic Year
Favorite project you’ve worked on during your internship: I think my favorite project would be participating in preparing the Night Market event. Absolutely loved seeing how everything turned out and fall into place.
Most interesting thing you’ve learned during your internship: I think the most significant thing I learned throughout my experience would be the non-profit aspect of the organization. Finding creative outlets in an environment I never I thought I would.

Reflection

At first, I heard about and worked with Asia Society with my dance company, so I thought I knew Asia Society well enough to continue pursuing my interests in learning about Asian cultures. Throughout my experience, I was able to explore many different areas other than just performance. I love that Asia Society has such a safe space to learn and grow as an individual. Additionally, this safe space allowed me to create the vast connections I wanted to achieve ever since the beginning of my internship experience.

Through projects like leading a tour, creating activities for community events, or contributing ideas to our upcoming Education Project, I developed skills that I can utilize in the future. Researching and organizing extensive projects has further helped advance my work ethic through academic, professional, and personal means, especially for HAIS’ major capstone project.

My future career goals consist of becoming a global entrepreneur, learning about new business opportunities spanning more than one country, or even using distance and community to create new products or services. I took Asia Society as a big inspiration to explore and connect to different communities and cultures. Asia Society helped to push me to advocate for myself in various aspects of networking, developing new interests, and widening my perspective.

Business and Policy programs are endowed by Huffington Foundation. We give special thanks to Bank of America, Muffet Blake, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, and United Airlines, Presenting Sponsors of Business and Policy programs; Nancy C. Allen, Chinhui Juhn and Eddie Allen, and Leslie and Brad Bucher, Presenting Sponsors of Exhibitions; Wells Fargo, Presenting Sponsor of Education and Outreach; Syamal and Susmita Poddar, Presenting Sponsors of Performing Arts and Culture; and Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas), Sponsor of the Japan Series; and Regions Bank, Title Sponsor for the internship program. General support of programs and exhibitions is provided by The Brown Foundation, Inc., Houston Endowment, Inc., the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance, National Endowment for the Arts, Texas Commission on the Arts, and Vinson & Elkins LLP, as well as Friends of Asia Society.

Title Sponsor for Internship Program

About Asia Society Texas

Asia Society Texas believes in the strength and beauty of diverse perspectives and people. As an educational institution, we advance cultural exchange by celebrating the vibrant diversity of Asia, inspiring empathy, and fostering a better understanding of our interconnected world. Spanning the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, our programming is rooted in the educational and cultural development of our community — trusting in the power of art, dialogue, and ideas to combat bias and build a more inclusive society.