The Education and Outreach team at Asia Society Texas Center loves working with student interns! Through our internship program, students directly engage with curriculum-writing, program development, and outreach efforts. Interns learn more about Asian art, history, and culture while gaining direct experience in working with students and families.

We'd like to shine a spotlight on our two summer 2020 interns, Azka Ahmed and Aaliya Benavides, who came to us through the Bank of America Summer Jobs Program. Bank of America Summer Jobs Program is a partnership between SERJobs and Bank of America to provide summer work experience for young professionals (ages 16–24) residing in the Houston area. SERJobs is able to operate this program for the eighth year in a row thanks to Bank of America's generous support!

Azka and Aaliya collaborated directly with the Education and Outreach team as we developed the curriculum for our virtual summer camps. They fearlessly dove into the virtual learning environment, utilizing their skills, passion, and hard work to develop awesome experiences for our campers! We are grateful for their participation in our summer internship program, and wish them well in their continued studies.

Learn a little more about Azka and Aaliya and their reflections on their summer experiences below!

Azka Ahmed

I am currently attending the University of Houston, and I am majoring in Teaching & Learning. Teaching has always been my passion since I was a child, and when the subject of potential careers arose, there was no question about what I wanted to pursue. I want every child in this world to receive equal educational opportunities regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, and culture.

During my internship at Asia Society, I have worked on several different research-based projects such as the Silk Road, then creating presentations for the Silk Road summer camp. I am also working on creating my lesson plan to teach fifth grade students on the topic of girls' education around the world.

One of our biggest projects was the Silk Road summer camp. I was responsible for doing research on five countries, which included basic facts about each country and its role in the Silk Road; selecting a hands-on activity for the lesson; and creating a presentation lesson. Furthermore, I had an opportunity to teach 6–9-year-olds virtually and had a chance to get familiar with Google Classroom. I also worked on school tour lesson plans for all grade levels.

My experience at Asia Society Texas Center has gone above and beyond my expectations. I really appreciate my supervisors for giving me an opportunity to learn.

Aaliyah Benavides

I just graduated from Bellaire High School in Houston ISD, and will be attending Houston Community College this fall. I enjoyed being artistic and am currently inspired to be an exhibit designer or some other designer profession. After this internship, I will also be looking for a career that involves history and art.

I've been working as an intern virtually as an education instructor for Asia Society Texas Center over the last six weeks. I created craft projects to help educate children about countries' art traditions using digital or live demonstrations. It has been a fun learning experience that I enjoyed more as each week went by. I learned a lot of new work skills — creativity, communication, teamwork, and decision-making — all that will help me with future opportunities and were delightful to gain through my first internship. I also learned a lot through the research I did on many Asian countries.

By working here, I found out that this Center provides many educational opportunities, and will help teach anyone about Asian culture by having fun and welcoming learning camps, tours, programs, and exhibitions to whomever wants to learn about Asia.

Major support for Education & Outreach programs at Asia Society Texas Center comes from Nancy C. Allen, Chinhui Juhn and Eddie Allen, and Mary Lawrence Porter, as well as The Brown Foundation, Inc., and The Houston Endowment. Additional funding is also provided by the George and Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation, as well as through contributions from the Friends of Asia Society, a dedicated group of individuals committed to bringing exceptional programming and exhibitions to Asia Society Texas Center. 

About Asia Society Texas Center

With 13 locations throughout the world, Asia Society is the leading educational organization promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among the peoples, leaders, and institutions of Asia and West. Asia Society Texas Center executes the global mission with a local focus, enriching and engaging the vast diversity of Houston through innovative, relevant programs in arts and culture, business and policy, education, and community outreach.