Reflecting with our Summer Intern Mackenzie
Akiptan successfully closed out our Summer 2022 Internship Program on August 30th, 2022. We were able to partner with a number of organizations within the Native Agriculture Industry from across the nation and also hosted an intern at Akiptan. The purpose of the internship program was to support the next generation of Agriculture steward through hands-on experience with the Native Agriculture partners that serve the Native American food economies while also enhancing the interns financial literacy skills through a variety of virtual sessions with Akiptan. The sessions included resume building, understanding credit, cash flow, balance sheets, budgeting and the development of a business plan.
Our team was pleased to welcome our intern, Mackenzie Fox who worked closely with the Program Officer and Executive Director throughout the summer. Mackenzie applied for the Akiptan Summer Internship because she wanted to gain the experience of working with a Native CDFI specifically within the Native Ag Industry, which supported her goal of gaining skills for future professional careers. Two important skills that she grasped during the internship were time management and people skills. Mackenzie assisted in the development of programming components, curriculum development and marketing campaigns.
Native CDFI’s allow Native people to be more involved in agriculture from a business standpoint/perspective and to gain experience, while also being able to include their ancestral traits in their work. - Mackenzie, Akiptan Intern
She hopes that more people understand the importance of Native Ag lending and the role that Native CDFI’s like Akiptan play in the industry. She believes that the skills she’s obtained throughout the duration of her time as an intern will follow her into future career paths and she enjoyed being able to learn about the Native CDFI industry, meeting new people, and being involved within an organization that has taught her so much.
We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with the Native Agriculture organizations across Indian Country, to have a youth intern at Akiptan, and to be able to expand on our shared goals and knowledge to support the next generation of Agriculture Stewards.
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