Institute of Politics

Overview of Organization:

HIP is creating a new mentorship program in 2025, and the intern will play a major role in its development. The mentors will be high-achieving college students and young professionals from the emergent Latino community who will be paired with behaviorally “at-risk” middle school students as identified by HIP staff members and guidance counselors from the Hazleton Area School District.

Our HIP management and staff frequently meet with people involved with the government at all levels. In addition to the events mentioned above, we were recently invited to the State Capitol Building in Harrisburg to discuss education challenges with the Executive Director of the PA Human Relations Council and the Assistant. Auditor General. We deal frequently with our city’s Mayor, City Council, and School Board. Our social media pages, particularly Meta/Facebook, are updated frequently with activities and events revolving around our center.

Because of the number of people that pass through our doors each week and the national focus the immigration issue has placed on our city and our center, the Hazleton One Community Center has become a fast-paced, rapidly evolving environment that provides our staff with new challenges daily.

Internship Summary:

This role will be particularly important regarding our new mentoring program, as we are looking to garner as much support from the business and social service communities as possible to sustain the program. HIP also utilizes traditional media, particularly newsprint, to amplify our message.

Responsibilities:

• Be involved in every step of the interviewing process and meet with the supervisors of the pilot Mentorship project.
• Help guide our social media efforts and increase our outreach
• Write relevant articles relating to our mentorship program as well as our major events
• Attend all board meetings, event planning committee meetings and any meetings with community partners deemed relevant
• Time permitting, research, identify and create abstracts for potential grantor organizations at state and national levels.

Preferred Qualifications:

• HIP utilizes Spanish-language newspapers, so it will be helpful if our intern can write fluently in Spanish.

About the Supervisor

Rossanna Gabriel has been named Executive Director of the Hazleton One Community Center. Rossanna began her career at the center as a volunteer shortly after the Hazleton One Community Center opened its doors in 2013. She accepted a full-time position as Administrative Assistant early in 2014, before being promoted to Executive Director in 2018. Ms. Gabriel holds a degree in Business Administration and a Master’s Degree from the Technological Institute of Santo Domingo (INTEC), with a concentration in Administration. Additionally, Rossanna is a Certified Translation Professional (CTP). Rossanna serves on the Board of the Hazleton Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Alliance for Progress, the Lehigh Valley Health Network, Hazleton, and the Luzerne County Community College. She is also Secretary of the Hazleton Rotary. Ms. Gabriel resides in Hazleton with her son, Cesar Dadus, who is currently a nursing student at Bloomsburg University.

Location, Modality, and Commute:

The office is located at 225 East 4th Street Hazleton, PA 18201. Our team works from Monday through Saturday from 8:00 AM through 8:00 PM. The intern would have the flexibility to set their own hours within that framework. Special events do create mandatory attendance on an ad hoc basis.

Start and End Date:

Summer internships will take place during the period of June 10 - September 27, with specific dates to be determined by the employer partner and intern during the interview process.