Summer Spotlight: Welcoming Our Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Interns

As we embrace the energy and possibilities of summer, Leading Change Africa is thrilled to welcome a new cohort of passionate and high-achieving interns joining us through our ongoing partnership with the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. These outstanding scholars — Tarruck Wheeler and Kevin Ortiz Duenas — represent some of the brightest minds in higher education and share a common goal: to make a meaningful difference in underserved communities.

This summer, our interns will be deeply involved in advancing LCA’s core mission areas, including digital education access, community empowerment, and youth-focused program development. Their work will range from conducting research and supporting local partnerships to designing educational tools and helping expand outreach for our regional and international initiatives.

What makes this group of interns so unique is not only their academic excellence but also their diverse life experiences, leadership potential, and shared belief in the power of grassroots action. They each bring valuable perspectives shaped by their own journeys — many as first-generation college students, global citizens, and advocates for equity and justice.

Throughout the internship, these scholars will be:

• Supporting LCA's digital literacy programs by helping to design and improve tech-based learning tools for youth across Africa;

• Contributing to community engagement strategies by facilitating workshops, events, and conversations that amplify youth voices;

• Assisting in program evaluation and development, using data to inform best practices and create lasting impact.

  
  

The internship experience is designed to be mutually enriching. Interns gain hands-on exposure to the inner workings of an international nonprofit organization, while LCA benefits from their innovative thinking and fresh enthusiasm.

As the summer progresses, we look forward to sharing updates, spotlights, and reflections from our interns. Their contributions are already energizing our team, and their presence is a strong reminder of what’s possible when education, opportunity, and purpose come together.

Please join us in giving a warm welcome to Tarruck and Kevin — we’re so grateful to have them as part of the Leading Change Africa family this summer.