This is Kevin Jaime-Villagomez, a senior majoring in Political Science who is also a co-outreach chair at La Colectiva. He was initially notified of the ATLAS internship program through department emails and decided to join this semester because of friends’ great experience sharing and his desire to gain transferable skills that he found very valuable as a soon-to-be graduating senior for the future workplace.
Within his role, Kevin has specifically worked with Marisa Peacock as a communications intern. His daily work included developing materials and content to promote the union, seeking opportunities to invite specialized faculty to join the community, and negotiating with specialized faculty that are not majority represented in the union to inform them about the benefits they reap from joining.
While working with Marisa Peacock, he has gained proficiency in designing visualizations or posters, such as Canva, and editing videos by using iMovie. Working for the program has also helped him strengthen his communication skills, management skills, and decision-making. Besides that, Kevin also obtained great characteristics through the internship, such as creativity, responsibility, and integrity. One lesson Kevin took away from the ATLAS internship was how to work with clients and build trust with each other.
Looking ahead, Kevin has several life paths he designed for himself. The major one was applying for graduate school and becoming a community developer or transportation planner within the Chicagoland area. He also considered being more involved with Elgin’s politics and running for a city council position. One fun fact about Kevin is that he loves playing Splatoon and spending time with his cat, Mango.