Written by: Isabella Insignares, Cisneros Scholar '26
As a rising sophomore studying international affairs in D.C., there is no shortage of opportunities to live what you study. When your campus is blocks from the White House and your school is across from the State Department, news that affects the world is being made right next door. I find that inspiring, but it also can be overwhelming sometimes; as I entered into my first summer as a college student, I was unsure of my place in the fray. I knew I wanted to help people, but I didn’t know how.
The Comunicadores for the Future program ended up being my guiding light. I got to spend this summer working with the League of Women Voters through a partnership with The George Washington University’s Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute and Vanguard, and the experience has truly been once in a lifetime.
The League of Women Voters emerged out of the Women’s Suffrage Movement and focuses on voter education, empowerment and mobilization. The work they do has influenced change on a national scale, including recently when their photos from a rally at the Supreme Court became a “purple wave.” This wave of purple LWV beanies from the event became the face of press for the Moore v. Harper Supreme Court case.
As a first-time communications intern, I got an inside look at how such a prominent organization spreads their messaging, and just how influential that messaging can be. I’ve had the opportunity to contact press, work on social media takeovers, review blogs and even write ones of my own. I’ve also learned the technicalities required to keep these projects moving and operated as a support system for the communications team as a whole.
Not only did I gain valuable professional development skills, I also developed as an individual. This experience has helped me grow my writing skills, improve my effectiveness in organization and time management, and reignited the spark inside me that loves to help others. Learning from the Vanguard staff has helped me find my own voice, and to be unapologetically confident in my story.
Being able to spend the summer with Vanguard, the League of Women Voters and the Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute has been an opportunity unlike any other. I feel ready to pave my own way forward as a professional, a student and a woman of color, and I know now, more than ever, I want to take what I’ve learned and be an outspoken voice for the Latinx community.
Isabella Insignares is a Cisneros Scholar majoring in International Affairs. Isabella's views are her own and not necessarily reflective of the Cisneros Institute.
Originally published by Vanguard Communications on August 7, 2023.