Intern Spotlight: Kyle Chew

By Kyle Chew, Summer 2022 Intern

It was March of 2020 when all the students in my high school thought that we would be out only for two weeks. I was still a freshman in high school and knew that I still had three years to finish the required amount of volunteering hours for me to graduate so I didn’t think much of it. After those two weeks, however, everything shut down: schools, restaurants, businesses, everything. No one knew how long we would be in this situation.  

After playing hours of video games at home, my parents told me about the Ballard Food Bank and suggested I volunteer there. I was skeptical at first but gave it a shot since it was one of the only places open for volunteering. I signed up and from the beginning, I had a lot of fun there. I made new friends from different schools, and we started planning out which days we would go. I went more and more, keeping myself in this amazing community. I continued to be a volunteer there for the next two years until I reached the end of my junior year. Before the end of high school, I wanted to intern for an organization that I believed in, and that turned out to be the Ballard Food Bank. As I became more accustomed and comfortable within the Ballard Food Bank, I had their mission, to be the hub for hope, deep in my conscious. As a volunteer, I got to know a lot of the staff and had friendly conversations occasionally, but I wanted to do more with the Ballard Food Bank.   

Kyle talks to a group of new volunteers.

While planning out my internship, I had an interest in business, specifically marketing. I worked with the Communications and Development team previously during the Spring but wanted to do something more. I continued to mainly work with them and got to do a lot of fun projects! I was assigned multiple projects at the beginning of the internship that I would work on throughout the summer. I got to create social media posts and analyzed data which I presented to the rest of the team. I even led some volunteer orientations. I had multiple opportunities to be part of meetings, learning the real “behind the scenes” of the Ballard Food Bank from a staff point of view. I learned how to work with a team and the importance of having everyone on the same page. I also learned the importance of branding, especially with the Ballard Food Bank. It directly correlated to my interest in marketing which broadened my knowledge of it.   

As a volunteer during the pandemic, I had only a few interactions with clients. But now in the new building and having clients come in-house, I got to connect with more clients outside of the office. David Cook was one of them, and I always had the joy of talking to him about his next project. He would show me drafts and the thought process of his welding work. He is very talented and an amazing member of the Ballard Food Bank Community.  

I am excited to see how the Ballard Food Bank will grow! I want to thank everyone I have met and worked with. You have made my experience with you so fulfilling and inspiring!