Student Experience & Planning Intern

CHICAGO SCHOLARS FOUNDATION•Chicago, IL

About The Position

Chicago Scholars is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit leadership development organization that empowers academically ambitious first-generation or low-income students to overcome systemic barriers to success in college and beyond while preparing the city’s businesses and organizations for the next generation of leaders. Since 1996, Chicago Scholars has built a legacy of success by investing in our youth and amplifying their leadership. Our Scholars are high-achieving first-generation college students and students from low-income communities, and they have the talent, heart, and big dreams to become our next generation of leaders and transform our city. At its core, our work is about economic mobility, leadership development, and belonging. It’s about making sure our Scholars have everything they need to journey from Chicago’s classrooms to Chicago’s boardrooms—or to wherever their dreams may lead. Chicago Scholars is transforming the leadership landscape of our city by resolving the fundamental barriers to success for academically driven, first-generation college students from under-resourced communities. Through college counseling, mentoring, and by providing a supportive community to our Scholars through each phase of our program: College Readiness, College Success, and Career and Leadership Advancement, we ensure that they realize their full potential as students and leaders. 76% of Chicago Scholars graduate college within 6 years. Per the University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research, only 49% of their peers earn a degree within 6 years. Upon graduation, our Scholars move into leadership positions across Chicago, helping to drive the economic future of their communities and our thriving city. At Chicago Scholars we strive to prepare our Scholars for the world and the world for our Scholars. Our dual focus on Scholars and the world is essential to our strategy. To achieve these goals, we center racial justice, equity, accessibility, diversity, and inclusion (READI) in all that we do. Chicago Scholars’ commitment to READI encompasses all of our stakeholders—from our staff to our board, from our volunteers to our partnering organizations, and most importantly our Scholars. This holistic approach is necessary for the sustained, long-term, positive impact that we seek for our Scholars, our neighborhoods, our city, and our world. To learn more about Chicago Scholars commitment to READI, please visit chicagoscholars.org/readi. At Chicago Scholars, we believe that education is social justice. That's why we're empowering Chicago's best and brightest first-generation college students and students from low-income communities with the mentors, resources, and opportunities to go to our nation's best colleges and universities, graduate on time, and become Chicago's next generation of leaders. Since 1996, we've impacted the lives of more than 5,000 young leaders in Chicago.

Requirements

Must be a current Chicago Scholars Program college student
Education: High school diploma, some college
Residing in Chicago is strongly preferred
At least a college sophomore heading into junior year, and expected to still be enrolled in college through October 2027
Interest and/or academic focus in advertising, branding, marketing, communications, or public relations (or related experience)
Creative thinker who enjoys brainstorming and building student-centered experiences
Comfortable giving and receiving candid feedback (respectfully) and representing peer perspectives
Strong communication skills (written + verbal) and social media fluency
Reliable, organized, and able to juggle multiple moving pieces
Curious and coachable—ready to learn event planning in a real-world environment
Our team leverages AI to augment human creativity and enhance impact. In this role, you will be encouraged to experiment with AI tools to improve your work and drive efficiency. We seek individuals who demonstrate curiosity about emerging technologies and are comfortable integrating AI into everyday tasks. You will proactively identify areas of friction in workflows where AI can improve speed, quality, or insight, while maintaining a strong understanding of data security, privacy, and ethical considerations in AI use.

Nice To Haves

1-2 years of work experience (preferred)

Responsibilities

Brainstorm, propose, and refine student activations that drive engagement, belonging, and “wow” moments
Provide feedback on session concepts, programming tracks, and on-site experiences—ensuring they resonate with students and reflect student needs
Bring culturally relevant strategies so ScholarCon is truly student-facing across identity, language, style, music, visuals, and community norms
Serve as a Scholar voice on the planning team, surfacing insights from peers and student communities
Create and/or support development of evergreen content that builds excitement and awareness leading up to ScholarCon
Support day-of social content (photo/video capture ideas, short-form scripts, posts, stories, on-site moments)
Contribute to content brainstorming that highlights student stories, community energy, and key event themes
Provide feedback on brand explorations, visual directions, and creative concepts—especially through a student lens
Assist with light branding support (idea boards, references, student trend insights, language suggestions)
Support planning tasks and coordination: notes, task tracking, timelines, communications drafts, and outreach support as needed
Help prepare for and participate in planning meetings with Chicago Scholars and the Event Partner (including weekly huddles when applicable)
Assist with research to inform decisions (e.g., student preferences, activation benchmarks, vendor/program ideas)
Support data collection and synthesis of feedback (polls, quick surveys, listening sessions, debrief notes)
Support moments where student voice is needed in external-facing contexts: brief remarks, pitches, partner conversations, or on-stage roles (as comfortable and appropriate)
This role will occasionally work on nights and weekends for Scholar and Development events and programming and may have the opportunity to manage an intern. This role is also required to attend and support mandatory all staff events
Other duties, as assigned