MEET OUR 2018 INTERNS
Jack Briggs is a freshman at St. Luke's School in New Canaan. Full bio and photo coming soon...
Lizet Garcia is a sophomore attending Stamford High School. She is the only daughter and oldest in a family of five, Mexican from both sides of her family, and very involved at school. She is a proud member of the Student Council, enjoys being part of the Stamford High School Marching Band, Environmental Action Committee, Interact, AVID Program and Upward Bound. One of her biggest passions is reading, along with music and watching movies. She was inspired to to join Volunteer Square because of the difference I see they make, and she hopes that she can make the same amount of impact in her community one day too!
Madison Horowitz, a junior at Stamford High School, believes that preparing for college early is going to help her achieve her lifelong goals. For this reason, Madison has enrolled in numerous honors courses as well as AVID, a course that provides advice to high school students for college. Madison has spent the last few summers volunteering at a summer camp and interned at a small fashion company. She has also shown a strong interest in the environment by interning at Frontier Water a company that cleans water for mines and power plants. Maddison's work with AVID introduced her to volunteering opportunities and opened her mind to new experiences and helping others. Volunteer Square is a perfect opportunity for Maddi, as it allows her to combine her natural ability to bring people together and serve the community. She hopes to study Psychology and pursue something in the criminal justice field. Maddi is working on strengthening her leadership and public speaking skills by taking on things such as getting her friends and family involved in the community, and peer tutoring as well as speaking in front of classes, and adults. Maddi aspires to share the joy of volunteering with her friends to build a stronger community and a better future. Keeping a happy and healthy lifestyle such as working out, spending time with friends and family truly are the things that make her free time enjoyable.
Regina Misercola is a senior at Trumbull High School where she is Captain of the Cross Country and Track & Field teams. She is President of the Infinite Love Junior Board for Infinite Love for Kids Fighting Cancer, an organization dedicated to helping families that are fighting childhood cancer, and to raising awareness and funds. Regina is passionate about helping kids fight cancer and lives by the motto, “Make It Amazing,” created by a teammate for her coach’s six-year old daughter who lost her battle with pediatric cancer.
Regina also is Vice President of Trumbull High’s Best Buddies Club and founder of the Blanket Brigade, a club that makes fleece-tie blankets for local families, charities and hospitals in need.
Regina is involved with many organizations at school and in the community and credits these experiences with teaching her lifelong skills, such as leadership and communication. These experiences led her to become an intern with VolunteerSquare, where she enjoys helping promote the value of volunteerism to other teens.
In addition to her community service commitments, Regina is an aspiring writer. She has attended Middlebury College’s New England Young Writers Conference at Bread Loaf, as well as the Champlain College Young Writers Conference. She hopes to be an English teacher by day and writer by night.
Claudia Zhang is a senior at Trumbull High School and shares the love of volunteering with the Volunteer Square community! She is part of her school’s varsity cross country team as well as the manager of the Girls Outdoor Track Team. Claudia is also involved in Academic Decathlon, Interact Club (volunteer-based club), and the school play. Additionally, she is a member of the National Honor Society and the Spanish Honor Society. Claudia loves to be involved in her community, she is a volunteer at a senior center in Bridgeport and an Assistant Coach for TopSoccer, a program dedicated to teaching children with special needs how to play soccer. She is currently the treasurer of Infinite Love For Kids Fighting Cancer’s Junior Board, where she plans to raise money and organize events to increase awareness for childhood cancer. Claudia’s dream is to one day take her love of volunteering and become a PA in hopes of making an impact on people’s lives.
ALUMNI INTERNS
Kathryn Blanco is a senior at Lauralton Hall with interests in writing, politics, and foreign language. She co-edits her school newspaper and is a member of the debate team, Youth and Government, National Honor Society, Latin Club, and the Catherine McAuley club, which prepares bagged lunches for the Beth-El Center soup kitchen. She lives in Newtown and is a junior docent at the historical Matthew Curtiss Jr. house and volunteers with Village Pre-School summer camp in Bethel. She loves reading, baking, playing board games, and spending time with friends and family. Kathryn is excited to join the Volunteer Square internship. She is eager to connect with other individuals and organizations passionate about community service and learn the necessary skills to continue involvement with charitable organizations later in life.
Taylor Brand is a junior at Ridgefield High School. She is on the board of Relay of Life in Ridgefield with First Selectman Rudy Marconi. Together they worked to recruit other high school students to the organization. A varsity volleyball player, Taylor is also a member of F.B.L.A and D.E.C.A where she participates in competitions in the business and marketing areas. She's an avid photographer and hopes to learn more about marketing and advertising during her internship.
Bertha Castellanos is a senior at Notre Dame Catholic High School in Fairfield. She has been a member of the French honor society for the past two years. Bertha is also a member of the Campus Ministry club at her school where she participates in voluntary work. She enjoys doing fun activities, such as bowling, with her friend and family. Bertha hopes to major in Marketing and travel around the world.
Daniel De Menezes is a sophomore at Norwalk High School, enrolled in the Norwalk Early College Academy. At NHS he takes honors and college classes. Daniel loves and embraces his Latino background. His mom is Mexican and his dad is Brazilian. He enjoys playing volleyball and using social media. Daniel is a funny, outgoing, hardworking kid with a passion for photography and writing. He plans to major in English during college. Daniel hopes to develop new skills through the internship. He wants to gain experience to use in his future. He hopes to meet new people.
Julia Haskins is a junior at The Academy of our Lady of Mercy, Lauralton Hall, where she plays basketball and is the president of her class. She is involved in multiple honors and AP classes while also participating in the National Honor Society, Debate club and Spanish club as well as Student Council. Lauralton's primary value of mercy and serving those in need is what inspired Julia to join Volunteer Square. In her spare time, Julia enjoys hanging out with her friends, family, and her dog, watching movies and playing basketball. She recently started her college process and hopes to pursue a career in communication. Julia's main goal is to take away an incredible experience in a variety of volunteer work and to encourage her peers to gain the same experience. She considers herself to be a genuine, dedicated person and is hoping to bring these qualities to her work with Volunteer Square.
Kat Heaney is 17 years old and a senior at Darien High School. She has been a part of numerous clubs and organizations at Darien High School, including becoming a leader for Safe Rides Darien, a program that offers safe rides home for students who need them. She’s on the lacrosse team and will continue to play when she attends Union College in the fall. Kat is really excited to get involved with Volunteer Square.
Alexis Molina is a senior at Westhill High school in Stamford where he is the senior class president, a member of the stock market club, and a member of Land Crew were he collaborates with other students to help the incoming 9th graders transition to high school. Alexis also has a passion for volunteering, he loves going to Sunrise Senior Living an elderly home where he takes care of the elderly and does anything possible in order to brighten their day. Alexis is really excited to join Volunteer Square as he says it’s an opportunity that will help him grow as a young adult.
Olivia Loo is a junior at Joseph A. Foran High School. While taking multiple AP classes at Foran, she is involved in Student Government, Science Club, Math Club, and National Honors Society. Last year, she founded the club, Bracelets for A Cause, which allows her to use her passion for art to benefit her community. Olivia also mentors special needs kids in the Milford Recreation Department's Adaptive Dance Program. Olivia is excited to join the Volunteer Square internship. She is eager to connect with other individuals and promote volunteerism.
Cristina Ludwig is a sophomore at Lauralton Hall in Milford, CT where she is sophomore Class President, a cross country/indoor track runner, and a golfer. She is also a member of Climate Crusaders, her school’s spirit club, and Spanish Club. Cristina has a true passion for volunteering and service and outside of schools, she is a member of the Milford Young Women’s Club, a local volunteer organization that teaches leadership skills, activities in education, international/Veterans affairs, cooking, health, environmental projects, and more. She also created her own service project: a holiday card making party for nursing home residents. Started with a friend, they have made over 900 cards in total over the course of four years.
Last year, Cristina was the 3rd place winner in the Volunteer Square Essay Contest and decided to use some of the money to help buy craft supplies for next year’s card making. Cristina is excited to be going on a Mission Trip to Navajo Nation in New Mexico this February. In her free time, she can be found baking, reading, and spending time with friends and family. This is her first year as a Volunteer Square Intern, and she is super enthusiastic about promoting volunteerism.
Kevin Moccia, a Trumbull High School junior, has lived in Trumbull all his life with his parents and his brother. At THS, Kevin takes honors and AP classes while also running for the track team, playing saxophone for the concert and jazz bands and he recently joined the Model Congress club. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with friends and family. He has recently started touring colleges in the Northeast area, although he still undecided about what to pursue as a career. Kevin considers himself to be a hardworking and kind person who looks for any opportunity to help people in his community. Through his internship, he hopes to encourage other teens to pursue their passion, to strengthen their drive to make a difference and to get involved in community service projects. Kevin believes that volunteering is not just for fulfilling service hours at school, but also a way to experience the feeling of fulfillment you get from helping people and making an impact in the lives of others.
Max Richo is a sophomore at Trumbull High School, enrolled in the Agriscience program. In his free time, he plays basketball in a league at the Shehan Center and is a member of the Key club. He considers himself to be an easygoing person who enjoys spending time with friends and family. He has a strong work ethic, is a good collaborator and very patient. Max credits these skills from his time volunteering as a youth counselor at Sterling House in Stratford, CT. Through this internship, Max hopes to put his skills to use as he learns from and helps people in his surrounding neighborhood communities. He is excited to gain valuable experience from different populations, through his volunteer opportunities in Connecticut.
Annie Wright is a senior at Darien High School. She plays lacrosse and is a member of the Helping Hands club that collects school supplies for low income families, and schools who have low budgets. Annie is also a member of Safe rides, a program designed to provide a free and confidential ride home to any student who is not in a condition to drive safely. In her free time she coaches for a club lacrosse team (CT Grizzlies) at SONO field house. Annie will attend University of Florida in the fall. This is Annie’s first time being involved with Volunteer Square and she is so excited to be given this opportunity.