Today, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) announced her office’s Summer Leadership Development Fellows. Fellows are already working with small businesses, franchises, nonprofits and Michigan based companies who have a District presence and will learn firsthand about the role of the federal government in their day-to-day operations and pandemic recovery. Additionally, Fellows will regularly meet with members of Livonia and D.C. based staff to learn about their roles as Congressional staffers.
“I am absolutely thrilled to announce these thirteen incredible fellows,” said Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI). “They represent the best of the best from Michigan’s 11th Congressional District and I am so proud to represent them in Congress. This summer is an incredible opportunity to learn, as industry, small business, franchises and nonprofits recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Leadership Development Fellows will see how these entities have used PPP loans, grants, American Rescue Plan Act dollars and so much more to continue operations and rebuild.I can’t wait to work with them this summer and welcome them to the Stevens team!”
Fellows will complete a project at the end of the summer, either a written reflection, digital scrapbook, or a policy proposal. Staff will meet weekly throughout the summer with Fellows and facilitate discussion on their learning and hear from a lineup of speakers. They will also have an opportunity to meet with and hear from small business owners and entrepreneurs. Through the program, they’ll learn about how policy is made, what government services are available to aid their industry, how businesses apply for grants and how the district and DC offices operate.
Esha Patel
Esha Patel is a rising senior at Troy High School. In her free time, Esha loves to play tennis, workout, read, and hang out with friends. In the future, she hopes to pursue a business degree and become an economist. She is working in retail, at a PacSun franchise this summer.
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Alexander Arcari
Alexander studied at Oakland University and received his B.A in Political Science, minoring in Spanish Language and Psychology. He hopes to attend law school, focusing on international law in the context of global security, peace, and development. This summer, Alexander will be working at Leader Corporation.
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Dhruv Dighrasker
Dhruv is a rising senior at Troy High School in Troy, Michigan. He is part of the National Honor Society, Forensics, Varsity Track, and Varsity Cross Country. He is the Design and Strategy Lead on the Troy High Robotics team and volunteers with several non-profits including The Scrunchie Project and MedSTEMPowered. Dhruv hopes to one day build his career in engineering. He is working this summer at Indepth Engineering Solutions.
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Rohit Pal
Rohit was born and raised in Canton, Michigan. He graduated from Plymouth-Canton Community Schools in 2020 and is a rising sophomore at Michigan State University pursuing an Economics Degree. He is working at Dairy Queen this summer.
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Jacob Cox
Jacob is a student at South Lyon High School, where he is the secretary of South Lyon’s NHS chapter. He is heavily involved with the school district’s combined robotics team. He is looking forward to working with his peers and gaining experience in policy making and other government-related fields. He is working at Busch’s Fresh Food Market this summer.
Sharanya Swaminathan
Sharanya is a rising high school senior from Troy, Michigan. Her deep-rooted passion for understanding the integration of business and public policy and its role in enacting social change has guided many of her pursuits in school. She aspires to become a lawyer in the future and hopes to play an active role in the justice system and/or government. In her free time, she loves to dance, style outfits, bake with her family, debate, and meet new people! This summer, she is working at Panera Bread.
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Liam Richichi
Liam is a rising college freshman at the James Madison College at MSU. Before this, he worked as a field and finance intern for the Congresswoman's 2020 campaign and is very excited to reconnect with the team. In his free time, Liam likes to listen to podcasts, travel, engage with campaigns, and hang out with friends and family. He’s working at Texas Roadhouse this summer.
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Amanda Zhang
Amanda Zhang is an incoming freshman at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and is from Northville. With passions in impact investing and spreading diversity, she’s working to understand and utilize the potential of business and government intersections to create societal changes. Amanda is working at Fresh Thyme Market this summer.
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Lilley Kroll
Lilley is going into her Junior Year at the George Washington School of Business in Washington D.C. At school, she is an active member of the GW Sports Business Association, GW TAMID and GW Woman in Business. Outside of school, Lilley loves to travel, read, play tennis and kickbox. This summer she is working at The Farbman Group in Southfield.
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Spencer Landry
Spencer Landry is a Commerce Township native and graduated from Lakeland High School in 2019. He is currently a junior at Franklin University Switzerland in Sorengo, Switzerland where he is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science along with 5 minors including German and Italian. He is currently employed with Community Housing Network.
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Jayanti Gupta
Jayanti is an 11th grader at International Academy East and is passionate about gun violence prevention, feminism, amplifying the voices and increasing representation of marginalized groups. Not only as the March For Our Lives Michigan State Director but also as the Generation Ratify Michigan State Director she sees how intersectional so many social justice issues are and has made it her mission to use both her voice and platform to advocate for the individuals that are most affected by the prejudices present in society as we know it. Recently, she held a march through Downtown Rochester to urge senators to vote in favor of SJ Res 17. In her free time, she can be seen outside hiking or kayaking. This summer she is working at Rising Voices.
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Original source can be found here.
