Leadership Initiatives: Empowering Future Leaders Through International Internships

Leadership Initiatives (LI) offers a range of unique internship programs designed to provide students with real-world experience, explore potential careers, and develop critical leadership skills. These programs include both international and domestic opportunities, catering to various interests from business and law to medicine and national security. With a focus on hands-on learning and making a tangible impact, Leadership Initiatives aims to cultivate the next generation of global leaders.

Overview of Leadership Initiatives Programs

For over 20 years, Leadership Initiatives has partnered with outstanding high school students to provide real-world experience, explore future careers, and develop critical skills to create the next generation of leaders worldwide. As a nonprofit, they are proud to offer in-person internships that impact the lives of students and the individuals they are partnered with.

LI offers seven youth development programs in the fields of business, law, medicine, and national security. These include summer programs at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and international programs that connect students with communities in the developing world. All LI Summer Internship Programs ensure interns who have an interest in a career are exposed to everything in the field: the skills, the perspectives, the different avenues available to them.

The organization's goal is to continue to support interns as they reach for bigger and bigger goals, grow development projects to span farther and wider and reach more people than ever before, and keep partnering with more incredible people who are excited about elevating young leaders and creating brighter futures.

Summer Internships at Georgetown University

Leadership Initiatives hosts immersive internships every summer at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. These week-long internships offer an unprecedented hands-on experience in the fields of medicine, neuroscience, law, advocacy, business, diplomacy, and cybersecurity. Summer interns work together to do things like creating new businesses, diagnosing real patients, preparing early release petitions, and direct- or cross-examining a client in court, all while learning alongside leading experts in these fields.

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International Internship Program (IIP)

Through the International Internship Program (IIP), interns research and develop solutions to real-world problems in rural Nigeria, addressing challenges in business, health, or advocacy. Interns are paired with development partners and work in teams during weekly virtual meetings, conducting practical research and assisting with improvement implementation. This hands-on experience builds leadership skills and critical thinking, setting interns apart from peers while making a tangible impact on underserved communities.

Specialized Internship Programs

Leadership Initiatives offers a variety of specialized internships, each designed to provide students with a unique and immersive experience in their chosen field.

AI & Medical Innovation Internship

Step into the future with the AI & Medical Innovation Internship, an immersive program designed for ambitious students ready to transform the world through innovation.

AI & Business Strategy Internship

Step into the future with the AI & Business Strategy Internship, an immersive program designed for ambitious students ready to transform the world through technology.

Advanced Medical Neuroscience Internship

The Advanced Medical Neuroscience Internship is a program where students work directly with Dr. From brain dissections and simulations to learning from and designing research projects with leading experts in the field, this internship is a must for anyone interested in cutting-edge neuroscience and ethics research. Once they've dug into the anatomy and physiology of the brain and all its higher-order cognitive functions like memory, emotion, and morality, our interns design and write research experiment proposals to present to top neuroscientists.

Criminal Law & Trial Internship

The Criminal Law & Trial Internship is a first-of-its-kind accelerated internship that allows motivated high school students to intern with a law firm on an active criminal defense case. Cases are selected by legal advocacy groups in Washington D.C. Interns in the Criminal Law and Trial Internship and the Advanced Law and Justice Reform Internship meet with representatives from the House and the Senate on Capitol Hill to defend bills and work with law firms and top law professors to create and propose arguments on active criminal trials.

International Leadership & Business Internship

The Leadership Initiatives International Leadership & Business Internship is taking our first-of-its-kind accelerated internship to the next level. During this program, interns will learn how to skillfully build a business while simultaneously calculating risk - the essentials of constructing a successful enterprise.

Interns work closely with Georgetown University professors and business professionals in writing business plans, developing research skills, and critical communication skills. During this intensive program, students will learn from experts about business analytics, marketing planning, customer and market insights, as well as study the art of cross-cultural communication to understand the international business landscape and complexities faced by aspiring entrepreneurs.

National Security & Intelligence Internship

The only security program in the world where students partner with a real security firm, implement security solutions to fight terrorism, and explore a career in security.

Jumpstart Program

Students who participate in this dynamic program will be fully engaged with our curriculum, inspiring independent thinking, creativity, personal growth, and self-confidence. The Jumpstart Program for middle school students has just the right balance of academic rigor and excitement.

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International Internship Focus Areas

The International Internship Program offers students the opportunity to focus on specific areas of development in rural Nigeria.

International Business & Development

Through the International Business & Development Internship Program, students collaborate directly with microbusinesses in the developing world, gaining hands-on experience while driving sustainable change. Leadership Initiatives partners with entrepreneurs in Bauchi, Nigeria, who earn less than $1.90 per day and often lack formal business training, which makes it difficult to provide for their families. Interns work closely with Georgetown University professors and business professionals in writing business plans, developing research skills, and critical communication skills.

Last summer, high school interns partnered with over 50 entrepeneurs in the developing world to advise their business plans and marketing schemes - setting both up for success in the long run! Those business owners are thriving and our interns graduated our program with hands-on experience in the international business world, with plenty of fuel for their own future business endeavors, college applications, and anything else our changing world might throw their way.

International Public Health

During the internship, students design and lead interactive community workshops to address the preventable health crises impacting families in Northern Nigeria. Working closely with local health professionals and clinics, interns develop practical strategies to improve maternal health, prevent disease, and promote healthier daily practices. These workshops do more than share information; they deliver life-saving knowledge that empowers communities to take charge of their health and create a healthier future. The International Public Health Program assists vulnerable populations living in sub-Sarahan Africa.

One of the notable accomplishments attained during the internship was leading a team to create workshops to provide assistance to infants in the first 1,000 days of their lives.

International Advocacy

The internship begins with students designing and leading community surveys to gather firsthand insights from local leaders and residents. This data shapes every advocacy effort, ensuring strategies respond directly to community-identified challenges. By embedding research into the heart of the program, interns help foster trust, cultural understanding, and shared ownership of the solutions they create. The International Law & Advocacy Program focuses on human rights activism through education, advocacy, and public interest litigation.

Benefits of Participating in Leadership Initiatives Programs

Participants in Leadership Initiatives programs receive a multitude of benefits designed to enhance their academic and professional development.

College Preparation Resources

All students who attend one of the Summer Internship Programs will receive free SAT/ACT training through PrepScholar, one-on-one admissions consulting with a former admissions officer, essay editing assistance, two letters of recommendation, and scholarship application assistance. All college prep benefits remain available for six years from the date of registration to allow nominations for rising freshmen through rising seniors.

These benefits include:

College Admissions Officer Meetings: Students can speak directly with dedicated admissions counselors and former admissions officers to provide them with an in-depth understanding of the college application process. Interns can schedule a one-on-one virtual meeting with a college admissions expert from our partners at CollegeAdvisor. Counselors provide practical guidance and an insider’s perspective on what top universities look for in applicants.
College Essay Assistance: Each student essay will be edited to ensure it makes an excellent impression at every stage of the competitive application process.
Letters of Recommendation: LI staff will write two letters of recommendation for interns to support their college or scholarship applications.
College Probability Modeling: Leadership Initiatives has developed a system that calculates a student’s probability of acceptance into their top university choices based on GPA, test scores, extracurricular activities, career goals, financial need, and other factors.
Admissions Panels: Every spring, Leadership Initiatives hosts five interactive informational panels open to both students and parents. LI partners with admissions officers from top undergraduate, medical, law, and business schools to offer students and families free, insider guidance on the college application process.

Real-World Experience and Skill Development

Interns gain hands-on experience, professional mentorship, a deeper understanding of their chosen field, and the skills to tackle real-world challenges with confidence and creativity. The internship experience sets students apart as accomplished leaders who have made a positive impact.

LI Interns stand out with their unparalleled real-world experience that sets them apart from their peers.

Community Service and Recognition

By volunteering their time to support communities worldwide, interns earn 35 community service hours that count toward requirements for their school or organizations such as the National Honor Society. Interns' work has a huge impact in the communities we serve, and we make sure their work is recognized.

Financial Assistance and Scholarships

Leadership Initiatives is dedicated to providing opportunities for everyone who shows drive, determination, and grit towards their future goals. The graduating seniors of the Summer Internship Program have received over $5.4 million in financial aid and scholarships to attend college. LI knows what factors matter when applying for scholarships, and they help interns secure the most financial assistance possible.

LI provides unmatched one-on-one scholarship assistance to each student through personalized scholarship editing services. Each student scholarship application will be edited to ensure it makes an excellent impression at every stage of the competitive application process. The editors will improve the style, clarity, sentence structure and coherence of your application so that your achievements are noticed.

IIP interns receive over $2,500 worth of benefits, providing invaluable support for their academic and career growth. From real-world experience collaborating with organizations in the developing world to personalized college essay reviews and SAT/ACT preparation, these benefits ensure interns stand out in their future endeavors. Additional perks include community service recognition, scholarship assistance, and exclusive summer program scholarships, making this internship an exceptional opportunity for students looking to make a meaningful impact and get ahead.

Leadership Initiatives offers a variety of flexible options to pay for program tuition. Zero-interest payment plans are available in three, six, nine, and twelve-month payment options. Participants can opt to pay the entirety of their remaining tuition balance off at any point during the payment period.

Networking and Exposure

Along with guest speakers and interactive panels, interns have the unprecedented opportunity to interact with some of Washington’s top business leaders. As interns lay the foundation of their careers, visits to embassies and meetings with members of Congress are invaluable to shaping their understanding of the changing world they will soon be working in, serving, and improving.

Success Stories and Impact

Leadership Initiatives has a proven track record of empowering students and making a positive impact on communities around the world.

Emily Kim, a student from Crean Lutheran High School, participated in the International Leadership & Business Internship and stated, "From the LI staff to the aspiring entrepreneurs, everything about the International Leadership and Business Internship program has exceeded my expectation. No experience to date can compare to working hand in hand with a start-up business to build it from the ground up. My team and I developed logos and marketing plans, selected the to-store locations, created seed money budgets, and created financial tracking solutions. The opportunity to work so closely with experts and field staff to help prepare our business partner for success has inspired me to work even harder in life."

One intern shared that Leadership Initiatives helped them discover their passion for public health and is the reason they were accepted into Cornell as a Global and Public Health Sciences major. They gave them the insight they needed to develop their leadership skills and explore their passions. The application support and letter of recommendation received from LI staff also played a key role in strengthening their application.

Another intern expressed that being a part of IIP was one of the most impactful experiences of their entire life. They never imagined that at the age of seventeen, they would have made a workshop to help with health disparities in Africa.

From learning and teaching others the importance of nutritional health to developing businesses with passionate goals and hearts-each moment has been significant. It is so inspiring to my business partners' hopes and dreams manifest.

Eligibility and Commitment

The International Internship Program seeks passionate, driven high school students ready to make a global impact. This program offers a unique opportunity to collaborate with international partners, develop leadership skills, and contribute to meaningful projects. Interns will meet virtually once a week with their teams, Leadership Initiatives staff, and Project Coordinators in Bauchi, Nigeria.

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