Meet Our New Intern: Lily Gage (she/they)

1. Tell us about yourself (education, goals, favorite things).

I just finished my junior year at Dickinson College and I am majoring in both Political Science and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies. I am also minoring in Ethics. I work for the Office of LGBTQ Services at Dickinson College as a Training and Education Pride Coordinator in which I facilitate RAISE (Red Devils Advocating for Inclusive Spaces Everywhere) which educates students, faculty, administration and staff on topics such as gender identity and sexuality, how to use and respect other people’s pronouns as well as exploring our own biases or biases we may have grown up with. One of my career goals is to attend law school and eventually become a lawyer specializing in humanitarian law. Some of my favorite things to do are hang out with my dogs and cats, read a good book on the beach and crochet gifts for my friends and family. 

2. What work have you done that aligns with our mission to empower women and eliminate racism? 

My sorority’s philanthropy is our town’s homeless shelter so I have had the opportunity to volunteer with the organization, such as babysitting the children in the facility while parents went to a support group. I also had the opportunity to clean and re-paint the children’s playroom and provide them a more cheerful environment to play in. Additionally, one of the focuses of the RAISE trainings is to emphasize how compounding minority identities result in marginalization and how we can be aware of our privilege and how our privilege plays out in the lives of marginalized folks. 

3. What do you hope to get out of this internship?

I am hoping to gain a better understanding of how a nonprofit organization operates as well as finding inspiration at the YWCA for what kind of law I would like to practice more specifically than just humanitarian law. I would like to broaden my knowledge and understanding of unhoused folks and the struggles they face, as well as collaborating with the Advocacy department and expand my knowledge of advocacy in order to bring a more expansive view of advocacy and allyship to both my work at Dickinson and my work after Dickinson. 

4. Why did you choose to apply to YWCA Cambridge?

I wanted to contribute and give back to the community that I grew up in, as I am a life-long Massachusetts resident. I was truly inspired by the work that YWCA Cambridge has done and I felt that I would feel right at home in this organization. I love that the work that the YWCA does is expansive, from providing housing for unhoused folks to promoting advocacy and allyship for Massachusetts’ youth, and that the organization truly cares about Cambridge’s community and creating a more supportive and intersectional environment.