During the fall of my senior year at college, I received the opportunity to intern at Litquake Foundation. Litquake is a nonprofit company that holds festivals throughout San Francisco. Their regular festival, which the company is named after and is spread over a span of 15 days, is followed by their infamous 1-day event, the LitCrawl. On this day, festival goers travel up and down the Mission District to listen to literature in a park or even in a laundromat.
For more than three months, I did a blend of administrative and creative work. I edited and compiled author bios and photos onto the Litquake site. I also created flyers that they used across their social media, from Instagram to Facebook. I helped manage the festival volunteers by reminding them of their shifts and managing cancellations.
While these were my main tasks, I also was given the opportunity to lead four different events. The first time I was given this opportunity was for a book event where the author was interviewed purely in Italian. Before introducing the author and interviewer, I felt a mixture of excitement and anxiety; my hands were sweaty and my stomach felt like it was on the floor. I nervously sipped my water while reviewing my lines over and over again. I prepared for the event by thoroughly studying my lines and asking my fellow volunteers, along with a Litquake board member and his wife, for tips on public speaking. When it was finally time for me to provide the introductions, I stuck to my script while delivering humorous tidbits, keeping the audience engaged. After I finished, I even received many compliments about the introduction from other people at Litquake.
The other times I led events were all during the LitCrawl, where I was sent to one location, and I did the introductions while making a pitch for donations for Litquake. Three different events took place in that one location that I managed without any volunteers. I spoke with the contact for the location, passed out surveys, and did everything needed for these events. These events allowed me to grow my leadership skills, permitting me to learn different ways to make events more interesting and engaging. Also, they helped me grow my problem-solving skills as I had to deal with last-minute cancellations and an event hosted in a different language. It helped me learn how to be flexible and how to assert myself and better communicate with the people around me, which are all skills I need working in the literary sphere.
My overall experience working with this nonprofit fueled my desire to continue working in the sphere of literature, such as writing and publishing. Writing is incredibly important; however, not many people, especially in Silicon Valley, understand its value and importance. Litquake is one of the very few organizations that host literary events in the Bay Area, giving unknown writers and poets a platform for their written art. Because of Sigma Tau Delta’s Internship Stipend, which was a needed and deeply appreciated windfall, I was able to focus on growing myself in a field I am passionate about without worrying about the costs of gas driving into San Francisco and rent. Internship stipends allow students to focus more on gaining experience as opposed to worrying about money in this economy. It allows them to have more creative pursuits, allowing them to grow creatively and emotionally. Thus, I am incredibly thankful that I was able to receive this help.
Victoria Blandon
Internship Stipend Recipient, Fall 2024
Phi Phi Chapter
Santa Clara University
Community Service Internship Stipend
Sigma Tau Delta offers funding for current undergraduate and graduate student members accepting internships for which their expenses exceed what they will be paid. Sigma Tau Delta will not cover expenses related to tuition and/or student fees. The Community Service Internship Stipend is a competitive program providing a limited number of stipends of up to $1,500 each.
The internship must involve working for an “organization” while being directed by a supervisor/mentor within that organization, and the intern’s duties must be consistent with the applicant’s level of education, area of study, and career goals. Financial need will be taken into consideration in addition to internship length. Applicants are responsible for obtaining and providing verification of the internship. Check out BestColleges’ Ultimate Guide to Internships for advice in finding and applying for internships.
The internship stipend does not apply to activities that are part of a student’s pre-professional degree requirements, such as student teaching or capstone internships in journalism/technical writing, and cannot be used to supplement a graduate assistantship. Students are eligible for the internship stipend award one time per internship.
Eligibility
Applicants for a Community Service Internship Stipend must be:
- an active student member of Sigma Tau Delta;
- pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree; and
- enrolled part- or full-time in a degree-seeking program.
Applications for the Community Service Internship Stipend will be accepted June 23 through July 14, 2025, 4:00 p.m. CT.
Community Service Internship Stipend
Past Internship Stipend Recipients
An Internship Stipend for Les Éditions Tintamarre
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My Editorial Internship with Drunk Monkeys
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The Value of an Internship Stipend
A Writer in an Artists’ World: My Internship at an Arts Nonprofit
An English Major’s Summer Internship with a Legal Nonprofit
An Animated Summer: My Internship with the Florida Animation Festival
The Cost of an Unpaid Internship
How a Sigma Tau Delta Internship Stipend Allowed me to Pursue a Great Opportunity
The Price of an Unpaid Internship
An English Major in a Neuroscience Lab
To Be the Practical or the Spark; That is the Question
Understanding the Power of the Storyteller and the Story
My Internship at the LARB Publishing Workshop
An English Major on Capitol Hill
Spring Internship Stipend Applications Due Soon
Writing Internship for AGAPE
McIntosh & Otis Internship: Preparation for a Dream Career
An Eye-Opening and Goal-Affirming Internship: My Time with Penn Press
My Indie Summer Internship at Wise Ink
Winning an Internship with About.com
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