Detroit is Brilliant!

Interning at Brilliant Detroit has been amazing so far! The organization was founded after research found that most children who are not kindergarten ready will continue to fall behind academically for years to come. Unfortunately, most children in Detroit are not kindergarten ready. Brilliant Detroit seeks to solve this issue by creating neighborhoods where children succeed because they live in a community that has access to necessary resources. Brilliant Detroit achieves their mission by renovating a home within the neighborhood and providing resources that focus on family/ individual support, quality learning, health, and neighborhood engagement. Personally, I believe that the best component of Brilliant Detroit’s program is that residents in the neighborhood and service providers  co-design what their Brilliant Detroit home will look like. Brilliant Detroit is a new organization, so their is a lot of opportunity for interns to get involved. This summer I will be helping the organization increase their social media presence, so that they can reach their communities. Also, I will be conducting research on the demographics and psychographics of the residents in their three sites, which will help them to better serve the community.

Overall, my internship at Brilliant Detroit has started my summer in Detroit off great! I am really enjoying the city. I have begun to check off restaurants on my bucket lists. I even have a new favorite restaurant-Kuzzo’s. Also, its been great having my friends from the city to show me around. I feel like I’m getting a real glimpse into what it is like to be a real Detroiter. If the rest of my summer is anything like my first week in Detroit, I know this will be a summer to remember!