This summer marked an exciting milestone for HEY!—our very first group of Youth Summer Interns. Far from just supporting the work, these young leaders truly shaped it. Our 2025 Summer Interns: Jada, Olive, Micah, Delaney, Godspeed, RT.

Driving Change Across HEY!

Our interns jumped in with energy, creativity, and lived experience that made an immediate impact. Over the course of the summer, they:

• Refined the Schools of Wellness assessment, ensuring it better reflects the needs of students, families, and staff.
• Helped shape new survey tools to capture youth voice more effectively.
• Supported recruitment for youth peer supporters, expanding access to critical mental health resources.
• Wrote the very first HEY! Youth Fellows Policy Book, a cornerstone for future advocacy.
• Overhauled the Youth Fellowship Structure & Curriculum, creating a stronger pipeline of youth leadership.
• Boosted social media engagement, bringing HEY!’s message to even more young people.

Building a Pipeline of Leaders

These contributions don’t just strengthen HEY!’s current work—they lay the foundation for the future. As we prepare to launch Cohort 3 of the HEY! Youth Fellowship this fall, our interns’ legacy will live on in the policies, programs, and platforms they helped create.

A Lasting Impact

The Summer Internship showed what happens when youth are given the opportunity to lead: innovation, bold ideas, and meaningful change. At HEY!, we believe in the power of youth leadership—and this summer proved just how transformative that leadership can be.

Photo credit © Micah Hudgins, 2025