Abby Draper

Librii

My Winter Break internship was at Librii, a fledgling nonprofit startup, in Washington DC. The elevator pitch of the project is “Librii builds Internet-Age libraries so that people can follow their interests, acquire skills, and discover opportunities.” Librii has, eventually, global aspirations-- but at this point the organization is focused on establishing a prototype in Washington, DC so they can test the model and generate a report of actual impacts to show potential donors. 

My first task at Librii was to write a report on soft skills, transferable personal characteristics important to workplace success. I included ideas about how Librii will teach skills to their students and it was published on the website: http://www.librii.org/. 

I also researched other DC youth organizations so Librii could make a case for how it filled a unique need, and how it could support and be support by similar local efforts.

At Librii, I learned about the importance of moving beyond a good idea into the practical challenges. It was interesting to consider challenges a young organization faced that a more established company would not have exposed me to (like applying for a business license).

DC is not my home city, and I probably would have struggled to locate short internships there without the Innovate Winter Break program. The stipend, too, was helpful in making the travel and living expenses minimal.

Thanks to everyone at Brown and in the broader Brown community who made this opportunity possible!