Creating opportunities for young people is central to UWABC's mission—and that commitment extends beyond our programs and into our workplace.
This summer, we welcomed Anvita Anaja, a Benjamin N. Duke Scholar participating in Duke University's Carolina Summer of Service. At 19 years old, Anvita is part of the young adult population at the heart of our United for Youth Cradle to Career vision. We believe internships and other hands-on learning experiences help young people build professional skills, expand their networks, and gain the confidence they need to thrive in their future careers.
During her internship, Anvita worked alongside our Community Schools team while exploring the many ways UWABC serves Buncombe County. She connected with staff across the organization, contributed meaningful projects, and brought enthusiasm, professionalism, and a positive spirit to our team.
Hosting Anvita was one more way we put our commitment to youth opportunity into action.
Below, she reflects on her experience at UWABC in her own words.
My family raised me to believe that the combination of service and knowledge had the ultimate power.
It opened doors, built bridges, and gave me the tools to create a better world. It was with that mission that I arrived in Asheville this May. As a rising sophomore at Duke University majoring in Public Policy, I was eager to dive into Asheville's nonprofit sector and better understand how organizations create lasting change within their communities. I was also fortunate enough to receive the Benjamin N. Duke Scholarship, one of Duke's flagship merit scholarship programs, and participate in this year's Carolina Summer of Service, an opportunity that connected me with United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County as their Community Schools intern.
My interest in studying education began during my first semester at Duke in a course called Children, Schools, and Society. The class quite literally lived at the intersection of public education, social policy, and community development.
It was the first time I had heard about Community Schools, and it was a concept I couldn't let go of.
The idea that schools could become hubs of opportunity, places where students, families, educators, and community partners all worked together to remove barriers to success, felt almost too simple. It wasn't a magic solution, but it was one of the first approaches to education that acknowledged students don't leave their lives at the schoolhouse doors. From that moment on, I hoped I'd one day have the chance to see those ideas put into practice.
When I first spoke with Kyle Garrett, Senior Director of the Community Schools team and North Carolina's first Community School Coordinator, I could tell he was more than a leader; Kyle was a visionary.
He described the promise of the Community Schools model and the possibility of an education system where schools are equipped with intentional partnerships, structured support, and communities willing to invest in one another. His excitement was impossible not to share. That's why, on my first day at United Way, a rainy morning in the middle of Spring, I wasn't surprised to find an office full of ambitious, compassionate people who were all willing to be part of that vision.
Before arriving in Asheville, I had also been sheltered from another reality. Living in Durham, Hurricane Helene had felt distant, reduced to headlines and photos on my phone. Driving through Swannanoa for the first time was surreal. The flood lines, damaged homes, and communities still rebuilding transformed those images into something tangible.
It made me realize that the work of Community Schools extended far beyond education. In moments of crisis, schools become places of stability, connection, and hope, and the people behind them become some of the first to help communities find their footing again.
Without question, my favorite part of the internship was visiting schools. Whether I was fixing bulletin boards at Erwin Middle or Enka Intermediate, organizing the resource room at Asheville Middle, or helping prepare for Community Nights, nothing compared to seeing our work put into action. Sometimes that looked like a sixth grader excitedly telling me about their favorite after-school club. Other times, it meant watching parents quietly take advantage of free resources, from diapers to boxed pasta to school supplies. Those experiences reminded me that impact is in the everyday moments that make students feel seen and families feel supported.
What made this internship truly remarkable,
though, was the people I met. Community School Coordinators are the arms and legs of this work, coordinating across families, school administrators, teachers, nonprofit organizations, and community partners to ensure every student has the support they need. Behind them stands the incredible team at United Way, from School Partnership Managers to Community Partnerships staff and a Community Nights coordinator, who serve as the backbone of the initiative, constantly building relationships that strengthen both schools and neighborhoods.
Together, they showed me that Community Schools are ecosystems built on trust, collaboration, and an unwavering belief in every child's potential.
Coming from a family of educators, spending thirteen years in the public school system myself, and then having the privilege to work alongside the changemakers at United Way made this summer deeply personal.
They reminded me that meaningful change rarely happens through one grand gesture. Instead, it is built through countless acts of service, quiet collaboration, and people who choose, every day, to invest in one another. I leave Asheville with immense gratitude for the lessons I learned, the relationships I built, and the opportunity to witness what is possible when a community decides that every child deserves to thrive.
Thank you, United Way, for giving me the tools, the perspective, and the privilege to become a small part of something so much bigger than myself. You have forever changed me.
Don't Stop Here
- Support our Community Schools by ensuring their funding for the next school year.
- Learn More about how United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County is supporting Youth Oppertunity.
- See our Community Schools for yourself. Volunteer at our Fall and Spring semester Community Nights.