Student Spotlight: Olivia Mancina
Meet Olivia Mancina, our featured student of the month. Olivia, a junior at Notre Dame de Sion, was part of our GenZine internship this past spring/summer, and was also also recently involved with #ZeroReasonsWhy. Through her experience at Startland, Olivia became a Digital Strategy Intern at Young Entrepreneurs Program KC (YEPKC) and has found a new interest in pursuing entrepreneurship in her future.
How did you first get involved with Startland?
Olivia: I first became involved with Startland through being a GenZine KC intern over the summer of 2020. I found GenZine through social media and saw that a friend from Sion was a part of GenZine and applied right away. A few of my roles as a part of the GenZine team included: writing feature stories about teens’ artwork, creating social media content that attracted teens to check out GenZine, and strategizing how to better reach teens and encourage them to share what they are most proud of.
Before interacting with Startland, how much did you know about entrepreneurship? Had you been exposed to entrepreneurs in your life, or was this your first exposure?
Olivia: Prior to my experience with Startland I did not know much about entrepreneurship. I had met a few entrepreneurs before through Zero Reasons Why, but I definitely didn’t realize until after interning with Startland just how multi-faceted entrepreneurship is and how being an entrepreneur can mean so many different things, for example, being an entrepreneur in music or an entrepreneur in social change.
What do you think you've learned from your experiences with Startland that you wouldn't have learned in your regular classes?
Olivia: I have learned through my experiences with Startland the importance of seizing opportunities and not being intimidated by an opportunity that is unfamiliar to you, but rather focusing on the growth you will experience through it. I have also learned the importance of challenging yourself to go outside of what your perceived capabilities are; my experiences with Startland have helped me to feel confident in inviting challenge that leads to creativity and making a positive impact on others.
How has your involvement with Startland made a difference in your life?
Olivia: Being involved with Startland has impacted me very positively and helped me to learn about opportunities I might not have known about if I had not been a GenZine intern. This is the case with my current internship with Young Entrepreneurs Program KC (YEPKC), which is an opportunity that I heard about through one of the GenZine team leaders. As a Digital Media Strategy Intern at YEP, I am always using skills and knowledge that I first learned about during my time with GenZine-for example how to create infographics, effective marketing strategies, and how to hold myself accountable for self-created deadlines or content schedules.
How do you think you'll take your experiences with Startland forward, and how will they help you in your future education, career, or life in general?
Olivia: I will use my experiences that I have gained through my time with Startland to continue seeking out opportunities where I can use my skills and entrepreneurship knowledge to make a positive impact on my community and highlight others’ creativity and talents. I am interested in a job that involves social justice and activism, and Startland has helped me to see that my passion is uplifting others and actively working to improve the lives of others in the communities I am a part of.
Can you tell me about a project you're most proud of?
Olivia: The project I am most proud of so far that I have worked on has been Zero Reasons Why-specifically the Middle Schools Committee in ZRW. As a part of the Middle Schools Committee, my teammates and I are currently planning out the logistics and speaking with middle school administrators in our districts on how to best give presentations on mental health in middle schools. We are creating a presentation that is consistently interactive, so as to keep the middle school students’ attention-with an emphasis on the presentations being given by high schoolers. Our presentation has three phases: 1-debunking myths around mental health and the stigma, 2-how middle schoolers can approach their mental health in a healthy way, and 3-providing information on how to take action, such as seeing warning signs of struggle and knowing resources such as the JOCO Mental Health Crisis Line. As high-schoolers, it was not too long ago that we were in the shoes of the middle school students and so I am beyond excited for us to help better equip students with these crucial mental health tools and education.
Why do you think our community should support Startland programs, and make them available to more students?
Olivia: In my experience as an intern, as well as observing the Social Change Internship Startland offers students, I have seen firsthand how students can turn an innovative idea into reality with the guidance of an organization like Startland that goes above and beyond to help students carry out their passion and positively impact those around them as well. Startland programs not only connect students to a network of driven and creative entrepreneurs, but they also help students learn crucial skills they are not taught in school, such as how to network and build connections and how to view challenges as opportunities for creative growth.
To find out more about Startland educational programming and how to get involved, click here.
