Eliana Mlawski

PORTSMOUTH – Bank of America announced that the two New Hampshire students selected as Student Leaders (#BofAStudentLeaders) have started their paid summer internship experience of workforce skills, leadership, and civic engagement with local nonprofits Harbor Care and the New Hampshire Food Bank. This year, students have the option to voluntarily participate in in-person activities as part of the internship.

Without access to career skills-building opportunities like the Student Leaders program, many young people may be left behind from a fast-changing job market, leading to higher rates of youth unemployment.

“Bank of America remains committed to supporting young adults by connecting them to jobs, community engagement and leadership development opportunities,” said Ken Sheldon, President, Bank of America New Hampshire. “We recognize young adults are the future of our community, which is why programs like Student Leaders are one way we can provide paid opportunities for students to gain job experience while developing a diverse pipeline of talent as they enter the local workforce.”

The class of 2021 New Hampshire Bank of America Student Leaders are:

• Enya Gu, rising senior at Nashua High School South, interning at Harbor Car.

Enya Gu

• Eliana Mlawski, rising senior at The Governor’s Academy, interning with the New Hampshire Food Bank.

The Student Leaders program, which started in 2004, recognizes 300 community-focused juniors and seniors from across the U.S. annually. The New Hampshire-based Student Leaders will engage in an eight-week paid internship and participate in programming that includes a collaborative, mentor-focused project working closely with Harbor Care and the New Hampshire Food Bank.

Harbor Care is an innovative nonprofit serving adults, children and families throughout New Hampshire. The organization provides supportive housing , medical, dental, and behavioral health care, substance use treatment, veteran services and employment supports — to more than 5,000 New Hampshire community members.

Gu is interning with Harbor Care’s communications department where she is researching and drafting Harbor Care website articles on topics such as the impact of housing on an individual’s health and mental wellbeing and the impact of trauma on addiction. Gu is also working with the organization’s grant writers and supporting the organization’s social media outreach.

The New Hampshire Food Bank serves as the state’s only food bank, working to provide nutritious meals and other resources to the hundreds of thousands of New Hampshire residents that are food insecure. The Food Bank supplies millions of pounds of food annually to more than 400 partner agencies, including food pantries, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, children’s programs and senior centers.

At the New Hampshire Food Bank, Mlawski’s main focus is two initiatives: the “NH Feeding NH” program and the Food Bank’s participation in the NH Food Alliance’s “NH Eats Local Month.” Mlawski is creating an outreach plan for contacting farmers and partner agencies to collect stories and anecdotes detailing their experiences and is helping to design a social campaign surrounding these stories of impact. Mlawski has also supported the planning of the NH Food Bank’s participation in NH Eats Local Month.

In addition to their work with the Harbor Care and the New Hampshire Food Bank, Gu and Mlawski will participate virtually in sessions on the vital role nonprofits play in advancing community health and the importance of public-private partnerships to drive social change while building financial acumen. The Student Leaders also take part in a virtual Summit in partnership with the Close Up Foundation to participate in Stanford University’s Young Democracy at Home program, which encourages conversation about current issues facing young people today.

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