Saturday AcademyExplore. Discover. Learn.Follow Your Curiosity!

audience-menu

Menu
  • Youth Programs (K-8 Grades)

    Summer Programs

    • 2025 Summer Programs Overview
    • Programs for Explorers (K-2)
    • Programs for Makers (3-5)
    • Programs for Creators (6-8)

    Days Off! (K-5)

    • Register for Days Off!

    Classes

    • Register for Classes!

    School Residency

    • About/Request School Residencies
    • Browse School Residencies

    Resources

    • Partners and Support
    • Meet Our Educators
    • Tuition Assistance and Scholarship Support
    • FAQs, Policies, and Permissions
  • Career Pathway Exploration (9-12 Grades)

    APPRENTICESHIPS IN SCIENCE & ENGINEERING (ASE) PROGRAM

    • ASE Program Overview
    • Selection Process
    • Testimonials
    • Additional Student Resources
    • 2024 ASE Interns
    • ASE 2024 Symposium

    FOR STUDENTS

    • Be an Intern
    • The ASE Experience
    • Internship Catalog
    • Current Interns

    FOR MENTORS

    • Be a Mentor
    • Current Mentors

    Days Off! Grades 9-12

    • Register for Days Off!
  • Support Community Impact

    For more than forty years, Saturday Academy has been trailblazing innovative education for the next generation of innovators in grades K-12 in Oregon and SW Washington.

    Our mission is only possible through the ecosystem of generosity present in our community.

    Development

    • Support our Winter Appeal
    • View Our Annual Report
    • Ways to Give
    • Become a Corporate Partner
    • Cultivation
    • Partner Acknowledgement

    Spring Soiree

    • Details + Buy Tickets
    • Sponsor our Soiree
    • 2025 Changemaker Award Honoree
    • 2024 Changemaker Award Honorees
  • About Us

    Join Our Team

    • Job Openings
    • Volunteer
    • Be a Mentor

    ABOUT US

    • Our Mission & History
    • Our Values
    • Our Equity Statement
    • Our Team
    • News & Events

Donate

  • My Account
  • My Locker (0)
  • (503) 200-5858
  1. Home
  2. News

A Reed College Student Explores the Non-Profit World

By Maddox Zhang, Reed College Winter "Extern" at Saturday Academy
Jan 8, 2018

My name is Maddox Zhang and I’m the Saturday Academy (SA) winter “extern.” I’m spending two weeks learning about the inner workings of SA and supporting staff members on projects. Originally from Connecticut, I’m a sophomore biochemistry major at Reed College with a deep ardor for social justice. In my free time, I love watching nature documentaries and getting out to explore Portland’s lively and ever-changing food, art and fashion scenes. Although I honestly have no idea where I may end up in the future, I’m thinking about going into nonprofit work. SA is the perfect intersection to bridge together two potential career paths for me: community engagement and STEM.

 

I remember the all-too-familiar frustration I felt as a child in my classes that stifled creativity and restricted my learning to rote, standardized questions and answers. Because of that experience, working with SA feels like what I’m doing has a special, personalized value to it. The staff here is incredibly welcoming and patient. Best of all, I get to do more than just get everyone coffees and fix the printer. In fact, I do none of that! The resources and experiences with the behind-the-scenes of SA I’ve received is foundational and indispensable. As a result of this experience, I hope to enact positive change more effectively in my local communities and beyond. Everyday entails a meeting with a different department including finance, communications, operations or specific programs like:

  • Girls Engage Technology
  • Apprenticeships in Science and Engineering
  • Saturday Academy to You

 

Experienced department or program heads run me through the nuts and bolts of what they do and give me a task that lets me taste their contribution to the SA pie. I also really appreciate that those who lead and design projects here are largely women. That representation, especially in a political atmosphere like our current one, can’t fly under the radar.

 

If I ever head my own nonprofit, I’d strive to make my work environment as supportive, fun and efficient as SA’s is. Find out more about how you can support SA and help to provide hands-on, in-depth programming for all interested students in STEM fields.

 

Tags 
volunteer

Share this story

Saturday Academy's SA Circle Logo

 

 

Verified-Vendor-Seal-2023-sm.png

Saturday Academy

5000 N Willamette Blvd
Portland OR 97203

503.200.5858

Follow us

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Instagram

Our Programs

  • Next Gen Summer Programs
  • Classes for All Ages
  • Days Off!
  • In School Residencies (formerly SA2U)
  • ASE Internships & Workshops

About Us

  • Our Mission & History
  • Our Equity Statement
  • Our Values
  • Our Team
  • Our Locations
  • Job Openings
  • Volunteer
  • News & Events

Saturday Academy is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and contributions are fully tax-deductible. Our Federal Tax ID# is 20-3770321. ©2021 Saturday Academy

Top