Internships

Internships

Thank you for your interest in Make-A-Wish® Central & South Texas and our internship program.

Internship Positions

At Make-A-Wish Central & South Texas, we offer a year-long paid internship program. These internships are available for application once per year and expected internship duration is from September - August. Internship applications are open for the September 2024 - August 2025 cycle. If your academic internship requirement does not allow you to be paid, please still consider applying as we are able to make accommodations.

Please apply for our internship program here.

For any questions, please contact our Internship Committee at i[email protected].

Irissa's Internship Experience
Intern Irissa with a Make-A-Wish shirt on sitting on a couch under a Make-A-Wish sign

If you asked me to describe my time at Make-A-Wish in one word, it would be this: stirring. I came into the summer 2021 internship knowing that I’d have the role of making an impact on the people I encountered. Little did I know that these same people would have an equal, if not greater, effect on me.

All in all, the internship experience really highlighted the skills both from my degree and from my passions, which is an opportunity I don’t normally get as a business major; usually, my technical skills and my heart for service are mutually exclusive. One internship bio will never be able to do my time at Make-A-Wish justice, for I barely scratched the surface here. There were many events, projects, and tasks that stretched me, teaching me new skills while also enhancing the existing ones I came in with. Every staff member, donor, volunteer, parent, and wish kid left an imprint on my story these past few months, even if I never met some in person. I am grateful to have crossed paths with each person in the ways I did. Ultimately, my time here was full of many impactful people along with very purposeful work shaped by my interests and passions. No internship experience directly mirrors another, so I invite you to look into this unique opportunity and discover how you can make it your own. I promise it’s beyond worth it.  

Molly’s Internship Experience
Summer 2019 Interns

I encourage anyone considering applying for an internship at Make-A-Wish to take the chance - for me, it is the best internship experience I’ve ever had.

In summer 2019, I was an intern in both the Program and Development department. During my time, I helped with planning, marketing, and volunteering for the signature fundraising event Over The Edge. I also gained exposure to interacting with wish families, calling local companies for donations, calling airlines to make flight changes, and coordinating logistics for wish reveals.

One of my favorite memories in particular was working on a wish to have a shopping spree. The wish kid wanted to shop at a designer brand at one of the malls, and I was amazed at the store’s generosity when planning his shopping day, which reinforced how a community comes together to make a wish very special.

Although there were so many great moments with helping to grant wishes, there were also challenges. I encountered wish kids who were shy to open up during wish discovery interviews or were nonverbal so I had to learn how to meet them on their communication level. These were experiences I didn’t expect to encounter at the start of my internship, but it was rewarding to learn how to problem solve and think creatively to still provide a great experience for each kid.

As a result of my time at Make-A-Wish, I gained valuable people skills and organization skills. I also loved the positive work environment in the office – everyone was there to help whenever needed, and any time coworkers brought their dogs to the office, it was sure to be a great day.

Although I was a communications major in college, I always knew I wanted to pursue a career path that involves working with kids. Thanks to my time at Make-A-Wish, I was able to find a path that combined both of my passions, and I’m now in graduate school studying to become a child life specialist.

Chad’s Internship Experience
Chad at Zilker Park in Austin, TX

Working at Make-A-Wish was a fun experience, and the company culture was really great. I interned under the Development department during the spring of 2018. I worked on two major events during the semester – Wishes and Dishes and Over The Edge. My favorite memory was working on Wishes and Dishes because it was so cool to see the venue be set up and finished from ground zero. I learned how to make cold calls to ask for donations, and overall improved my professional communication skills.

Having experience working with a nonprofit has been really helpful in my current job in technology sales, where I communicate with nonprofits regularly. The internship was the perfect balance between a fun work environment and learning practical skills. It was also amazing to make a difference for the wish kids in the community with the work I was doing.

Angelica’s Internship Experience
Intern Angelica with Wish Kid

During my final semester in college, I interned with the Program department at Make-A-Wish. My internship came at the perfect time because the experience allowed me to focus on the transition from college to the real world. I love how much of a team aspect Make-A-Wish has and how hard everyone works to make each wish happen. There’s so much that goes into each wish that you wouldn’t know from the outside, and every staff member plays a part to make the wish a special experience for the child and their family.

During my internship, I learned how to communicate to different kinds of people and businesses. It was a really good experience learning how to be a liaison between the wish family, people from the child’s medical team, and various companies. I also learned a lot about the importance of details and how crucial they are to make a wish go from ordinary to extraordinary. By the end of my internship, I was able to help plan some wish reveals from start to finish. My favorite memory was helping with a wish to have a playscape – I was able to practice everything I learned throughout the semester and be part of the wish reveal, where I not only saw all of the work and research I had done become a reality, but also got to see the look on the wish kid’s face when he saw his playscape for the first time. That moment was priceless.

An internship with Make-A-Wish is really special because the work you do is so fulfilling, whether it’s a direct interaction with a wish family or a file organization project, it’s all for such a great purpose. Everything you do and every person you meet matters, and that’s especially true at Make-A-Wish. You get to be a part of making something incredible happen for a wish kid and their family.