2024 Summer Internship Program

We are no longer accepting applications for our 2024 Summer Internship program.

Contact AFC’s Volunteer Department
For more information, please contact AFC’s Volunteer Department at volunteer@arlingtonfreeclinic.org or 703-979-1425, ext. 147. Thank you for your interest in internships at Arlington Free Clinic!

Sofia – Women’s Health Intern

What a privilege it has been to work as part of the AFC team for these past two summers. Words cannot begin to express the overwhelming gratitude I have for the experiences and profound connections I have made. This summer, I was able to expand my knowledge base by continuing the ongoing work of running the Women’s Health Clinic. Whether it be by assisting with intake, interpreting for our patients, or training to be able to access Epic, I was given ample opportunity to see all aspects of the healthcare process and work closely with staff and providers. I was also given the opportunity to contribute to an ongoing study by Georgetown University wherein I made screening calls to determine our female patients’ risk of breast and ovarian cancer, thereby providing them access to free genetic testing to determine risk.

Thank you to my incredibly knowledgeable, intelligent, and compassionate supervisors Luisa and Kennya. I know everything I do because of you two and I could not be more grateful. Thank you also to the rest of the AFC team for making my time here an unforgettable experience. I will miss you all and I can’t wait to see how I’ll use my newfound knowledge in pursuit of my career in medicine!

Jaqueline – Clinical Intern 

I’ve had the chance to increase my medical knowledge while working at the Arlington Free Clinic. Serving as an interpreter for the afternoon clinic sessions gave me the opportunity to gain knowledge about some of the issues that AFC clients encounter on a regular basis. The clinic manages to continue giving its patients the love and care they require despite having few resources, which is an amazing feat that I enjoyed being a part of. Not only did I contribute to the clinical side of things, but I also helped with other tasks like calling patients who qualified for certain vaccinations or even skin cancer screenings. Through the phone calls, I also had the chance to educate patients and myself about the benefits of each vaccination and the necessity of getting a skin cancer screening test. I also had to exercise my creative side by making a flyer for the flu shot that would inspire patients to take action to prevent others—and, more importantly, themselves—from contracting the illness. Finally, I recently had the chance to assist in the launch of a “Move Health Program.” The program’s goals are to make exercise enjoyable for patients and to give them nutritional advice on how to maintain good health. Overall, through my involvement with AFC, I have learned a ton about who I want to be and what I want to do in the future. I’ve also enjoyed my time here because the AFC family has adopted me and has shown me love and encouragement to keep working hard in my studies and to never settle for less.

Cate – Development Intern 

This summer I was given the opportunity to intern with the Development Team to help plan the annual AFC gala. Some of my work has included soliciting items for the gala, helping to create the auction catalogue, and attending gala/staff meetings. I really enjoyed all the work I have done, and I have learned a lot by getting to see the behind-the-scenes work that goes into operating a health non-profit. This has been a very rewarding experience as I know that all the work at the clinic is for such a great cause. There is a very strong sense of community between the staff, patients, and volunteers at the clinic and it has been great to witness this first-hand. This opportunity has been a great way for me to give back to the Arlington community!

Emilú – Behavioral Health Intern 

This summer at AFC, I was given the opportunity to work on a variety of different projects. I helped coordinate food and rental assistance referrals, facilitated and interpreted virtual and in-person sessions/appointments, researched and organized behavioral health resources, and more. I was also able to shadow Terry, the nurse practitioner, and gain great clinical experience. I loved working with all the patients, staff, and volunteers. AFC performs essential and meaningful work for the Arlington community, and I feel very fortunate to have been able to contribute to this.

Neha – Finance Intern 

This summer, I had the amazing opportunity to learn about what it takes to run a free healthcare clinic. I worked alongside the Director of Finance, Daphne Edwin, on a donated services project where I contacted doctors’ offices to gather millions of dollars worth of donated services and medications in the past year. A free clinic doesn’t functionally run without the services from these various offices and providers. I was tasked with collecting these records to prepare for the annual audit. During this experience, I enhanced my communication skills as I had to call and email providers to gather information. This unique experience expanded my horizons and gave me a glimpse of the non-medical side of the healthcare field. Arlington Free Clinic has strengthened my passion and interest to be in the healthcare field and shown me the benefits of serving local underserved communities.

Sofia – Women’s Health Intern

It has been an incredible opportunity to learn from and work alongside so many amazing medical professionals and staff this summer. The team at this clinic is truly a well-oiled machine and through my work at the clinic this summer I have learned what it takes to be an effective member of a medical team. Everyone is so willing to collaborate and help each other out while expertly fulfilling their roles. So much work is done behind the scenes to make sure the clinic runs smoothly. From scheduling mammograms and fulfilling Medical Assistant duties for the Women’s Health Clinic, to telehealth facilitating and scribing for different providers, I have learned what it takes to be a compassionate and effective member of a healthcare team. I am so grateful not only for the time and care the staff put in to helping me learn my role, but also for the care they put in treating our patients. I hope to be back soon!

Kristin – Behavioral Health & Clinical Admin Intern

This summer at AFC I split my time between behavioral health and administration work. On my behavioral health days, I carried out mental health pre-screening calls which improved my Spanish and taught me how to handle occasionally difficult situations with patients. I also created fliers for local mental health resources and had the chance to shadow psychiatric and therapy sessions. On my administrative days I helped out in different parts of the clinic. This included taking inventory in the pharmacy, sorting children’s book donations, and organizing volunteer and staff data for the website. I’m so thankful for the opportunity I’ve had to work with AFC, and I plan to continue volunteering with the behavioral health program through the school year!

Rupa – Finance Intern

This summer, I have been working closely with Coralie on the donated services project. I contacted physician’s offices to collect several million dollars’ worth of donated services over the last fiscal year. I was amazed at the amount of time and resources donated to support AFC patients. I also spent my summer facilitating some of the clinic’s telehealth appointments. I was able to observe how the providers were able to assess, treat, and reassure patients despite the language barrier. I enjoyed being able to use my Spanish to assist patients, which has definitely increased my confidence in using the language. I loved meeting the patients, staff, and other interns which contributed greatly to the sense of community at AFC.

Cristina – Move to Health Intern

This summer I had been working with the AFC’s Move to Health program. I assisted with calling current and potential patients in the program to evaluate program interest and satisfaction. I also helped coordinate activities for the program and taught a few of the weekly exercise classes. Using my Spanish was crucial for communicating with patients in order to provide them with information on the importance of exercise and nutrition, as well as scheduling appointments for COVID-19 testing. Working for AFC during a global pandemic had its challenges, however all the staff were ready to help and made this a valuable experience for myself and the other interns. I felt like I was able to contribute to the clinic’s mission and positively impact the patients in MTH. I will continue to volunteer at the clinic as an exercise coach for MTH. Thank you to the clinic staff for an amazing summer!

Pooja – Women’s Health Intern

During the summer of 2020, I was given the opportunity to be a student intern for the Women’s Health program at Arlington Free Clinic. I assisted on a series of different projects that pertained to spreading awareness of women’s health education and overall breast health. One of my assigned projects consisted of calling and scheduling patients residing in Arlington. Communicating with patients for this project better enhanced my fluency in Spanish within a professional healthcare setting through the introduction of medical terminology alongside being introduced to the process of data entry. I also worked on making informative flyers and brochures, in both English and Spanish, that were readily distributed amongst the patients of AFC. In addition to the clinical work, I assisted AFC’s volunteer program by auditing and organizing the back-end of the volunteer database. I am genuinely thankful for this internship as I was introduced to telemedicine, data analysis, and imperative medical terminology. The past two months have bolstered my passion for pursuing a career in public health and clinical health research after graduating from George Mason University.  

Pamela –  Clinical Intern

Under AFC’s internship program, I was able to interpret for a psychiatrist and a psychiatric nurse practitioner, as well as a primary care doctor during my training. Witnessing these professionals interact with patients and being able to translate for patients, has confirmed my desire to work in the medical field someday. In addition to my work in the Behavioral Health Program, I made phone calls to patients about coronavirus testing, and worked with the Pharmacy team auditing medications and pricing. The internship was ultimately an informative opportunity that I won’t forget and has helped me to finalize my professional goals for the future. 

Danny – Finance Intern

Arlington Free Clinic exemplifies the inclusive environment expected of a workplace. During this internship, I worked under the Director of Finance and assisted with the collection of records of donated services in preparation for the annual audit. Since the beginning of work this summer, my time management has markedly improved. My interpersonal skills such as public speaking, administrative leadership, and oral communicative skills required for effective phone conversations were enriched each day. Most importantly, the clinic has expanded my career goals to help vulnerable populations in medical school and beyond. This includes helping to lead social safety nets for underrepresented minorities, immigrants, and the underinsured. Inspired by Arlington Free Clinic, my remaining time at UVA will be spent working towards making as large of an impact as possible on the Charlottesville community. My goal is to increase accessible mental health services and lead linguistically diverse healthcare systems of the future. 

Lila – Development Intern

This summer I spent my time working closely with the Development department at the clinic. I was initially drawn to this internship because I want to start a career working in the business of health care, and my internship with the clinic only deepened that. I have worked to research and solicit local businesses, organize donor information in Raiser’s Edge, assist with social media, brainstorm ideas for the annual benefit and gala, compile information on grant opportunities, and best of all have the experience of working with an amazing team. I will always value this experience as a great look into the development aspect of health care. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know different staff members in the clinic as well.  

Aiman – Notre Dame Pharmacy Student

Pursuing a summer internship here at AFC allowed me to experience a unique pharmacy community setting. During my time as an intern here I learned what it is like to run a non-profit pharmacy and how different drugs are acquired at the pharmacy. Donations through vendors, drug companies, and donations all make a difference.I also had the opportunity to check prescriptions while filling the medications, and before the pharmacist did the last verification. These opportunities allowed me early exposures to verifying orders, making sure drugs are being dispensed for the correct therapeutic setting, and most importantly to observe first hand the responsibilities of a pharmacist in a free clinic. I plan to volunteer at the AFC after I graduate pharmacy school because of the positive impact it can make in the community and the lovely experiences and interactions I have had.

Ciaran – College of Wooster Student

I was initially drawn to the clinic as an opportunity to dip my toe in the non-profit sector, and when I applied to intern in March 2019 I was already familiar with the stellar work they had done and was happy to help in any way I could. Since then, my internship with the development office has given me a practical understanding of non-profit fundraising; I’ve worked to compile information on various charitable foundations, organize individual donor contacts in Raiser’s Edge, and solicit local businesses for donations and auction gifts for our 2019 gala. It’s been deeply satisfying to contribute my labor to a humanitarian project like the Arlington Free Clinic, and I’ve cherished this opportunity to gain hands-on workplace experience before I dive head-first into my senior thesis!

Ingrid – James Madison University Pre-PA Student

So far this summer I have been working on a lot of different projects. These include creating a bilingual presentation for patients on the importance of sunscreen usage and learning about fatty liver disease to call patients to inform them of a presentation on the topic. Other tasks I have done include calling patients for appointment reminders and data entry. I have really enjoyed getting to work with the staff and learn how the clinic operates. This has been a great first experience working in the health care field!

Zoe – Occidental College Student

This past summer I was one of the Clinic’s women’s health interns. I assisted with the GYN clinics and Breast Health Outreach Clinics. During the clinics, I worked as a Spanish interpreter. This was a wonderful opportunity because I knew that I was directly impacting the lives of these women in a positive way. Additionally, I was able to make personal and unforgettable connections with the patients as they would often tell me life stories while we were waiting for the doctor.       During the day I worked on a number of projects. One project that I enjoyed working on was sorting through the Clinic’s female patients and contacting (mostly in Spanish) those that were due for GYN related procedures and screenings. I enjoyed doing this because similar to interpreting,  I felt like I was able to make a difference in the lives of these women.  The copious number of calls that I made all paid off at the end of each call when patients were so very grateful that the clinic had reached out to them.

Jana – Virginia Tech Student

This summer I’ve been working closely with Bronwyn, AFC’s Events Manager, and Alicia and Megan too. I’ve always been drawn to nonprofit causes, so interning this summer with the Development Office has been really eye-opening in that I’ve been able to see how fundraising and event planning works in such a well-established organization. I’ve been helping AFC prepare for our Annual Benefit Gala in October, including soliciting donation requests and sponsors. From my first day, I have felt a strong sense of community at the Clinic which makes interning here a very rewarding experience and gives me an idea of what it means to be a part of something bigger than yourself.

Danielle – George Mason University Community Health Student

During my internship I’ve had the opportunity to do several projects. One of the biggest projects was going through the pharmacy’s inventory and finding out the medications on each shelf and the total worth of the inventory. I’ve also helped at the front desk with receiving patients, helping patients fill out paperwork, and making dentist appointments. I have also made phone calls to patients, reminding them of their appointments. In the evenings, I have also volunteered as an interpreter. I have enjoyed interacting and getting to know AFC volunteers and staff. My greatest satisfaction is found in serving the patients at the clinic.

Reva – University of Virginia Student

This summer I’ve been working on the donated services project with Coralie. I collect three to four million dollars worth of physician hours donated to the clinic over the fiscal year. I have also worked on analyzing data from the Move to Health program to figure out if patients were improving their health through the program.  I’ve really enjoyed learning about the non-medical side of healthcare and what it takes to keep a clinic running.

Sydney – University of Texas Nursing Student

This summer I have been working with Kennya Alvardo as a Women’s Health Intern. On Thursday’s, I assist Kennya and Luisa in helping run the Breast health or Gynecology clinics. When I’m not assisting with the clinics, I do a lot of data entry for the clinics patients and help organize and schedule patients for future clinics. This summer I was also able to scribe for a doctor, which I loved! Being able to shadow under a RN this summer has been such great exposure and experience for my studies. I am so lucky I spent my summer with AFC!

Allen – George Washington University Medical Student

This past year I started med school, and I wanted to try and come back to volunteer at AFC but couldn’t find the time. I figured maybe summertime would be the best time to come back and help out. Before med school, I had a background in finance and information systems, so because of that I was able to understand everything that was going on with the new volunteer scheduling system. Helping people work through the system and getting them established has been rewarding as well. Also, just getting to know the non-medical staff has been great. When I used to volunteer on the clinic side I didn’t really get a chance to interact with them, but now I’m able to interact with these wonderful people and see them more often.

Sonika – Virginia Commonwealth University Psychology/Pre-Med Student

I’m Coralie’s (AFC’s Director of Finances & Human Resources) intern, so I’m helping with that this summer. I manage the project collecting data on all of the donated medical services that we get from practices in the community. I track them down and ask them to provide information on the value of the donated services they gave to the Clinic over the past year. I enjoyed seeing how it all works; not just the medical part, but the whole financial aspect of it too, because it’s all holistic. I always dig knowing everything about how something works.

Alyssa –  George Washington University Medical Student

One of the best things I’ve gained during my time here is a sense of certainty. When I went into medical school I had an idea that I wanted to go into a primary care field and work in a preventive medicine atmosphere. But it wasn’t really until I got to spend my time here that I became very certain that that is what I wanted to do. So the environment, the people that I work with, and the patients that show up at the clinic have really solidified my aspirations.

Gabi – George Mason University Health Administration

I work with Marlene Alvarez. She’s the clinic’s Eligibility Specialist. I help her with files, entering patient data onto the system, and soon, hopefully, I will also be conducting interviews with the patients for registration. I’ve always wanted to help people, so I went with health administration.

Matt – George Washington University Masters of Public Health Student

As part of my school requirements, I have to do a practicum in a public health setting. My wife works at Virginia Hospital Center as a social worker, so she introduced me to some of the community work that that hospital does. I met with them to find out if I could play a role in using my practicum to help them connect with the community and was directed towards Arlington Free Clinic. I work with Sheila Ryan, Director of Clinical Services, in helping the Clinic understand the volume of its patients that may be going to the ER for what could be a preventable visit. That’s an issue that a lot of communities and health systems are looking at. I’m helping us dig into the data and think through strategies to help connect our patients with care and resources so that they don’t feel like they have to go to the ER.

During her internship at Arlington Free Clinic, Katrina volunteered as an interpreter, led waiting room presentations for patients on topics such as stress management, and updated the patient white board (see pic). But what she loved the most was getting to know all the wonderful volunteers, patients, and staff at AFC.

Over the course of the summer Elizabeth coordinated the gathering of info on over $4M of donated services to Arlington Free Clinic. Thank you to all of our providers of pro bono medical care and thanks for your help with this big project, Elizabeth!

Louisa studies Biology and Health & Society at Southern Methodist University, and plans on going to Medical School. Louisa’s favorite thing about her internship is working in the pharmacy and medical clinic. “I love interacting with the patients, giving them their medication, and meeting the volunteer doctors” she said. “It’s been a great summer at AFC.”

Murphy is studying Biology and Medicine & Society at Virginia Tech, and plans on going to Medical School. Murphy’s favorite thing about her internship is teaching a breast health education class on Thursdays. “When I’m a doctor, I hope to come back and volunteer here,” she said. “It’s a really special place.

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