Introducing Your Summer Interns: Olu and Diogo
By Olu Oladunjoye and Diogo Tavares
Earlier this year, BuyBlack NB was awarded a grant from the United Way of Greater New Bedford’s Community Building Mini-Grants Program.
Mini-Grants Program has granted over $760,000 for local community projects science 1995. According to the United Way of Greater New Bedford, “these projects range from garden projects and healthier living programs to outreach campaigns and family engagement opportunities.”
BuyBlack NB applied this grant to a summer internship program, and we are your new (paid!) interns! We’re so grateful for this opportunity and excited to get to work with this community. We took some time to introduce ourselves below.
This summer we are learning about organization building, community engagement, and content creation. You’ll be seeing our names pop up on the blog and social media as content creators.
Big thanks to the United Way of Greater New Bedford for their support, and to you, readers, for helping create an amazing community.
Get to know Olu
What’s your name?
My name is Oluwafunto Oladunjoye, but I prefer to be called Olu.
Where and what are you studying?
I am a rising senior at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. I am majoring in Health and Society and also minor in business management.
Why did you decide to apply to the internship program?
I decided to apply because an internship is a good way to explore and expand on what I want to do in the future. I hope to broaden my understanding on how businesses are set up and also improve on my communication skills and learn from other businesses.
Where do you see yourself in the near future? (Say in 5 years)
My plan is to own my own business that supports and gives back to the community because most big businesses don’t care about the community.
What does Black Business mean to you?
To me Black business means that when one of us wins, we all win. Black businesses are inspiring because young people aspiring to be successful see people that look like them. This will give them hope and help them believe that they can make it too.
What skills do you want to develop during your internship?
I want to get a better understanding on how to grow a business and how to reach and be able tobuild a trusting relationship between the business owners and the customers.
What are your strengths?
One of my biggest strengths is my determination.
Does America need Black businesses? Why are Black Owned Businesses so important?
If you see a lot of the businesses today, most of them are not owned by a diverse group of people. It’s very encouraging to see a more diverse community of business owners. Like people from our community being successful just sounds really amazing you know? Like knowing someone even born from nothing can make it.
Your favorite writer?
My favorite writer of all time is Maya Angelou and it will forever be her. I love her so much and she really inspires me.
What do you hope to gain from this internship?
I want to learn from other Black-owned businesses and see how they started and what it took to get where they are. I want to be my own boss but that also helps to give back to the community. Growing up I was just taught to be a certain way and act a certain way. I wasn’t allowed to think for myself, but I didn’t like being placed in that kind of box. I want to own my own business someday but that to me just doesn’t mean owning a business. To me it means financial freedom, smart and helpful decision making, building an empire and also having the opportunity to support the people around me and help lift each other up. Each time someone in our community makes it, we all benefit from it. I like to think of it like a tree, each business is like a tree branch and each branch is connected. We are one big community, each branch supports the other and holds each other up. This can help me expand on ideas for the future.
What are your hobbies?
I like reading because sometimes I can imagine myself as a character from the book that I am reading. Writing because it allows me to be able to express myself through multiple ways like music and poetry. Dancing is another one of my favorite hobbies because it allows me to physically express myself and let my emotions out. It is also a form of therapy for me, it helps keep me calm and distracted.
Get to know Diogo
What’s your name?
My name is Diogo Fernandes Tavares. No hyphen because I like them separate.
Where and what are you studying?
I am a rising Sophomore studying journalism at Emerson College.
Why did you decide to apply to the internship program?
I decided to apply to the internship to grow my skill set and develop new techniques in storytelling.
Where do you see yourself in the near future? (Say in 5 years)
I see myself in the next five years with much more joy in life. Probably because I’ll have a couple of pet cats.
What does Black Business mean to you?
Black Business means home to me. When I walk into the door of a Black business, I feel attached like a branch on a tree. I feel a part of a system of love like a real home. I want to function plus strive then thrive in that environment.
What skills do you want to develop during your internship?
Developing my storytelling is important to me. To accomplish developing storytelling that means using new media, new philosophies, and new perspectives.
What are your strengths?
My love for risks and my need to be proactive instead of being reactive.
Does America need Black businesses? Why are Black Owned Businesses so important?
Yes. Black Owned Businesses provide resources to everyone in the community. The young and the old. Black Owned Businesses provide safe places for innovative minds who seek to enhance their community through zealous entrepreneurship.
Your favorite writer?
My favorite writer is Hermann Hesse.
What do you hope to gain from this internship?
I hope to garner new relationships from this internship by interviewing local Black Businesses.
What are your hobbies?
My hobbies: reading, photography, watching movies and drawing.