Name: Niyati Bantval
Class Year: 2025
Major: Health, Culture, & Community (Independent Major)
Hometown: Plainsboro, NJ
Internship Organization: Maternity Care Coalition
Job Title: Community Engagement Services Intern
Location: Philadelphia, PA
What's happening at your internship? We would love to hear what kind of work you are doing!
At Maternity Care Coalition (MCC), I am working with the awesome and passionate community engagement services team to organize resource and service distribution. MCC offers around 23 different services through their MOMobile, home visiting, and community support group programs annually to over 5,000 families in and around Philly. To facilitate in ensuring that everyone who needs services receives them, the community engagement services team acts as a bridge between the organization and families looking for support. This is where our primary role of outreach comes in! I’ve participated in different outreach events — like at the community baby shower organized by Senator Sharif Street and health clinics in Philly. Outside of this more hands-on work, I’ve helped with administrative and organizational tasks as well. For example, restructuring spreadsheets to be more digestible and researching possible outreach locations in other Southeastern PA counties to expand MCC outreach efforts.
Why did you apply for this internship?
I applied to this internship because I’ve heard a lot about Maternity Care Coalition from the Career and Civic Engagement Center. So when I got into the Summer of Service Program, they were the first organization I applied to, and I’m so appreciative of working with them. As a Health, Culture, & Community independent major, one of my main interests is maternal health, and within that, I am interested in understanding how social determinants impact maternal healthcare access and outcomes. Maternity Care Coalition approaches maternal health from the policy and social support side of things — for example, rather than providing clinical patient care, they provide free access to doulas, health advocates, cribs, diapers, prenatal appointments, positive parenting classes, childcare, and more. In turn, all of this contributes to healthier births and babies in a way that solely medical care cannot. This has expanded and heightened my notion of what public health looks like, making me more excited for a future in maternal care advocacy and community health.
What has been your favorite part of this internship?
My favorite part has definitely been the people I am working with. I love my supervisor— her passion and support have been crucial to my growth. Additionally, I love the non-hierarchical nature of the CES team. We are always encouraged to share ideas, feedback, suggestions, and questions whether you have been working for a few days or a few years. I also appreciate the fact that the demographic of the organization’s employees reflects the demographics of the communities we serve. Further, one of MCC’s core values is preserving the autonomy of parents. This means that rather than deciding what parents and their babies need, MCC steps in to support wherever families feel they need support most. I also love to attend outreach events and meet soon-to-be parents and grandparents, sharing in the collective anticipation for their baby!
Can you give us three adjectives and three nouns that describe your internship experience?
Collaborative, epic (!), supportive
Agency, opportunity, passion
Visit the Summer Internship Stories page to read more about student internship experiences.