JASC Legacy Center Intern Projects

JASC Legacy Center Intern Projects

Summer 2026 Projects

This June, JASC welcomed a new cohort of Summer 2026 interns who have quickly become an integral part of our team. Throughout the summer, they have taken on a variety of projects aimed at expanding JASC’s visibility and strengthening our connections throughout the Chicago community. From increasing awareness of essential programs such as Adult Day Services and Home Support Services to developing social media content, conducting community outreach, and supporting day-to-day initiatives, their work is helping ensure more individuals and families know about the resources and services JASC provides. We are grateful for their dedication and excited to share a closer look at the projects each intern has been leading.

Project Highlights

Elevating Community Connections: Expanding Outreach in Chicago’s Cultural Hubs

by Teddy Gutstein

This summer, JASC welcomed a dynamic cohort of interns dedicated to strengthening our community ties and expanding the reach of our vital programs. One of our standout internship projects focused on strategic, face-to-face community outreach to raise awareness for JASC’s diverse offerings, with a special emphasis on our premier Adult Day Services (ADS), the 8am-4pm senior center located at 5700 North Lincoln featuring, Karaoke, game shows, dancing and a strict “NO TV policy” unless related to an activity.

True outreach is about building relationships, not just distributing paper. Our intern took a hyper-localized, culturally nuanced approach to connecting with families and older adults in three of Chicago’s most diverse neighborhoods: Albany Park, West Ridge, and Lincoln Square.

[ Neighborhood Mapping ] ➔ [ Cultural Tailoring ] ➔ [ Strategic Partnerships ]
  Albany Park / West Ridge      Tagalog & English Flyers      High-Traffic Community Hubs
Strategic Mapping and Cultural Tailoring
Instead of blanket-bombing every storefront with generic flyers, this project relied on precise audience targeting. Our intern meticulously researched and built a prioritized database of community anchors where families and seniors naturally gather, including:
  • Cultural Hubs: Filipino restaurants, markets, and bakeries.
  • Spiritual & Civic Spaces: Local churches and public libraries.
  • Care Networks: Senior-serving organizations.

To ensure the messaging resonated deeply, the outreach was fully customized. Our intern led with Tagalog-language flyers at Filipino-owned businesses and utilized English versions at general community locations, ensuring language was a bridge, not a barrier, to accessing care.

Quality Engagement Over Quantity
Rather than simply dropping off stacks of paper, our intern focused on meaningful, in-person engagement. Key tactics included:
  • Seeking Permissions: Speaking directly with business owners to secure space on high-visibility community boards.
  • Navigating Corporate Channels: Initiating formal outreach and emailing corporate contacts at major hubs, such as Seafood City, to establish long-term, compliant partnerships.
  • Building Trust: Acting as a warm, knowledgeable ambassador for JASC to answer immediate questions from community members.
The Impact
By identifying high-traffic, trusted spots and respecting proper community channels, this project successfully put JASC’s Adult Day Services on the radar of families who need them most. It stands as a testament to the high-impact, real-world work our interns drive every summer. Strengthening JASC’s mission while developing invaluable skills in grassroots marketing, cultural competency, and community organizing.
To learn more about how we nurture future leaders, check out our internship and volunteer opportunities. If you or a loved one could benefit from our programs, explore our Adult Day Services today.

“We didn’t just drop off flyers, we actually built relationships.”

“As a high school junior, getting to lead this project for JASC was an incredible experience. I focused on strategic, in-person outreach to really grow awareness for our fantastic Adult Day Services. I mapped out and prioritized Filipino restaurants, markets, bakeries, churches, and senior organizations across Albany Park, West Ridge, and Lincoln Square.
Instead of just blanketing every storefront, I targeted spaces where families and seniors actually gather. I made sure our messaging was culturally respectful, leading with our Tagalog flyer at Filipino businesses and English at general community locations.
Rather than leaving messy stacks of paper, I always asked to speak with managers or post on community boards. For huge partners like Seafood City, I even navigated their proper corporate channels by emailing ahead for permission. I’m so proud of how this project built genuine trust and connected these vibrant neighborhoods directly to JASC!”
Teddy Gutstein, JASC Summer Intern & Evanston Township High School Junior (rising)

Strengthening Digital Visibility: Expanding JASC’s Online Reach

by Louis Chen

This summer, JASC interns not only strengthened community connections on the ground, but also expanded our digital presence to ensure families can find our services when they need them most. One standout project focused on enhancing JASC’s online visibility through strategic search engine optimization (SEO), improving how our organization appears across search platforms and directories.
[ Profile Optimization ] ➔ [ Keyword Strategy ] ➔ [ Website Enhancement ]
Business Listings & Maps Search Visibility • On-Page SEO Improvements
Strategic Optimization and Platform Management
Rather than taking a passive approach to JASC’s digital footprint, our intern conducted a comprehensive audit and update of external business listings. This included:
• Identifying 25 potential partner organizations and resource-listing opportunities.
• Claiming and updating profiles across major platforms such as Yelp, charity directories, and map services.
• Ensuring consistent, up-to-date information, including JASC’s new location and program details.
• Strengthening off-page SEO to improve credibility and search rankings.
Targeted SEO Enhancements
To improve how JASC appears in search results, this project focused on both research and implementation:
• Identifying high-impact keywords aligned with JASC’s services and audience needs.
• Analyzing 61 JASC web pages and identifying 29 high-priority pages for improvement.
• Writing and integrating effective meta titles and descriptions across key website pages.
• Enhancing on-page SEO to increase visibility and user engagement.
Quality Over Visibility Alone
Rather than simply increasing the number of listings, this work emphasized accuracy, consistency, and strategic relevance. By aligning JASC’s digital presence across platforms, the project ensures that families searching for services can find reliable, clear information quickly.
The Impact
By strengthening both on-page and off-page SEO, this project significantly improved JASC’s digital discoverability. It ensures that our programs—especially essential services like Adult Day Services—are more accessible to those searching online, complementing our on-the-ground outreach efforts.
This work highlights how interns contribute meaningful, behind-the-scenes impact, building critical infrastructure that supports JASC’s mission and long-term growth.
“As a recent high school graduate intern at JASC, I focused on improving our online visibility through SEO strategies. I worked on claiming and updating business profiles across platforms like Yelp, charity directories, and map listings to make sure our information, especially our new location, was accurate and up-to-date.

 

I also researched relevant keywords and updated website pages to have meta titles and descriptions to improve our search rankings. This experience showed me how important it is not just to have great programs, but to make sure people can actually discover them online. I’m proud that my work helps connect more families to JASC’s services.”
Louis Chen, JASC Summer Intern & rising first year at Northwestern University

2022 Projects

Intern Projects

From June to August 2022, the Legacy Center offered a special internship program for an inaugural cohort of six interns and one community fellow. Over the course of eight weeks, the participants learned about archival research, narrative structure and storytelling, and audiovisual production, developing their skills through a series of hands-on activities. They also had the opportunity to meet scholars and professionals from a variety of fields and engage with members of the Chicago Japanese American community. By the end of the program, each intern produced a short audio or video project touching on themes of wartime incarceration and/or resettlement, and featuring materials from the Legacy Center’s collections.

The program concluded with a public screening event on August 4th, 2022. To view a recording of the event, which includes all six projects and a Q&A session with the interns, please click here. To view the projects individually in their final, complete forms, please see below.

JASC is grateful to the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, for making the 2022 internship program possible through a Japanese American Confinement Sites (JACS) grant. We hope to offer this program again in the future!

Audio Projects

Multigenerational Voices: How History is Passed From One Generation to the Next

by Savvy Mahr-Threw

For a full transcript, please click here.

This podcast episode focuses on the stories of Tonko and SJ Doi, a grandmother and granddaughter both impacted by Japanese American incarceration during World War II. In this piece, Savvy explores how multigenerational and historical trauma has impacted the passage of their stories, and how Tonko and SJ have become the remarkable people that they are today.

Making Home From Nothing: The Environments of Japanese American Incarceration and Their Legacies

by Brittany Murphy

For a full transcript, please click here.

Making Home From Nothing is a short, 15-minute podcast piece that explores themes of what makes a home a home during forced Japanese American incarceration. Through the lens of the Izui family, this podcast explores the varied complexities of individual lived experiences. The podcast paints immersive scenes through real historical documents from the Izui family’s collections, including letters and newsletters, alongside bureaucratic documents from the War Relocation Authority to explore competing perspectives and depictions.

Listen to brothers Victor Sumio Izui and George Kiyoshi Izui write letters to their uncle about the crummy Idaho weather and the packages of handcrafted items received from their father at Department of Justice camps and imagine the scenes they depict. Despite being torn away from their homes, members of the Izui family bring with them their various personal interests and talents, which they then use to influence the environment around them.

Internment in Okinawa – Episode 1: Photo Album

by Toy Suliman

For a full transcript and supplemental information, please click here.

When it comes to WWII incarceration, most people think about the Japanese Americans who were imprisoned in camps across the U.S., not knowing it also happened on an island across the world. Join host Toy Suliman as she examines the mementos of army veteran, Jerry Jiro Katayama, and discovers an unrecognized side of incarceration history: U.S. military internment camps in Okinawa. In the first episode of what she hopes to turn into a limited series, follow Toy as she deciphers a mysterious photo album and draws together the stories of three different people during WWII.

Video Projects

The Flowers of Missoula

by Arielle Josephine Alibudbud

This short video features the artwork of Mikisaburo Izui, a Japanese immigrant to the United States who was incarcerated during WWII. This video features several items from the Izui Family papers and photographs collection in the archives of the JASC Legacy Center. “The Flowers of Missoula,” explores the intersections of knowledge, environment, and beauty. Through the focus of Izui’s painted rocks, viewers are invited to appreciate his deep botanical knowledge and his ability to find beauty even in the dire environment in which he was forced to live.

Loads of Luck!

by Joshua Reynes

In 1943, Butte High School students of Gila River War Relocation Center published their first yearbook, the Year’s Flight. Follow JASC Legacy Center Summer Intern (and former yearbook staff member at his own high school) Joshua Reynes as he flips through and transports you back into the “All American High School experience” – an ideal further complicated by the FDR administration’s mass incarceration of Japanese Americans. The contents of each page may surprise you.

Lima Bean Manju and the History of Japanese American Food

by Teddy Wu

Join JASC Legacy Center Summer Intern Teddy Wu for this short instructional cooking video for Lima Bean Manju. Through the lens of this sweet treat, he explores the history of Japanese American cuisine, the fusion and friction between two cultures, and food’s role in preserving and proliferating a community’s way of life in the face of postwar resettlement and assimilation.

This material is based upon work assisted by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

This material received Federal financial assistance for the preservation and interpretation of U.S. confinement sites where Japanese Americans were detained during World War II. Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended, the U.S. Department of the Interior prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability or age in its federally funded assisted projects. If you believe you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility as described above, or if you desire further information, please write to:

Office of Equal Opportunity
National Park Service
1849 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20240