Paige McAdams, Communications Intern

My name is Paige McAdam, and I am thrilled to be the new communications intern for the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance. I was born and raised in Los Angeles and moved to Seattle in 2011 to attend Seattle University, where I am now a senior political science major planning to attend law school in the fall. In the long-term, my goal is to provide legal services to those who need it most. My specific areas of interest are in civil rights and bankruptcy law.

I chose to move to Seattle because of the sense of community here, which can be rare in large cities. Four years later, I still see that sense of community every day and am so glad to be a part of it. My time at Seattle University has allowed me to become well versed on social justice issues and has given me a variety of opportunities to work within Seattle. During my freshman year, I was a contributing writer for Seattle-based street newspaper Real Change. I have also worked extensively in youth development, and I currently tutor math and science at Washington Middle School where roughly half of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

I also worked as a mentor and academic tutor at a local nonprofit. The bright, dedicated, and endlessly talented kids that I worked with have inspired me beyond belief. And as cliché as it sounds, I’ve learned more from them then they have from me. As a result, I am extremely passionate about ensuring that all children have access to the resources they need to tap into all their potential.

These experiences showed me the importance of creating dialogue and conversation regarding issues of poverty and homelessness. When I saw the opportunity to work with the Seattle University Project on Family Homelessness, I jumped at the chance to work with others striving to end homelessness. Lack of affordable homes is a huge problem in Washington State, and I believe whole-heartedly that it is a problem with a solution. With over 18,800 people facing homelessness in our state, I believe that we can do better.

I look forward to working with the Housing Alliance and learning more about the ways that systematic inequalities and issues lead to homelessness, as well as the ways that we can prevent this from happening. As a political science major, I have a strong interest in the ways that policy directly affects people, and am so excited to be working with like-minded advocates working towards change in Washington State.

As a communications intern for the alliance, I’ll be working on social media, research, data analysis, graphics, and anything else that comes my way. I am looking forward to learning more about nonprofit communications, and am excited to work with the alliance as well as the Seattle U Project on Family Homelessness and its other partner organizations.