Meet Lily Lind (she/her), Media Intern
Describe your role at The Rowan Center
As the media intern, I go to events and take photos to use for media purposes. I’ll take photos at lectures and edit them, and I took photos at the office to use as background or stock images. And I did portraits of employees and captured the work environment, too.
What initially drew you to The Rowan Center?
I’ve been on the Student Advisory Council for the last year, and I first learned about it through my high school in Westport. Through the SAC, I developed a passion for this cause. When I saw that my summer was open, I spoke to everyone at The Rowan Center and shared what I can do. They had a need for photography, and I had time and space to volunteer.
This year, I’m a senior and I’m serving as a leader of the Student Advisory Council. First, the SAC is mainly about education—what is sexual assault, what are the facts. Then we take that information and knowledge and bring it to our schools. This year, we have 21 members from schools all around our area.
At our schools, we get students and faculty to come to meetings. People from The Rowan Center come in and give talks once every month or two and they help us implement education programs at our schools. Overall, it’s been a great experience. I’ve met so many people from different schools, sharing this common goal.
Can you share something people might not know about The Rowan Center?
Not enough people know it exists, let alone what it does. I think it’s a big thing that people know that it’s not just for women. That’s definitely a misconception overall. And I think The Rowan Center does so much—specifically the hotline—that people get confused. It’s such a wide range!
Tell us about a favorite memory during your time here.
During one of our Student Advisory Council discussion meetings, I remember hearing all these common experiences and it was very disappointing and sad. So many of us have seen this stuff firsthand and we’re so young—we’re in high school. Seeing it click and being like, ‘Whoa, it’s in everyone’s life.’ It drove us to want to spread more information.
Sexual violence is a very common occurrence in high school. My friend told me that in middle school, she would walk down the hallway and four people would grab her butt. In middle school. I’ve gone to a small school my whole life so that never happened to me—simply because it was such a contained environment that you’d get immediately kicked out. So when I started to hear about other stuff, I was shocked. And it wasn’t even traumatic for them. People laughed about it like, ‘Remember the memories from middle school?’ And I was like, ‘Whoa. Something is very wrong here.’
In the beginning, I didn’t know that a lot of things were considered sexual assault—I had no idea. I’m a big feminist and I was outwardly searching for information, and I didn’t even know. Others who aren’t looking have no idea—and they need to know the most. But it wasn’t sad, it was a moment of empowerment. We’re going to stop this. All of us on the Student Advisory Council are taking our experiences and making changes with them after all the meetings. It’s rewarding to know you’re doing something important.
What makes The Rowan Center special?
I truly think it’s the people that are involved. Most nonprofits have great people, and my experience working with every person at The Rowan Center is that they truly have this empathy to them. A selflessness. They put a lot of time into their team. They bring in people who are truly for the cause. I’ve never had a bad experience with anyone.
Lightning round questions
Do you have any hobbies?
I play volleyball and I love to scuba dive. And obviously, photography is also one of my hobbies. Last summer, I went to The Island School— it’s a semester abroad in the Bahamas—and I learned how to scuba dive there. I dove with 10 sharks around me!
Where should people eat, what should people do, or where should people go if they visit your community?
I’m biased. I’ve moved 17 times in this county. I’m currently living in Rowayton—it’s a tiny beach town, kind of like Cape Cod, but it’s here. The farmers market on Fridays is a definite. Go hiking at the Devil’s Den preserve. Maybe Greenwich Avenue during Christmastime because they put out all these lights on the trees and it’s like it’s out of a movie. And go to one of our fairs.
What is something that you are learning or very curious about?
I’m making a lot of scones (lemon lavender poppyseed!) and matcha lattes (iced lavender with oat milk!). Perfecting those is on my list. I also recently got a job working at Aerie in the mall, so I’m learning how to be part of that and work with customers. I am reading a book called AI in the Wild about how artificial intelligence interacts with sustainability. And I’m also trying to learn how to drive stick.