January Alumni Spotlight: Nini Kintsuraschvili (Northwood High School)

This month’s Alumni Spotlight shines on Nini Kintsuraschvili, a Civics and Citizenship graduate from Northwood High School.

Nini is a 2013 Graduate of the University of Maryland, receiving her Bachelors in Finance and International Business and a 2018 Graduate of the ESADE Business & Law School in Spain, receiving her Masters in Business Administration. She is currently employed as a Regional Operations Manager for Uber Eats in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

We spoke to Nini about her journey and here is what she had to say:

"I was born in a small country called Georgia in Eastern Europe and moved to the United States at 16 years old. As most of you can closely relate, it was quite challenging to get used to studying at an American high school and making new friends. I joined a youth program run by the Maryland Multicultural Youth Center in Silver Spring that helped me connect with Liberty's Promise.

LP helped me gain meaningful work experiences through their professional internship program [Opportunities Plus]. One of my favorite internships was with gandhibrigade.org, where I learned to make short documentaries. I am forever thankful for my mentor Richard Jaeggi, who was the founder of the Gandhi Brigade.

"In addition to the internships, I was also exposed to different educational and employment opportunities. I had the opportunity to visit colleges, talk to counselors, and get referred to different local businesses for part-time jobs or paid internships. This helped me build my resume and tell a good story in my college applications. I also made many friends in this program as we all met weekly to play games, learn and so on.

Besides saying that it’s very important to get good grades, my advice to all young people at Liberty’s Promise would be to stay engaged and informed. Talk to the counselors and your peers to find out about new educational and career opportunities.

During my senior year in high school, one of my teachers referred me to a program that allowed me to take a college course at the University of Maryland College Park while still in HS (this was also possible because of my good GPA). Once I completed the course with a good grade, it was then super easy for me to get accepted to UMD because I had already proven myself."