We’re excited to introduce Helen Foster, one of our fall interns! Learn more about her role as an intern, what she does for fun, and the most helpful piece of advice she’s ever received.

Tell us about your new role at Holistic! What do you do? Who are you working with?

As an intern, I’ll be helping out wherever I’m needed within the company, whether it’s internal organization, communications, or client work. I’ll be working under Tanja Schroeder primarily but will be available to help everyone at Holistic!

We’re interested in learning more about your background. Can you tell us more about your career journey? 

I’m currently a junior at Northwestern University double majoring in Psychology and Human Development in Context. While my background is in film and media, I decided to pursue the social sciences instead as a way to understand people and how I can best help them. I’ve worked in human resources in the past and am hoping to pursue a career that allows me to make positive changes within organizations and in people’s lives.

Let’s switch gears. What excites you about life? What gives you hope? What keeps you up at night?

I love looking ahead towards the future! I’m always thinking about where I might be in six months, five years, or even 20 years from now, and I love exploring all the possibilities of where I could live, what I could do, and who I could be. If I’m up late, I’m probably on Zillow looking at apartments in Chicago and houses in my hometown of Austin, TX!

What's the most helpful piece of advice you've ever received, and why?

“You’ve lived through every bad day so far.” I don’t know who said it first, but this advice has helped me through so many stressful days. It reminds me that 99.9% of the time, whatever I’m going through will be over eventually and isn’t life or death. Knowing that I have the power to choose how much I let hardships affect me has made school, work, and life so much easier.

If you had an extra hour each day, what would you do with it?

Take care of myself! Health is so important and I never feel like I have enough time to make sure I’m nurturing myself even if I have all the free time in the world. I’d love to be able to spend more time cooking healthy meals, organizing my life, or just sleeping for an extra hour each day.

Lastly, what do you do for fun? 

I wish I could say I spend time working on my hobbies and exploring the world, but since COVID, I’ve found that sitting on the couch dining in and watching movies with my boyfriend and my friends is my favorite pastime! When I have the chance though, I love traveling, sightseeing, and thrifting.

Thank you, Helen, for all of your support!