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Backstage: Meet the CivicFest STEP-UP Interns

Sierra Aimua
Sierra Aimua, 18, recently graduated from Roosevelt High School. She was born in Minneapolis and continues to reside there. This fall, Sierra plans to attend Augsburg College to study journalism. She would like to pursue a career as a journalist or magazine editor and wants to travel to Europe. Sierra’s hobbies include badminton, tennis, and volleyball, and she has studied piano for the past two years. Her passion is writing, which has helped her overcome several personal challenges through self expression.  She sees writing as a vehicle for sharing these experiences with others in similar situations. She is excited to be a Step-Up intern and share her knowledge of Minnesota.

Todd Blair
Todd (TJ) Blair was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and moved to Minneapolis with his family when he was 12.  Todd is the second oldest of seven siblings; his six sisters range in age from 2 to 19.  Todd currently lives in North Minneapolis and attends Edison High School.  He enjoys watching “House” and visiting New York City.  Todd admits to being a "computer geek," as he loves taking computers apart and putting them back together.  Because of this passion, Todd plans to pursue a career in Information Technology.  He enjoys helping people with technical problems.  He cannot wait to learn new things about Minneapolis and St. Paul while working for CivicFest.

Elspeth Cavert
Elspeth Cavert,18, was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She lives with her parents and her little brother, Johan, who makes her laugh and brightens her day.  Elspeth graduated from South High School where she was on the Honor Roll.  This fall she will attend Macalester College and plans to major in Political Science.  One of her best memories was her visit to Panama last summer as part of an exchange program.  In her free time, she enjoys playing Ultimate Frisbee.  Elspeth’s favorite thing about living in Minneapolis is the many great theaters, museums and musicians, as well as the change in seasons.  She says she is honored to participate in CivicFest, a once-in-a-lifetime event in her hometown.

Sara Glesne
Sara Glesne, 17, is a senior at South High School in Minneapolis, where she is ranked in the top one percent of her class. Sara’s favorite class is Spanish, a language she is proficient in. She also enjoys writing and was the chief copy editor for her school newspaper last year.  In her spare time, Sara enjoys listening to folk music, drawing, singing and bike riding.  Her favorite TV shows include Top Chef and Project Runway. Last summer she was an exchange student in Salamanca, Spain. After high school graduation, she hopes to travel to such far-away destinations as Japan and major in journalism or languages in college.  Sara hopes to meet new people and encounter unique experiences through her Step-Up internship.

Kashka Johnson
Kashka (pronounced "Ka-sha-ka") Johnson, 18, grew up in Lowry Hill and just graduated from Ascension Academy, a charter school in North Minneapolis.  In the fall, she will attend Tuskegee University in Alabama to study nursing.  In her spare time, Kashka enjoys writing short stories, singing (even though she claims she “can't”), writing poetry, and watching action movies such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy. She enjoys traveling, and likes visiting Chicago best. She enjoys all types of music, but her favorite artists are Avril Lavigne and Ne-Yo.  Kashka is a born-and-bred city kid, rarely leaving the Minneapolis area.  She would love to be able to have one of her stories published one day.

Bao Lee
Bao Lee, 18, was born in Thailand.  She is an International Baccalaureate graduate from Patrick Henry High School and will attend St. Olaf College in August.  Bao is the first of her 13 siblings to attend college. “I want them to know that it’s possible for them to go to college and become something great in this world,” she said.  She has a passion for photography, but has not yet decided on a major, preferring to keep her options open.  In high school, Bao’s activities included Yearbook Club, Garden Club, National Honor Society, track and band.  She enjoyed band the most, recalling the thrill of participating in the homecoming football game half-time show.

Zach McCormick
Zach McCormick was raised in south Minneapolis’ Lynnhurst neighborhood. He will soon be a senior at Minneapolis South High School.  Zach is very interested in music and plays bass, percussion and clarinet.  He is involved with The Wind Ensemble, one of South High School's bands.  Zach previously volunteered helping out with sound at the non-profit TC Underground, a local teen club supporting the arts and music. He also volunteers every Saturday at Radio K on a show called The Breakfast Club. He hopes to attend college and major in journalism, music or psychology.

Alison Pincus
Alison Pincus was born in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in Minneapolis. She recently graduated from Southwest High School's International Baccalaureate program. In high school, she worked with Theatre de la Jeune Lune and also directed The Laramie Project play at Southwest High School. Alison enjoys theater so much that she hopes to double major in Theater and Economics when she attends Williams College in Massachusetts this fall. In addition to theater, Alison enjoys traveling. Her international destinations have included Thailand and Costa Rica, but, if given the opportunity to travel anywhere, she would choose to return to New York.

Rachel Skytta
Rachel Skytta, 17, was born in Duluth and attends South High School.  She is active as the captain of her high school dance team and also enjoys acting and traveling.  She is planning on studying broadcast journalism or acting in college.  At just 17, Rachel is well traveled, having visited more than half of the states and Puerto Rico, Mexico and Canada.  Rachel uses the word "personable" to describe herself; she loves connecting with and talking to people.  She hopes that through the Step-Up program, she will meet more people and make more connections she can use for her future.

Kim Hedum
Director of STEP-UP CivicFest Interns
Kim Swenson Hedum has lived in White Bear Lake most of her life, the past 25 years just off the lake.  Her daughter is a junior at the University of Minnesota, College of Biological Sciences and is in the Army National Guard and R.O.T.C.  For years she volunteered as Girl Scout Leader, Camp Leader, Soccer Coach, and Kids Choir Director at Eagle Brook Church.  Kim is a volunteer with the Minneapolis Saint Paul 2008 Host Committee.