Voice Up Lived Experience Internship 100% Remote

Voice Up Publishing

Lived Experience Series Internship

100% Remote Internship

Editorial & Storytelling Internship (Part-Time / Remote)

Why This Internship Exists

National and state data show youth and young-adult behavioral health as a population-level crisis, not a marginal concern. Nationally, roughly two in five high school students report persistent sadness or hopelessness (Verlenden et al., 2024). In Indiana, 47.0% of high school students reported feeling sad or hopeless for two or more weeks, and 25.2% seriously considered attempting suicide in the prior year (Indiana Department of Health, 2024).

Research behind this same data points to a clear need: expanded pipelines for behavioral health professionals and early intervention models built on school connectedness, family engagement, and trauma-informed care. The Lived Experience Series — and this internship supporting it — exists to help people name and share their own relevant experience early, rather than years into adulthood, turning that experience into published insight others can learn from.

About the Role

Voice Up Publishing is seeking an intern to support the Lived Experience Publication Series, run through Voice Up's Lived Writing platform and tracked as a practicum placement.

This internship is built for someone who wants hands-on experience in editorial development, storytelling, and the practical craft of helping people describe their own lives with clarity and precision.

You'll work directly with contributors and the Voice Up editorial team inside Lived Writing's 8-session workshop structure, learning how lived experience is identified, shaped, and published — grounded in the belief that personal experience carries real, describable value, and that the skill to articulate it is learnable.

What You'll Do

Support intake and onboarding conversations with new contributors

Assist with drafting, structuring, and editing personal narrative submissions inside Lived Writing's workshop sequence

Help contributors identify the most compelling and precise language for their story

Contribute to the platform's combined grading process — supporting the human-review half of the 40% AI / 60% instructor rubric

Coordinate publication timelines and light production tasks across Voice Up's platforms

Help document and refine the series' contributor workflow as it scales

What You'll Gain

Direct experience in editorial development and narrative nonfiction

Training in a transferable skill: describing lived experience with precision and impact

Automatic hour tracking and practicum credit through voiceuplearning.life, alongside Voice Up's other named practicum tracks

A pathway into Voice Up Mentor Training & Certification (Certified Mentor / Lead Mentor / Master Trainer) for those who want to continue supporting future contributors

Mentorship from Voice Up's editorial and publishing team

A published body of work to include in your own portfolio

Who We're Looking For

Strong writer and active listener, comfortable working with sensitive personal material

Interest in publishing, editorial work, narrative nonfiction, or storytelling for social impact

Especially relevant for students in social work, public health, counseling, or education — Lived Writing's prompt libraries are already aligned to clinical and public-health documentation standards

Organized and able to manage several contributor projects at once

Comfortable working independently in a remote, part-time structure

Details

Format: Part-time, 100% remote

Commitment: Flexible schedule, project-based deliverable

Reports to: Voice Up Publishing editorial leadership

Compensation: Academic-credit internship or nominal weekly stipends based on demonstrated consistent effort and engagement

To Apply

Send a brief note about why this work interests you, along with a short writing sample, to .

We're especially interested in hearing why the idea that lived experience has real value resonates with you.

References

Indiana Department of Health. (2024). 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey results. State of Indiana.

Verlenden, J. V., et al. (2024). Mental health and suicide risk among high school students and protective factors — Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2023. MMWR Supplements, 73(4).

From Information to Contribution

For decades, higher education has been organized around the transfer and assessment of knowledge. But AI systems now perform many knowledge-based tasks faster and cheaper than humans. What they cannot easily replicate are the deeply human capabilities required to identify meaningful problems, work across social systems, exercise judgment, and create products or services that others genuinely value.

Research conducted by the founder of Voice Up—originally within public and behavioral health contexts—identified a structural barrier underlying workforce disengagement and shortages: many individuals are motivated to contribute, but lack the language and pathways to connect purpose with opportunity. This phenomenon, formally described as the Naming Gap, explains why entire sectors can experience high demand and persistent vacancies at the same time.