Hi my name is Elier, I’m a rising sophomore at Duke University studying Public Policy. I’m a Benjamin N. Duke Scholar, and I participated in the Carolina Summer of Service (CSOS), which places B.N. Scholars in a city in North or South Carolina, where they intern at a nonprofit organization. I spent my CSOS interning at Mountain Housing Opportunities as their Asset Management Intern.
Throughout my time studying Public Policy at Duke, there are several issues I wanted to explore in depth, and affordable housing was at the top of my list. Given that housing is so deeply intertwined with other issues, it seemed daunting to try to learn it on my own, so being in Asheville two years after Helene gave me the perfect platform to study the issue. Before my internship, I had no clue what to expect. I understood that MHO developed affordable housing but knew very little about what it entailed. But on day one, I was immersed in developing and managing affordable housing and was blown away by the scope of the work. One of the biggest things I learned was just how complex affordable housing finance actually is. Working in asset management, I got to look under the hood of completed developments and see how they were put together: layers of funding from tax credits, federal home loans, and local programs, all stacked on top of each other, just to make a single project pencil out. It made me realize that building affordable housing isn’t just a mission; it’s an incredibly technical undertaking that requires expertise most people never see.
I also came away with a much clearer picture of what nonprofits like MHO actually do. Before this summer, I think I had a pretty surface-level understanding that nonprofits fill gaps where the market falls short. But watching MHO operate day-to-day, I saw an organization that functions with the rigor of a developer and the heart of a community advocate at the same time. More than anything, this internship gave me a direction. I’m leaving with a much deeper appreciation for the role nonprofits play in actually creating change. MHO isn’t just advocating for affordable housing from the sidelines; they’re in the weeds, developing it, managing it, and showing up for residents long after the ribbon is cut. That’s the kind of work I want to be a part of, and I’m grateful to MHO for showing me what it looks like up close.