Meet our Spring 2026 Interns
Meet our Spring 2026 Interns
We are thrilled to welcome our Spring 2026 interns Adele Zhifei Dai and Isabella Nisi to the team this semester.
Adele is an undergraduate student and varsity fencer at Johns Hopkins University, double majoring in International Studies and Economics with a minor in Film and Media Studies. She has experience directing and writing films and has worked on multiple film projects beyond the student level, developing a strong interest in storytelling as a tool for social impact. She wanted to intern with Shine Global because of its mission to use documentary filmmaking to advocate for children and expand access to opportunity through powerful, real-world stories. She is excited to contribute her research, outreach, and organizational skills while learning more about socially driven filmmaking and nonprofit media work.
Isabella is a student at Florida State University pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Digital Media Production, with a minor in Multicultural Marketing Communication. She has experience working on a variety of film and media projects and has developed strong skills in content creation, visual storytelling, and collaboration. Isabella is passionate about meaningful filmmaking and using mission-driven stories to give a voice to communities that need to be heard. She is excited to intern with Shine Global and contribute creative, organized, and thoughtful content while learning more about impact-driven filmmaking and nonprofit media work.
Shine Global couldn’t do the work we do without the help of these two and our other amazing volunteers. To learn more about our internships, including open positions and upcoming deadlines, see here.
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ABOUT SHINE GLOBAL
Shine Global is a nonprofit media company that improves the lives of children by telling powerful stories to raise awareness, promote action, and inspire change. We produce and support inspiring films and compelling content about underserved children. Through tailored distribution and outreach, we connect with our audiences in communities, classrooms, museums, and on Capitol Hill as part of a powerful engagement campaign to encourage social change.
Since our founding in 2005 by Susan MacLaury and Albie Hecht, Shine Global films have won more than 100 major awards, including an Academy Award® for Best Documentary Short Subject for Inocente, an Academy Award® nomination for Best Live Action Short for Anuja, and an Academy Award® nomination and two Emmys® for War/Dance. Recent films include the documentary-animation hybrid Liyana, the hit documentary The Eagle Huntress, Through Our Eyes: Homefront which is available on HBOMax, the Ariel Award winner Home Is Somewhere Else, and Comedy Against the Odds which is currently in film festivals.
ABOUT SHINE GLOBAL’S RESILIENCE AWARDS
The Shine Global Resilience Awards were created to honor films that highlight the strength, dignity, and power of children in the face of adversity. Past winners of Shine Global Resilience Awards include the feature documentaries Speak. (2025, Directed by Guy Mossman and Jennifer Tiexiera), Daughters (2024, Directed by Angela Patton and Natalie Rae), Name Me Lawand (2023, Directed by Edward Lovelace), and Lift (2022, Directed by David Petersen), Los Frikis (2024, written and directed by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz) in partnership with Nantucket Film Festival, the short Rise (2025, Directed by Jessica J. Rowlands), the short documentary Ayenda (2023, directed by Marie Margolius) in partnership with Heartland Film’s Indy Shorts International Film Festival, Okthanksbye (2023, Nicole Van Kilsdok) with ReelAbilities Film Festival, Savauges (2024, directed by Claude Barras), and Dounia – The Great White North (2024, directed by Marya Zarif and André Kadi) in partnership with the New York International Children’s Film Festival.
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- Sūnna Wins the Children’s Resilience in Disability Stories Award at ReelAbilities
- Comedy Against the Odds Now Streaming Free on Doc+ for World Autism Awareness Day
- Shine Global Awards Remaining Native the Unstoppable Kids Prize at the 2026 New York International Children’s Film Festival
- Shine Global at the Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour
- Sundance 2026 Shine Global Recap: Radical Hope, Collective Care, and Why Filmmaker Support Matters More Than Ever
- Meet our Spring 2026 Interns
Deanna Cuadra is a sophomore at Columbia University and is majoring in Film and Media Studies with a concentration in East Asian Studies. She is from a small town outside Sacramento, California. As someone who strongly believes in the power of storytelling, Deanna has always been attracted to ways film can make a difference. This passion was nursed in high school, only to further grow once in college along with her dedication to education for children in low literacy regions of the world. That is why Shine Global presented such a wonderful opportunity to further explore the importance of telling stories. And because Shine specifically works to give a voice to at-risk children around the world, Deanna feels these stories are especially important to tell. As the marketing intern, Deanna works to promote the empowering messages of Shine’s films.
Paige McCall is a senior at New York University studying Film and Television. She’s from a small town outside of Seattle, WA that is best known for being where they filmed Twin Peaks. Paige is a writer who’s had a lifelong passion for storytelling through films, and loves creating content for younger audiences, specifically teenagers who feel they haven’t had their voices heard or that their thoughts aren’t valued. Outside of school, Paige has worked for many years with a Seattle-based company that creates inspiring books for kids and families, even writing two of her own. She was immediately interested in Shine because of their emphasis on creating content for at-risk or underrepresented children, and decided to intern for another semester in order to continue learning more about the non-profit world. Paige has spent the majority of her time at NYU working on television writing and production, and hopes to continue working in these areas after graduating this Spring.
Syeda Anjum is a sophomore at Barnard College of Columbia University, majoring