Summertime Staff
CLT's Interns for 2024

Question 1: Introduce yourself!

Ammon Corpron: Hello, my name is Ammon Corpron. I grew up in Portland, OR, and I am now a sophomore at Patrick Henry College, where I am majoring in American Politics and Policy. I am on track to graduate with my bachelor’s degree in 2027.

Blake Schaper: My name is Blake Schaper and I am from Alton, IL, which is a historical city about thirty minutes from St. Louis! Last year, I finished ten years of homeschooling and I am going to study classes online with Patrick Henry College this coming year. I hope to study business analytics and political science.

Charlotte Crowell: I’m Charlotte Crowell and I’m from High Point, NC. I’m studying Computer Science with minors in Mathematics and the Liberal Arts at the University of Alabama, and I’ll be a sophomore this upcoming fall. My expected graduation year is 2027, but I’m currently considering entering an accelerated master’s program that will push my graduation back to 2028!

Grace Ann Roth: My name is Grace Ann Roth, and I am from Elgin, TX. I was homeschooled for my entire education until going to university last fall, and now I am a sophomore biomedical engineering major at Texas A&M!

Gracey Washa: Hi! My name is Gracey Washa, and I am from Oklahoma City! I will be graduating with a degree in Elementary Education from Oklahoma Baptist University in 2025. I have loved the academic excellence and community I have experienced during my education at OBU.

Jacob Bedar: Hello! My name is Jacob Bedar, and I am from Friendswood, TX!  I plan on graduating from Patrick Henry College in 2028 with a degree in Political Theory.

Question 2: Which department at CLT are you interning with, and what are your responsibilities there?

Ammon Corpron: I am currently interning with the Policy and Finance departments at CLT. In the Policy department, I am conducting research on state-level policies related to standardized testing and identifying opportunities for CLT to advocate for policy changes that integrate CLT into state education systems. Meanwhile, in the Finance department, I’ve been involved in a cohort project throughout the summer, where I manage and input data into HubSpot. This work aims to provide the sales team with more accessible and relevant information to enhance client relationships and facilitate sales.

Blake Schaper: I have been the CLT’s Homeschool Sales intern for this summer. I have been working on drafting email templates for advertising outreach campaigns, updating the homeschool sales’ company listing on HubSpot, and performing competitive analysis for the CLT3-8!

Charlotte Crowell: I’m interning with the Test Development department (the best department, although I may be biased). The majority of my responsibilities are split between editorial work and more technical programming work, which aligns perfectly with my Computer Science/Liberal Arts background! On the editorial side, I proofread early drafts of the lower grade assessments (CLT3-8) and cut potential passages to use on future assessments. On the technical side, I am working on training a machine learning model to help us improve our question development process.

Grace Ann Roth: I have interned with the Operations department. My major responsibilities have been customer service, including monitoring live chat support on test day, sending emails, and returning voicemails. I’ve also worked on various other departmental projects. I have edited the offline and test day chatbots to make sure the flow of questions is as user-friendly and helpful as possible. Another main task has been comparing CLT3-8 test takers from our pilot year to this year’s data, updating students’ information to help organize and condense our records in HubSpot. Finally, I’ve done research on what technologies will best serve Operations; this included looking into a new phone system and a snippet extension tool for TSAs.

Gracey Washa: I am one of two interns working in the college sales department this summer. The majority of my time has been spent on outreach campaigns—sending emails or calling colleges in hopes of kindling a partnership with them. I also spent time updating and organizing data related to college contacts on the back end.

Jacob Bedar: I am interning this summer with the College Sales department. My responsibilities are making first contact with colleges, mainly from the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU).  Part of that is crafting an email that displays the shared values of CLT and their organization. In order to connect with  these colleges, I also research faculty and staff to contact from each college.

Question 3: How was your overall experience interning here for the summer—what was it like to work for CLT? 

Ammon Corpron: I have greatly appreciated my internship at CLT this summer. The company offers a professional and energetic work environment that fosters a strong sense of mission. It’s been refreshing to work with a team that is genuinely passionate about advancing education grounded in Western tradition. This experience has been both enriching and insightful.

Blake Schaper: I loved interning for the CLT this summer for three main reasons. First off, the company environment at the CLT is phenomenal. Every Monday, we do a company-wide Zoom call we call “Mission Monday” where we discuss updates in each department and read from an author from our Author Bank. As I attended, I noticed that all the employees here are very kind and supportive. Mission Monday feels more like a family reunion than a company meeting! Additionally, I love how much the Classic Learning Test stays true to its mission … The passion and persistence the CLT team shows is inspiring. Finally, the internship itself has been engaging yet flexible to my schedule.

Charlotte Crowell: I have absolutely loved my time here at CLT. CLT cares a lot about their interns, and my managers have put in a lot of effort to not only be excellent managers, but also excellent mentors. They have allowed me to pursue projects that align with my interests and have taken the time to teach me skills that will be valuable to me as I build a career in the future … Overall, my internship has been an amazing experience, and I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to work with such wonderful people!

Grace Ann Roth: My overall experience at CLT has been an immense blessing. This internship has helped me grow in so many ways; it’s improved my communication skills, sense of accountability, and ability to collaborate with a team. The people in my department have been incredibly patient with and supportive of me while I was learning … I never felt out of place or afraid to ask a question. The opportunity to be part of this company for the summer has been an enormous gift to me, and I am so thankful for this experience!

Gracey Washa: CLT has an incredibly unique and special company culture. It was evident that the goal of this internship was not simply for the CLT to gain some extra hands to complete busy work, but for everyone at CLT to invest in us. I am also thankful for the flexibility that allowed me to still participate in other activities during the summer!

Jacob Bedar: Interning with CLT has been such a privilege. In my personal life, it was so convenient to have flexible hours.  I have had the opportunity to work with amazing people and I have learned so much this summer.  Not only did I learn professional skills, but also we discussed the learning of virtues and classical education. The pursuit of knowledge and virtue can be applied everywhere, and CLT showed me that.

Question 4: What are your plans for the future?

Ammon Corpron: After completing my bachelor’s degree at Patrick Henry College, I plan to attend law school to pursue a J.D. I am going to become an attorney and am eager to apply my education and experiences to a legal career.

Blake Schaper: I have been blessed with many skills and I am passionate about many subjects. So, I do not know for certain what I will be doing in the future. However, I would enjoy being a mathematics professor at a liberal arts college or a financial analyst like my father. I also hope to become a statesman later in life to advocate for protection of unborn life, fiscal responsibility, and education reform!

Charlotte Crowell: I am hoping to graduate with both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in Computer Science before I enter the workforce full-time. I’m still not entirely sure what career path I want to take, but my time at CLT has convinced me that I should look into careers that are more data-focused, as I really enjoyed the modeling work I was assigned. I am considering possibly pursuing a career in data analytics, but I am still very early in my career search and I want to stay open-minded and flexible!

Grace Ann Roth: Over the next few years, I will continue to pursue a biomedical engineering degree from Texas A&M University. I’m incredibly grateful that my time at CLT has not come to a close, as I plan to continue working as a TSA!

Gracey Washa: Following graduation, I plan to become a (hopefully 4th grade) teacher! I see the classroom as my personal mission field. My hope is to instill a true love of learning in my future students, with a recognition that teachers must delicately hold this important task of shaping the future generation.

Jacob Bedar: My plans are to graduate from Patrick Henry College in four years.  No matter what path I am led on, I will continue to cultivate knowledge and virtue to share with the rest of the world.

We’d like to extend a special thank you to all our CLT interns for their cheerful help with this post, and for all the excellent work they’ve done this summer. Good health and good luck to you all in your continuing studies!

Hailing from Ontario, Canada, Faith Walessa is entering her freshman year at Hillsdale College in Michigan. She is currently studying English and hopes to someday write books and travel to England. She loves fanciful poetry, theater, reading by flashlight, and mint chocolate chip ice cream. Our editor at large, Gabriel Blanchard, would like to thank her in particular for her assistance with and contributions to the Journal.

Thank you for reading. If you’d like to see more of Miss Walessa’s work, you can find her short story, essays on education, and other Journal work here; Mr. Corpron is also a returning Journal contributor. If you’d like to dip into our other regular content, we have an index to our completed series on “the Great Conversation,” and we recommend this introduction to our ongoing series on Western history. Thanks again, and happy Friday!

Published on 23rd August, 2024. Photo of downtown Annapolis (taken from its celebrated harbor) by Wikimedia Commons contributor Smallbones, who has graciously made their photographs available for use free of charge, and shows a special interest in 18th-19th century art and architecture from the American Northeast.
A previous version of this post stated that Miss Walessa was entering her sophomore year; she corrected this on her own initiative. CLT’s editor at large regrets the error.