09/04/2026
“It is difficult to see the shape of something when you are standing inside of it.”
That was how Laszlo began describing his internship with us this summer.
As a public policy student at UNC Chapel Hill, Laszlo had spent countless hours studying food insecurity, affordable housing, early childhood education, and the challenges communities face. But experiencing that work firsthand changed his perspective.
“I’ve brought it up in nearly every conversation while working, it is amazing how centralizing so many programs under one campus or under one mission connects them together.”
The more Laszlo moved between different parts of HRDC, the more those connections became clear.
“An individual coming to the Food Bank may encounter another resource they did not know existed. A Head Start family may be connected to services beyond early childhood education.”
For Laszlo, that is where our strength lies. “A resource can exist,” he said, “but that does not mean someone knows it exists, knows whether they qualify, or knows how to access it.”
He saw this firsthand at the Bozeman Head Start graduation this summer.
“I wrote a policy brief last semester, dozens of pages long, on early childhood education access. But no amount of writing could ever recreate getting to be a part of the Bozeman Head Start graduation this summer.”
Because the work we do is more than a collection of programs. It is the connection between them. It is one resource leading someone to another, a family finding support they didn’t know was available, and people and organizations coming together to strengthen our community.
Much of that work happens quietly. But once you begin to see all those connections, it becomes harder to imagine our community without them. “HRDC’s influence reaches far beyond the people who walk through its doors, because it helps shape the community that all of us walk back into.”
Read Laszlo’s full story at the link in our bio.
