Lisa Wiederlight has been an essential piece of the puzzle in addressing the unique housing needs of people with developmental disabilities, wounded veterans, and older adults through her non-profit organization, My Heart’s Home. Her work has focused on providing safe and supportive housing options, along with planned activities designed to foster socialization and self-actualization for adults with disabilities. Through her dedication, Wiederlight has not only impacted the lives of those she serves but also created opportunities for Maryland student-athletes to gain valuable work experience and make meaningful contributions.
Wiederlight’s journey to founding My Heart’s Home is deeply personal. A former Maryland field hockey student-athlete who helped bring the program its first-ever NCAA National Championship in 1987, Wiederlight’s transition from athletics to social advocacy was driven by her son, Joshua, who was diagnosed with autism. She recognized an alarming shortage of housing, proper support, and activities that could help adults with disabilities lead fulfilling lives. Motivated by this need, she established My Heart’s Home to address these gaps and improve the quality of life for people with disabilities and their families.
Through My Heart’s Home, Wiederlight has made a significant difference in the lives of those suffering from disabilities. But her impact doesn’t stop there. She has also created opportunities for student-athletes in Maryland to gain real-world work experience and contribute to the organization’s mission. These collaborations are facilitated through Maryland Made’s InTERPship Academy, which connects student-athletes with internships that allow them to develop their professional skills while contributing to causes they care about.
Two notable student-athletes who have interned with My Heart’s Home are Francesca Feodorov and Julia Garcia. Their internships, made possible through the InTERPship Academy, have been crucial in furthering the mission of My Heart’s Home. Wiederlight is especially proud of the partnership between her non-profit and her alma mater, noting the shared work ethic and discipline of Maryland athletes.
“Both interns are brilliant and very hard-working,” she said. “I felt like we have something in common being athletes at Maryland and understanding that hard work isn’t limited to just sports. You also have to work hard in the classroom and at your job. That’s just kind of who Maryland athletes are. We just persevere, and we get things done. I definitely saw that discipline in the athletes.”
Feodorov, a senior on Maryland’s tennis team, is an international student from Romania majoring in finance. She interned with My Heart’s Home as a Program Development Assistant, where she assisted with grant funding, financial collaboration, and other organizational tasks. Feodorov was such an asset to the organization that Wiederlight extended her internship into the fall semester.
“For most people, me included, whenever you think about a job in finance, you think about Wall Street, people sitting at a desk and powerful people discussing powerful companies with lots of money,” Feodorov said. “I don’t feel like many people think about the aspects of finance actually being able to help individual people and make an impact on a smaller level. This internship really broadened my horizons about how you could actually do that, and finance could be one of those jobs in which you make an impact.”
Wiederlight introduced Feodorov to the hands-on aspects of My Heart’s Home by taking her to a farm where people with developmental disabilities work. This experience gave Feodorov a tangible understanding of the organization’s mission and its efforts to address the shortage of services for individuals with disabilities. She didn’t simply learn from textbooks or online resources; instead, she gained firsthand insight into the challenges faced by those My Heart’s Home aims to serve.
Wiederlight has always emphasized experiential learning to give context to the work that interns do at My Heart’s Home. She quickly saw that Feodorov was an incredible asset to the organization, fully understanding its goals and contributing significantly. Wiederlight was so impressed with Feodorov’s initiative that she predicted that Feodorov could one day be an independent consultant for the non-profit.
“Francesca is so bright and interested in helping but understands and appreciates the cause,” Wiederlight said. “Whenever you give her something, she appreciates it so much and puts 110% into it. She’s very capable to the point where she taught herself how to use a donor database to identify possible donors for us. I don’t know of any interns as undergraduates who can teach themselves something like that.”
Feodorov also values her internship experience highly, recognizing how important it is for future job prospects, particularly in the United States. Prior to connecting with the Maryland Made staff and its InTERPship Academy through her academic advisor, she struggled to find internships that aligned with her career goals. Though she received offers from other organizations, she found something uniquely appealing about the opportunity with My Heart’s Home.
“It’s not really what I expected when I thought of an internship,” Feodorov said. “I expected to sit down, grind it out, work a lot. It had this fun aspect, and I thought that if I were able to start my career with something like this, it would surround me with people who also really care about making a genuinely positive impact on everyone around them.”
As an international student-athlete, Feodorov was required to apply for curricular practical training (CPT) to work off-campus in the U.S. She encountered some challenges with her application being delayed, but she praised the Maryland Made staff for their assistance in navigating the process and ensuring she could begin her internship without further delays.
In addition to her work with My Heart’s Home, Wiederlight plays an active role in advocating for people with disabilities at the state level. She chairs the Housing and Community Integration Committee for the Maryland Autism Stakeholder Group and serves on the board of the Autism Society of Maryland. Through her work, she strives to improve the lives of individuals with autism and developmental disabilities, pushing for policy changes and better support systems.
Wiederlight looks forward to continuing her collaboration with Maryland Made and the InTERPship Academy. She sees great potential in offering student-athletes valuable work experience while simultaneously advancing a cause that is close to her heart. Additionally, she hopes to work more closely with the University of Maryland in the future to address the growing needs of her non-profit, particularly in areas such as outreach, innovation, and financial support. Wiederlight’s commitment to My Heart’s Home and the community is unwavering, and she remains deeply proud of the work she has done and the students she has mentored.
Feodorov shares the sentiment, expressing her gratitude for Wiederlight’s mentorship and the meaningful impact her internship has had on her life.
“I’m so lucky to have Lisa as a mentor,” Feodorov said.
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