Internship Experiences

Vanessa Attfield '08
Internship: Friendship Ambassadors Foundation
Location: Greenwich, CT

At Friendship Ambassadors Foundation, a UN NGO-affiliate, we're preparing for the 5th Annual Youth Assembly in August. Needs aren't static the way they are in a regular business - we communicate with Permanent Missions to the United Nations for endorsements, international universities for outreach, and finally, applications are opened and need to be reviewed, and I am involved with keeping up communication with applicants.

Nicole Froker '08
Internship: Metro International
Location: New York, NY

I work for Metro International, a small non-profit organization in New York City. Metro International provides programs such as walking tours of New York City, weekly social nights, and community visits where students can spend holidays such as Thanksgiving and Easter with American families in different communities across New England. Other programs include behind-the-scenes tours of the Federal Reserve and tours of the United Nations. These programs are designed to integrate international students into the greater New York area, while allowing them to meet and form relationships with other foreign and American students as well. Metro's mission is to break down cultural barriers and stereotypes, and to act as a bridge between international students and the American community. My job entails planning and marketing upcoming programs, as well as data entry and organizational work for the company's day-to-day activities. I also respond to student and scholar inquiries regarding Metro's programs and services over the phone and in person. Engaging in discussions with international students on a daily basis and knowing I am a part of a company that is dedicated to the promotion of global understanding is deeply gratifying.

Lauren Iannucci '08
Internship: Fisher International
Location: Norwalk, CT

I am currently interning at Fisher International in Norwalk. Fisher International is a database for the pulp and paper industry. I am working in the research department where my job is to help update the information on every paper or pulp mill or company in the world. In doing so, I research online, as well as call individual companies around the world in order to update the information already in the system or add new companies to the database. The job can be monotonous, but satisfying when successful updates have been made.

Lynne McDonald '08
Internship: International Institute of Connecticut
Location: Bridgeport, CT

My internship this semester is at the International Institute of Connecticut in Bridgeport, which is the oldest refugee resettlement agency in the state. As an intern, I've definitely not been spending my days in a cubicle, filing, making copies, or shredding; rather, I've been able to see the entire resettlement process, from meeting new arrivals and preparing their new homes, to helping them obtain social security cards and welfare assistance, and finally to helping them find employment so they can become self-sufficient. I've also helped translate for French-speaking African refugees at meetings at the Institute and at doctor's appointments. While the amount of responsibility I had at first was a bit overwhelming, this internship was definitely an interesting and rewarding experience.

Marcella Sancho '08
Internship: International Refugee Rights Initiative
Location: New York, NY

I am currently interning with a small NGO here in New York called the International Refugee Rights Initiative. It is located at 866 United Nations Plaza, Suite 4018, New York, New York 10017. Our NGO focuses on refugee concerns, i.e. citizenship, in the Great Lakes Region in Africa. As an intern, I am responsible for conducting a majority of the research in our office. My other responsibilities include researching African media coverage of the situation in Darfur. Also reading and reviewing pertinent and attending relevant conferences and meetings.

Nikki Ursprung '08
Internship: American Friends Service Committee
Location: Hartford, CT

I am currently interning at American Friends Service Committee in Hartford, CT. AFSC is a non profit Quaker organization which raises awareness about alternatives to military recruitment, non-violent action, economic justice, immigrants' rights, LGBTQ (Queer) rights, racial equality, and U.S. foreign policy. I have provided office support to David Amdur, the Program Director, and have also been able to become involved in immigrants' rights, where I attended a conference on Immigrants Workers' Rights at Southern Connecticut State University. I have also been able to explore critical issues, such as the U.S-Columbia Free Trade Agreement and Plan Columbia and our 5 year occupancy in Iraq, to write informative letters to AFSC members.

Alicia Zapf '08
Internship: Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding
Location: New York, NY

For my internship, I work as the Religion and Conflict Resolution Intern at the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding. The Tanenbaum Center is a non-profit organization that works to encourage greater understanding between various religious thought, as well as develop better understanding of religious diversity in the workplace, at school and in the greater world. In the department I intern with, Conflict Resolution, I work primarily with the Peacemakers in Action program, which is an award given to individuals who use religion as a positive influence in world affairs. As part of their award, Tanenbaum maintains connections with them as they continue their work, so I do searches online for them periodically to gather up-do-date information on their activities and whereabouts. Additionally, I am responsible for the revision and updating of the Peacemaker in Action section of the Tanenbaum Center's Web site, where I am including publications, news, links, and photos in addition to the short biographies of the Peacemakers in Action. Finally, the last of my responsibilities at the Tanenbaum Center involves maintaining the hard copy files, and doing assorted research on potential opportunities for diversification of the Conflict Resolution program.