Experience Matters - Grand Valley State University

Non-Profit Immigration Law

Seng
Major: International Relations I am in charge of a wide variety of activities and projects, some of which include organizing files for the office, doing research on a variety of issues including different countries' conditions, and examining advocacy initiatives for educational purposes.

Refugee Education Center Social Work Case Aide Intern

Kathryn
Major: International Relations I did a variety of different things. I did a lot of paperwork, working on case files, going on home visits, learning how to work with interpreters, and a lot of other behind the scenes work.

Santiago Internship

Stephanie
Major: International Relations While at Chile Transparente I conducted a research project on how female participation can help lower the level of corruption in government. The focus was on how my research could help in implementing a more women in politics.

Internship with the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter

Ariel
Major: International Relations Interns are stationed on local campaigns across the state. Responsibilities to the Sierra Club include exemplary representation of the organization and close communication with the internship supervisor. Interns will communicate with their supervisor at a minimum of once a week. As far as expectations from the local campaign, there may be several. Interns are expected to do whatever is needed of them to promote their candidate and maximize the chance of their candidate being elected. This could include canvassing at various levels, including making phone calls and knocking on doors, as well as general office work, volunteer recruitment and management, promotional event planning, and various other responsibilities.

Summer 2016 Washington Internship

Philip
Major: International Relations I made two major contributions: one was writing a number of articles that were published on COHA's website. The other was the administrative compilation of potential subscriber data data of libraries and universities all across the country, as well as internationally for COHA to reach out to for distribution of our published paper: the Washington Report on the Hemisphere. I collected and compiled information on over 230 outside organizations for this project. Besides this, I also edited other interns' papers, both personally and as part of larger editing groups.

Expat Community Center Internship

Nicholas
Major: International Relations Since The Spot is new, it needs to get its brand out there. I was in charge of marketing at The Spot. My job was to let expats know about what we had to offer The Spot. My usual tasks included posting on social media, organizing and promoting events, writing blog posts, managing web content and SEO, and attending expat networking events.

Refugee Resettlement Internship

Christy
Major: International Relations As a refugee resettlement intern, I assisted case workers in both the Resettlement and Matching Grant programs to provide services for newly-arrived refugees. This included teaching the financial literacy curriculum, providing bus training, arranging medical appointments, shadowing home visits, enrolling clients in ESL classes, completing case review of closed files, and much more.

Internship at Women at Risk, Int'l

Kayla
Major: International Relations As an Executive Operational Assistant or administrative intern, I helped with any tasks that the administrative staff needed help completing. I answered phones, researched other organizations, completed various projects, and supervised the Volunteer Center.

Advocate for Worlds Poor

Jedidiah
Major: International Relations Advocate: We meet with U.S. Congressional leaders to secure support for crucial poverty-reducing legislation. Mobilize: We mobilize people across the globe behind efforts to make poverty a political priority. Educate: We teach basic advocacy skills that allow citizens to communicate with their government. Issue Message: We build awareness of global issues and innovations in poverty-reduction through our online and community presence. Team members located in several states, all work telecommute to advocate local governments.

Honduras

Brittany
Major: International Relations My internship was focused around a trip to Honduras. While I was there, I co-taught a finance class in Spanish to the people of Comayagua and La Canada. Before the trip I created lesson plans, learned the material, and decided how to develop new leaders for the class next time.

My experience with Senator Stabenow

Jenelle
Major: International Relations I completed various tasks and projects. I recruited and managed volunteers for canvasses, press releases, rallies, and events. I recruited volunteers by calling individuals and past volunteers. I also phone banked and called voters to seek their support for Debbie. Moreover, I attended events with Senator Stabenow. Additionally, I translated for the Senator when she came to the Hispanic Festival and when she did press releases to the Spanish news media in Grand Rapids. I also helped my campaign manager cut turf for the volunteers that canvassed. Furthermore, I also helped collect and record campaign funds at events with the Senator. Also, I assisted other candidates such as Winnie Brinks with their campaigns. Finally, I served as a poll greeter on election day and helped translate for voters that were not fluent in English.

Teaching English language abroad

Christopher
Major: International Relations Lesson planning Teaching aids Building Professor client relations Teaching methods Lesson implementation Tracking student progress Testing Grading students

1st Internship

Paul
Major: International Relations Supporting refugee children to gain the necessary skills for integration into the community through providing comprehensive educational support, along with fostering cultural knowledge and understanding.

Building Bridges

Dominique
Major: International Relations I worked directly with refugee students, as a tutor, I also provided transportation. I performed research about refugee resettlement, and problems with the refugee population in the United States and in Grand Rapids. Helped organize resources for the students, such as computer software, and book cataloging.

Wandering

Spencer
Major: International Relations Much of my tasks in the after school program was to help students learn and grow as individuals, teaching them values that will help to empower themselves for future aspirations.

Van Andel Global Trade Center Experience

Sarena
Major: International Relations A majority of my time as an intern has been spent learning about the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States and applying that knowledge to actual client projects. I helped develop and execute a process for NAFTA Supplier Solicitation and performed NAFTA analysis on client's goods. I also spent time researching various international trade issues and agreements for clients. Other tasks included creating marketing pieces for training events and assisting the Center with day-to-day activities such as telephone calls, database maintenance, and program preparation.

Embassy Intern

Allen
Major: International Relations Research economic data for the economic section of the embassy. Updated the information of the master list of Filipino-Americans and the various Filipino organizations in the US. Helped organize embassy events. Attended meetings and be able to see first hand how deals are made in regards to import/export, security, and other international issues.

Michigan Senate Campaign Internship

Jacqueline
Major: International Relations " Assists with event planning and voter contact " Meets and greets constituents within various settings " Assists with fee compliance and regular finance operations " Knowledge of current domestic and foreign issues

Working for WMOAS

Alyssa
Major: International Relations The OAS hosts an annual conference with the help of IDDA for college students across the hemisphere. In participating in this conference, WMOAS, students are able to apply their knowledge of the OAS and its past and current diplomacy work, through debates and crisis solving. My role in this conference was to help a special committee solve a simulated crisis between certain member states. I worked with this group of students throughout the week by facilitating discussion and providing pertinent research. I also worked closely with the Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary General, in a time-management sense, to ensure we would have enough time to completely solve this crisis.

West Michigan Refugee Education and Cultural Center - Research and Development Intern

Sheila
Major: International Relations As a research and development intern, my main task was to research Unaccompanied Refugee Minors, Unaccompanied Alien Children, and the Cuban and Haitian refugee background. With my research, I created both power point presentations and general information worksheets on these communities. For my research I primarily utilized print and online sources, however, I also conducted in-person interviews with individuals working with or who are part of, the communities I was researching. Once my research was completed and reviewed by the internship coordinator, I presented my research during a professional development workshop with local school officials. In addition to research, I tutored refugee youth and conducted public relations work for the center.

VSFS E-Internship (State Department)

Lizzie
Major: International Relations Unlike other internships in which I have participated, I was only responsible for one project - I was to interview Saudi students studying in the United States and ask them for their impressions of the U.S, what they miss about home and what job prospects are like back home. I was assigned this task because the U.S embassy in Riyadh is not allowed to approach students in the country so they relied on me to gather this information. I reached out using social media and existing contacts to gather these interviews. I utilized a small questionnaire I composed.

West Michigan Refugee Education & Cultural Center : Internship Experience

Francis
Major: International Relations As a site administrative intern, my tasks were : to supervise literacy lectures for older children; to update reading scores in files; assist with coordinating the peer support program for middle and high school refugee students; and the Leadership program for outstanding students to help them reach their potential in leadership skills, to improve their communication skills as well as community service. During field trips, I helped along with volunteers and other interns to look after the children.

Refugee Resettlement Internship

Leah
Major: International Relations I provided medical transportation to and from appointments, aided caseworkers in managing their caseload, and further developed financial literacy orientation material for incoming refugees. I was also a "cultural mentor" for a specific refugee family, which entailed helping them with daily tasks, answering any questions, helping them feel more comfortable, and simply talking (with a lot of laughing and miming of course because learning English does take some time!)

political internship

Chris
Major: International Relations While with the West Michigan Democrats I participated in ground and phone canvassing. Initiating and maintaining voter profiles, data and following up with voter inquiries. After collecting raw data I was responsible for entering clearly and precisely of said raw data into a national party database to be used by campaign strategists and managers.

Nairobi Summer Internship

Margaret
Major: International Relations " Update the Duty Books, which are given to provide guidance for Duty Officers handling difficult emergencies including deaths, violent and nonviolent crimes, theft and robberies, and Americans stranded at the airport. " Send out updated lists of Americans residing in each zone throughout the region to the corresponding wardens. " Organize and compile a manifest of all Juba Evacuation cases. " Complete and clear pending Juba Evacuation cases. " Send out letters to wardens informing them of a new aspect of their service " Compile a list of pending diplomatic passports and follow-up with the list after we receive a new batch of diplomatic passports through the mail. " Respond to emails in the inbox NairobiTownHall@state.gov and compile a comprehensive list of Americans citizens attending the May 29th Town Hall meeting at the CMR. " Email letters to new registrants informing them of what zone they reside in and who their warden is and remove the two months of backlog. " Create the latest version of the ACS Newsletter to include remarks from the Town Hall and inform Americans about emergency preparedness. " Updated spreadsheet with handwritten information for the DNA unit and remove six months of backlog.