Author: harold10

I can’t believe the summer is over, and my internship is complete. I’m so grateful that I had the amazing opportunity to intern at the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. I got along extremely well with my supervisor, who is a wonderful person, as well as my coworkers. We all worked together as a team and managed to help each other out whenever in need of support. I recall the first week of work when we listened to eight hours of lectures on discrimination laws in Massachusetts, the rights of citizens and immigrants, and the role of MCAD. I have learned a wealth of knowledge about the legal field this summer, and I believe I gained the most experience from working hands-on with the public and people of different races and backgrounds in and around the Greater Boston area.

This is a pic of the building where I worked, the building is called McCormack.

My internship challenged my ability to do public speaking. My first presentation, which was at Mount Ida College, was challenging because I was nervous and timid. I was new and did not know what to expect. I had the audience ask me random questions and although I did know the answers to most of them, I remembered right them down and ask my supervisor during the appropriate time. Fortunately, I learned plenty from the audience’s questions as well as my supervisor and coworkers. I’m happy to say that my learning goals were successfully accomplished.

My last presentation was my best one because I was very confident and not only that, but I was poised and spoke loudly and clearly. I embarked on the internship with the academic goal of applying knowledge from my Legal Studies courses at Brandeis but I felt at first that I lacked self-assurance. In the end of my final presentation, the audience clapped and thanked me for presenting. I received some generous compliments, and I plan to build off this experience at Brandeis by not only sharing my knowledge, but more importantly I plan to speak out in classes more than before. I can now say that I will no longer be reluctant to speak aloud in classrooms.

This is a picture of my coworkers at the MCAD. They are all awesome people.

Now that my internship at MCAD is complete, I want to move on to something more challenging and new. Although I’m very busy during the school year (with homework, varsity soccer, and the Brandeis Labor Coalition) I plan to find a job this summer in the business field. I want to see what both sides are like, and not that I have worked in a law firm I would really like to see what a business internship is like. I hope that in the business world, my concept of social justice continues to be reinforced by other good people who are out there to make a positive difference in this world.

Attached are two links related to the MCAD in case anyone was interested in reading a bit more information.

http://www.enterprisenews.com/topstories/x780624485/Massachusetts-Commission-Against-Discrimination-finds-lack-of-probable-cause-in-discrimination-complaint-by-former-West-Bridgewater-cop

http://www.mass.gov/mcad/

I want to give a huge Thanks to my supervisor Becky Shuster for teaching me so much in just a couple of weeks, and to the WOW committee for this wonderful opportunity, which would not have been possible without their support.

If anyone has any questions feel free to email me at Harold10@brandeis.edu.

So far, I’ve done about a dozen presentations in locations that range from neighborhoods in Boston – such as Chelsea, East Boston, Roxbury and Dorchester – to suburban areas including Newton, Waltham and Brookline. I recall how nervous I was for my first presentation back in June, but I have come a long way. The goal of my presentations, which on average last between one or two hours (and sometimes more), is to spread education to help end discrimination.

The first picture is of a presentation that contained between 10-12 people, while the second picture is of an audience with about 80-100 people. I’m have three coworkers and they are all undergraduates in college. They are very helpful and intelligent people. Fortunately, I have them by my side when I present to larger audiences – that way we help each other out and at the same time are able to give better presentations to more people.

The Massachusetts Commission against Discrimination is the state’s chief civil rights agency. The Commission works to eliminate discrimination on a variety of bases and areas, and strives to advance the civil rights of the people of the Commonwealth through law enforcement, outreach and training. As an intern, I work closely with not just with staff members and other interns at MCAD, but my specific role is to educate the public about their rights in Massachusetts.

I’ve come to learn that there are many people in the city of Boston as well as the greater Boston area that either confused about or are not too familiar with the housing, employment, and public spaces laws. This is why I’m very grateful to have this wonderful opportunity to not only learn discrimination laws and work alongside lawyers and other legal professionals, but more importantly to share this wealth of knowledge with disfranchised communities in Massachusetts. It brings warmness to my heart when I see people learn what I present to them. I understand how focused they are when I’m asked specific and very detailed questions. Fortunately, I’ve had good audiences so far and everyone has been kind and tentative (with the exception of one person whom I won’t write about today).
Moreover, I have given these S.E.E.D (Spreading Education to End Discrimination) presentations in both English and Spanish and sometimes even in Spanish only. This has helped reach my learning goals because it has fortified by ability to speak proper Spanish, and not simply the Spanish I speak at home with my mother. Also, I gave gained a lot of confidence and I’m no longer timid when it is my turn to speak to an audience. I’m sure I will take this confidence to the classrooms this fall semester. I am excited to continue learning, growing, and gaining more experience in the legal field here at MCAD.

I look forward to learning so much more from the rest of my time at MCAD.

The following two links are MCAD’s website homepage and the other is for individuals.employees.

http://www.mass.gov/mcad/index.html

http://www.mass.gov/mcad/forIndividualsEmployees.html