Category: Recipient of the Experiential WOW

The summer has flown by faster than I can remember and I am left with nothing but to express gratitude to my colleagues and mentors as I wrap up my summer at Ariadne Labs. At the beginning of the internship, I was caught in a whirlwind of supervisors striving to find work for me to do as the original project I was set to do, establishing a universal guide to medical marijuana, got put on hold. My original goals were catered to that project, however, with help from my supervisor I was able to craft new and improved goals relating to the work I am doing currently. My goals were revamped around building a professional network, gaining more patient interaction through interviews, and authorship on a published manuscript. In addition, I wanted to understand the ins and outs of a larger health care organization and I was able to do so by helping to draft OKRs for the Serious Illness Care Program for 2022. 

This internship has helped me clarify my career interests in becoming a physician as it showed the caveats of being a physician. The work done at Ariadne is to improve healthcare outcomes and ensure that physicians are doing the best they can to provide equitable care to all patient populations. I want to be a part of the next generation of physicians where we utilize person-centered practices in order to make sure we are using best practices and honoring the patients’ goals, values, and choices. I have learned from my supervisors that I have great networking skills and that I am driven to always find the next step no matter where I am in the process. I am also not satisfied with leaving tasks unfinished which is why I will continue to work with Ariadne asynchronously through the Fall 2021 semester.

The advice I would give to a student interested in an internship at Ariadne is to get in touch with as many professionals as you can and learn about their journeys to where they are at now and what they value in their work. To go along with that, everyone at the company is interested in your development and growth and every employee knows how important it is to network in the professional world and they will help facilitate every connection that you may need. Another piece of advice I have is to not be afraid to ask for more or less work or to be honest about your role. At the beginning of the summer, I felt that I was being underutilized and quickly reached out to see if there was any other work to be done, and I was quick to know that there always will be work to be done from the top-down. 

This summer, I am most proud of my adaptation to my new role on the team. Coming into the summer I was supposed to have one project for the whole summer where all my time would be dedicated, however, I quickly learned to adapt to my new role of helping in a myriad of different ways throughout the lab. 

–Ayush Thacker, Experiential Learning Fellow 2021

My first six weeks at Ariadne Labs have flown by rapidly and I am acclimated to the day-to-day operations in a virtual environment. Interning at a research lab virtually has its caveats but it has been an overall positive experience. Some positives include the convenience of being at home and not having to prepare for a commute. In addition, it adds a sneak peek into the coworker’s daily lives outside of work which we would not get in an in-person setting. On the other hand, the element of technical difficulties arises as well as the lack of an office-type atmosphere. In the remote world, we are often isolated from the outside until there are team or group meetings in our homes whereas in-person work would involve more than meetings, there would be team building events, meals, or even the daily passing by conversations with coworkers which adds to the experience of an internship.

Ariadne Labs Serious Illness Care Team

The World of Work has a plethora of similarities and differences to academic life. A similarity includes the aspect of learning in both settings. As an intern, a bulk of the work for me has been actively learning about the healthcare industry through team meetings, reading articles and participating in journal clubs with other interns. Through the journal club, the interns and I analyzed the team’s research studies, which is similar to the journal clubs we conduct in Biology Lab and Genetics and Genomics at Brandeis. However, a difference is that at Ariadne, we collect questions to ask the authors of the paper and understand their methods and next steps in research which we may not be able to do in an academic setting. Another difference is that the World of Work involves some professionals that have been working for even longer than I have been on Earth, so it is pertinent to reach out to them and gain insight on their journey to where they are currently. Ariadne has a weekly series called “The Path to Ariadne” where employees from all areas of work present their story of how they ended up at the organization with an opportunity to further connect and ask questions on their experiences. 

As part of this internship, I have adapted skills that are applicable to academics and my professional life following academic studies. One skill includes using Miro, a virtual whiteboard during convenings for visual facilitating and organization. Miro is a revolutionary application to virtual spaces for staying organized with the lack of planning on office boards. Another skill I have learned is the process of coding qualitative interviews in order to find the general themes and takeaways to use in future manuscripts. The process of coding entails two researchers side by side utilizing a system to categorize pieces of qualitative information and if the two researchers both categorize the excerpt using the same theme, that data is trusted and can be used  in a manuscript. Using software such as NVivo and Dedoose makes it easier to categorize and come to conclusions among researchers. Lastly, through manuscript work, a skill that I have developed is synthesizing data from applications and interviews to create tables and visuals to use in a potential manuscript. All of these skills can carry over into academic and professional work as I navigate the field of medicine and evidence-based research through visual facilitating, qualitative coding, and quantitative figure creating.

Overall, the World of Work is similar to the academic world in some ways. However, the ways that the two worlds are different provide the opportunity to apply the skills that I learn in the World of Work to the academic and professional world, as well. 

–Ayush Thacker, Experiential Learning Fellow

 

“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great” – Zig Ziglar

(Photo: Testing out the equipment and study we created in VR)

Good quotes are a double-edged sword. On the one hand they summarize in a concise way everything that you want your audience to understand, on the other hand, they prove to you again that their short truth could have saved you months of emotional struggle and complications. And yet, that is the biggest gift I have learned from my time in Germany: that although I know what overcoming challenge is, and how every start can be hard, experiencing that journey myself, that emotional rollercoaster from hardship to success, is one of the most satisfying and rewarding experiences.

As this internship comes to an end – I enjoy looking at it to understand the process I have experienced. The goals I had initially set for myself for the summer were to help me clarify my direction – and that was definitely accomplished. After long hours of coding and figuring out the correct technology for our experiment to finally finished the pilot study and finding significant results, I recognized three main career points that I learned:

• Having Inspiring Co-Workers Makes A World of a Difference

I have been incredibly inspired by the awareness, intelligence, and care that the people around me in the lab have. This is not only prevalent in their incredible work, collaborations and projects, but also in their global awareness and care about issues that I would love to see more Americans talk about (healthcare, employment agreements, environmental action, etc). The result is a work culture that is fun and therefore more productive, but also one that impacts your attitude after work and your daily interactions.

• I Need Direct Customer Interaction

I recognized this summer that direct customer interaction is something that I really value and care about. I want to see the smile when I hand someone a product they care about, I want to share the passion of producing a result that actually improves someone’s life, I want to be able to deliver happiness and satisfaction through shared human emotion. In a laboratory setting or when coding, the feeling of personal accomplishment is huge, but the direct-to-customer interaction is lacking. When I got to running subjects and talking with the people doing the pilot study my energy was so much higher and my motivation skyrocketed. I believe this internship helped me refocus my search for the type of work position I want in the future.

• Embracing the Intersection of Disciplines

The project I am working on is a dream for me: combining VR and an audio simulation study. The pilot we conducted with a few subjects showed really interesting trends and made us think of new hypotheses to test. Although I did not have enough time to see the full project through, it is something that I am so grateful for being able to work on and I really hope to see more of this intersection between disciplines work in the future.

(Photos: Ehrenfeld wall art, Hamburg Speicherstadt)

In summary, when looking back I am incredibly grateful for the lab for embracing me into their “family” and being my guides for the duration of my time here. Their support has given me power to continue taking steps forward and to embrace the learning process. After finding positive trends and results from the initial pilot data (which is really exciting) I completely trust the team here to lead the project forward with the professionalism, humbleness, and hard work that they do. I believe the best advice I would give a student coming here would be to reach out for help and challenges when necessary and be open to recognizing where you need assistance and learning to maximize your own productivity. This is similar advice that I have seen across the software and technology field, internships are supposed to be a view into the real – world post university, where your own initiative will determine your success and work satisfaction.

I am ready to go back to Brandeis University with these new ideas – and to apply the energy, European mindset, and perspective I have been exposed to here while in Germany. There are so many small moments when abroad that cause you to appreciate how varied human society is; how fortunate I am to be in a place like Boston where I can grow, be challenged, and feel at home all at the same time.

One shift in the emergency room, a woman came in wailing. She was clutching her stomach in excruciating pain and discomfort. I ended up by her side, walking her through breathing exercises while holding her hand and shoulder.

Another shift, a patient was very frustrated that nobody spoke Russian in the hospital. She was agitated, screaming in her language to everyone who walked nearby. I ended up by her side too, having a lively emotional conversation using hand motions and drawings.

A third time, I saw a man screaming in anguish over the sight of his amputated finger being stitched up. I ended up by his side as well, asking about his past as a professional world traveling bicyclist. He later squeezed my hand and thanked me for understanding what he needed.

I will never forget these experiences that strengthened my ability to connect with the patients who need it most. I have grown immensely into a strong caregiver able to listen with compassion and sensitivity. Building these skills was the most important goal for me this summer as I believe empathy is as critical a part of medicine as a diagnosis.  Every day in the hospital, I saw firsthand that empathy has strong positive effects on a patient’s overall care.

In the modern Hippocratic oath, physicians swear to “remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon’s knife or the chemist’s drug”. I am privileged to have had five hours a day with the purpose of providing this warmth, sympathy, and understanding. In the hospital, volunteers and first year providers have a very obvious drive to advocate for and understand patients. I look up to the physicians who maintain this passion after years of practice, and I strive to be like them in my future.

I encourage future Project Healthcare volunteers to notice who holds on to this passion and learn from them. Use this time to build your own lifelong interpersonal and bedside manner skills. Take the time to understand this diverse populations’ backgrounds and values and use this knowledge to advocate. I encourage you, and everyone interested in healthcare, to step out of your comfort zone and speak up for those who need it most.

As I leave this internship, I am taking with me a stronger understanding of how I can best help in my future. Project Healthcare has solidified my passion to advocate for equitable access to healthcare. With this in mind, although I have not narrowed down a specific career path, I have decided to work with medically underserved populations in my future. I found that I can always work on strengthening my understanding of other backgrounds and values and that doing so is key to being able to make a difference. In this way, I will continue to strive to implement change in underrepresented communities in whichever profession I pursue. Later this week, I will return my Bellevue ID, endlessly grateful for the people I have met and the lessons I have learned.

Music played loudly from the health fair tables in front of me. It competed with the chatter of volunteers discussing their noncontroversial topics of fitness, diabetes, and smoking. The mixture of staff, patients, and community members laughed enthusiastically as they played interactive games to learn about each topic. I stood eagerly in front of my poster, waiting for the crowd to approach me. Slowly, they neared my station, only getting close enough to shoot me a glare before quickly walking to another table. It hurt that my welcoming smile wasn’t enough to draw people in. I looked around and compared my project to those around me. My game was just as interactive, my poster was just as colorful, and my presentation was just as informative. I saw one clear difference: my poster displayed one of the most taboo words in American culture: sex. I realized that though I had become comfortable talking about sex in the past weeks researching, other people were not as receptive. 

Sex is so stigmatized in the United States that people would rather lie to their children about how babies are made than talk to them about sex. This environment creates a community where people feel uncomfortable asking important questions about a topic that is natural and healthy. So, although I had prepared for weeks to promote informed safe sex, I was met with a community who rejected the topic. To accommodate these feelings, my group changed our approach by advertising our game as a test to people’s knowledge rather than putting the emphasis on sex. Now, these adults became interested in proving how much they know. Our activity, called “the pull-out game” prompted participants to pull out a card with true or false questions to test their knowledge on sexual health. 

Questions that were commonly answered incorrectly included “wearing two condoms is safer than one”, “you can always tell if someone has an STI by looking at them”, and “you can’t get an STI from oral sex”. Through conversing with the public, we broke down significant misconceptions about sexual health and created an environment where people felt comfortable talking informatively about the topic. We handed out many pamphlets in English Spanish and Chinese on different kinds of sexually transmitted infections and forms of birth control, and answered extra questions afterwards. When handing out pamphlets, we persisted in being cognizant of people’s backgrounds. We prioritized handing out a flyer with sexual health clinic locations, making sure to advertise that these clinics provide low to no cost services and that no appointment is necessary, regardless of immigration status, health insurance, or ability to pay. 

My experiences in the health fair reinforced for me that issues in the emergency department are a reflection of society. In my day to day experiences in the emergency room, sex is not the only taboo subject addressed. Substance use and homelessness are prevalent in the hospital and are also taboo subjects in “normal” society. However, in an emergency situation, talking to a person about their medical history and housing situation, however controversial, is paramount in effectively treating that person. 

Many situations like these prove that in healthcare, it is essential to genuinely understand and be sensitive towards a patient’s background, education, and values. I am learning that this rounded outlook is necessary in ensuring patients feel treated and heard. In my role as a volunteer, I am developing skills to more effectively communicate and sympathize, while being cognizant of people’s disparities. I am uniquely positioned this summer to listen to patients and community members and learn important lessons from them that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

As an undergraduate struggling to decide on a path in healthcare, I wondered if I would ever get the exposure I needed to make an informed career decision. I opportunely found Bellevue Project Healthcare, a program that gives me the unique chance to gain authentic healthcare experiences at Bellevue Hospital in NYC.

Through this program, I advocate for patients by talking with them, interpreting, making calls on their behalf, and monitoring their lengths of stays. Additionally, I have responsibilities like assisting with EKGs, making up stretchers, stocking supplies, and transporting patients. Lastly, I will soon have the chance to engage with NYC communities by organizing a community health fair, and presenting a project to NYU/Bellevue faculty.

I am assigned to random shifts at the hospital that mimic the true intensity of healthcare:

In this schedule, I have shifts in different departments within the hospital: adult emergency, social work, urgent care departments and more. Along with these clinical rotations, we also have weekly educational meetings where we learn about and discuss prevalent social and medical issues in the community.

Before starting the program, I was drawn to Bellevue’s powerful mission to “provide the highest quality of care to New York’s neediest populations and to deliver health care to every patient with dignity, cultural sensitivity and compassion, regardless of ability to pay” (https://med.nyu.edu/idevelop/resources/Mandates2012.pdf). Having worked for only two weeks, I have already come to understand the strong impact this statement has on New York communities. More than 80 percent of the patients in this hospital come from the city’s medically underserved populations, especially homeless people and prisoners. I was inspired by the fact that the health and safety of these populations always come first regardless of any other factors like being uninsured or undocumented. What truly drew me in to Bellevue Project Healthcare was that I am not only shadowing the various positions I may be interested in, but I am also gaining invaluable insight on Bellevue’s diverse and unique patient population through talking to and advocating for them.

In the few shifts I have already had, I see that even as volunteers, Project Healthcare participants have an impact. Through conversations, I have made patients much more comfortable, discovered new symptoms patients did not think were important to share with physicians, and eased tensions or misunderstandings. I learned that just acknowledgement of an issue goes a long way when it comes to advocating for patients, and that many of them just want someone to listen and validate their concerns. I feel privileged to be able to make even the slightest difference in these patients’ hospital visits by advocating for them in any way I can.

My goals in continuing this program are to begin building my healthcare career, and to develop valuable lifelong interpersonal and bedside manner skills. I hope to become well-versed in my understanding of policy as well as diversity in healthcare. Using this knowledge, I will identify areas of academic focus and tailor my curriculum to facilitate growth in my career. I believe that gaining this knowledge will reaffirm my passion for my minor of Hispanic Studies,  as I will further understand the influence of cultural barriers in health. I will further deepen my understanding of the importance of making sure patients feel understood and respected. Developing these skills is the most important goal for me this summer because I strongly believe that they are crucial in healthcare, and that empathy is a critical part of healthcare as a diagnosis.

On my first day at the United States Mission to the United Nations (USUN), a Regional Security Officer later told me he thought I looked “terrified.” As much as I tried to hide my nervousness on that first day, I had no idea what my summer in a new city would hold for me. As I exit the Mission ten weeks later, I know that I leave with more knowledge about political reform and public policy, professional skills, as well as personal confidence that have exceeded my expectations for this summer.

In helping with projects bigger than myself and providing support in the offices I worked in, I gained a better understanding of the meaning of teamwork and communication. I learned when to listen and apply knowledge from coworkers, but also when to step in with suggestions. It was challenging navigating how the Mission fit into the bigger system of the State Department and the United Nations, and being surrounded by important and successful diplomats was certainly intimidating, but also incredibly inspiring.

I gained a better understanding of the various career paths I can take as someone interested in international relations, and global health and development. Through weekly brown bag lunches with political officers, deputy heads of sections, and even an ambassador, I heard about diverse backgrounds that have led to successful careers at the State Department and at the Mission.

My advice to those who are studying International and Global Studies (IGS) is to be open-minded in your opportunities. Find what you are passionate about and work towards a career doing exactly that. In trial and error and in figuring out what you don’t want to do, you can figure out what exactly it is you do want to do.

I am most proud of the independence that I have gained this summer. Living and working on my own in New York City brought on many new challenges that my small town in Arnold, Maryland certainly didn’t prepare me for. Whether it was navigating the subway system, learning how to network at events and meetings, or simply making sure I had enough food in my fridge for the next day’s lunch, I have definitely gained professional and personal life skills that I will take with me back to Brandeis.

As I finish up my last few days at the US Mission the UN, walking through the United Nations “Delegates Entrance” has become bittersweet. The functions of the UN that I have studied huddled under a textbook have come to life in multilateral negotiations at the General Assembly and Security Council, and I will certainly miss being surrounded by so many inspiring individuals who I can learn from. I hope to keep the relationships I have made in New York, and I hope to return soon. I am very grateful for the opportunity to have interned at the United States Mission to the United Nations, which I know would not have been possible without the WOW fellowship, and I am eager to see what the future has in store.

P.S. The Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Jonathan Cohen’s parents went to Brandeis! You never know who you will meet along the way!

Things are going really well at the Cuba Program. Lately, we’ve been having a lot of people visiting from Cuba. We have a meeting a few days ago with the President/Director of the Fundación Antonio Nunez Jimenez which focuses largely on sustainable development and environmental issues in Cuba. I was able to meet her and sit in on the meeting. FANJ had worked with several European funders that also donated to our office (as well as with the Environmental Defense Fund, Ocean Doctor, and others from the US). They are in the process of building the first ever solar paneled “green” building in Cuba and wanted to see if Columbia could collaborate in any way. More information on the Fundación Antonio Nunez Jimenez can be found here: http://www.fanj.org/

I have also been gathering data for a book my boss/mentor is helping to write. The book is focused on academia and the direction the modern discipline of international relations (not specifically in relation to Cuba) is taking. It seems as though the field of international relations isn’t as “international” as one may think- the US hegemony is growing more and more evident. Looking at the graph below, one can note how the majority of the respondents to the question of who has the greatest influence on the discipline cite US-based scholars. In her upcoming book, my mentor is calling for a diversification of influences in the scholarship so that students can learn and grow from a variety of theories/countries rather than just one.

Graph made available by:

Maliniak, Daniel, Powers, Ryan, Peterson, Susan, Tierney, Michael J. January 08, 2018. “Is  International Relations a Global Discipline?            Hegemony, Insularity, and Diversity in the   Field.” Security studies, (accessed August 02, 2018). http://wmpeople.wm.edu/asset/index/smpete/ss2018

 

Also, some advice for students who have a passion but don’t know what to do with it:

I walked into this internship knowing only one thing: I loved Cuba and cared dearly for its financial/political progress. If you know that you’re passionate about something but don’t know how to make that into an internship, the university research setting is a great place to start. There are so many programs (at Columbia and elsewhere) that are similar to the Cuba program in the sense that they focus on one thing specifically. I was able to find my internship simply by Googling “research on Cuba NYC”; once you have a passion and know where you would want to pursue it, finding like-minded people is easier than you think!

And some tips for future interns who may be a bit shy (like myself):

Don’t be afraid to ask questions! Taking a genuine interest in your boss/mentors’ career should be part of your experience. Chances are, if they chose you for the position, they’ll want to share their knowledge and experiences with you. By asking, you’ll not only learn more about the industry but also more about what you may want from your own time there.

If you have any questions about the Cuba program or Columbia or NYC in general, please don’t hesitate to reach out! nataliagonzlz@brandeis.edu

I’m lucky enough to have an internship that makes it easy to get out of bed each morning. Walking through the streets of New York, $2 coffee from a local coffee shop in hand, I am always excited to see the new opportunities each day has in store at the U.S. Mission to the UN (USUN).

In the Research Unit, I have enhanced my investigative research skills by assisting with research requests. During my time at USUN, I have taken classes at the UN Dag Hammarskjold Library on Security Council and General Assembly documentation, which have helped me better understand the UN system, as well as how to use UN databases in order to find information. If you’re curious to learn more or would like to engage in your own research using official UN documents, links to these databases can be found here (ODS) and here (UNBISNET).

Additionally, I help in management of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, after a recent surge of requests since fall of 2017. Tasks range from assisting in finding information requested within the Research Unit’s records to management of documents. I also assist with a records management project in order to properly archive official USUN documents.

In the Host Country Affairs Section, I organize notifications to Permanent Missions to the UN, and their respective responses to a project to confirm the official status of members of their households in the United States. I distribute to members of the United Nations community the return of their national passports when U.S. visas have been issued as well as Department of State Diplomatic and official identification credentials. This past week I attended a meeting of the Committee on Relations with the Host Country in which I observed how the United States administers its responsibilities as the host country for 192 member states.

Additionally, I have been able to sit in on meetings during the UN’s High Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development, and write short readouts about the events and panels I attend. Click here for more information about HLPF.

Through these experiences and tasks, I have gained vital information on how political reform is executed on a global level. I have begun to understand the complexities of multilateral negotiations at an international institution, and the difficulty of implementing change. This knowledge has opened my mind to the abundant number of career paths I could pursue after I graduate, and I am excited to see what the future holds.

I am also extremely grateful to be in New York City this summer, as I have  explored many new parts of the city and met people from all over the world. For the 4^th of July, the U.S. Mission hosted a party at the UN, which I attended and viewed the Macy’s 4^th of July fireworks from the best seat in the city, accompanied by the U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley. I have also explored many historic and cultural parts of the city, and with every new item I check off my “list of things to do in NYC,” many more are immediately added to the list. I have  met many interns who are interested in pursuing similar career paths as I am and have been able to learn from their experiences,  as well. I am looking forward to seeing what the rest of the summer has in store!

To provide a quick background of the Cuba Program at Columbia University in New York, the program is aimed at increasing scholarly exchanges between Cuban and U.S. based scholars and other experts in other countries on topics of mutual interest through a variety of mechanisms, such as publications, public lectures, and academic visits. Columbia academics also visit Cuba to engage in comparative analysis of topics of mutual interest. The research undertaken by both Cuban and US scholars has resulted in a variety of publications in the US and abroad. Cuban entrepreneurs and scholars have spent extended periods at Columbia on study trips to deepen their knowledge of strategies to meet the challenges of the non-state sector on the island. The Program has also actively cooperated with the media in promoting greater understanding of US-Cuban relations.

Today marks the end of my first two weeks on the job. The amount of resources available here at Columbia is absolutely incredible. The Institute of Latin American Studies here at Columbia has its own library and reading room along with a full-time librarian who is an expert on all publications, databases, etc. pertaining to the region. I met with him this week and he showed me how to navigate through the different databases. I was introduced to a whole world of knowledge that I had only scraped the surface of before coming here. In the photo below, you can see my official ID  (figure 1) which gets me into all different buildings on campus (including the libraries and archives) and thus, allows me to checkout different books/documents needed for our research.

I am already learning a lot about Cuban history, culture and politics but I feel like I am also learning a lot about how academic/research institutions function and are successful. My boss/mentor/professor is so well versed, wise and knowledgeable. She has gone into conflict zones in Latin America to conduct research and serves on several Human Rights councils. Not only has she traveled to Cuba 63 times for research purposes alone but she is also considered one of the world’s leading scholars on religion and society in Cuba. It is truly an honor to work alongside her. I have a feeling that I am going to learn a lot from her. She was even kind enough to invite me to her home this past weekend to borrow a few books from her personal library. I was so happy! Below you can find the book she and her colleagues published last year (photo 2) and the one for this year (photo 3).

 

 

 

 

My mentor will be heading to Miami in a few days for a conference at the US Southern Command (the part of the military that deals with the Latin American) to do several presentations on human rights challenges facing the armed forces in the region. Most military leaders of the Latin American countries will be in attendance! We’ve been working tirelessly for the past few days on gathering data for that. It can be tough at times because you can look through countless books and articles and still not find what you’re trying to convey. That being said, nothing tops the feeling of accomplishment when you finally find the perfect data! Below you can find one of the graphs (figure 4) we’ll be using (source: Isacson, Adam. and Kinosian, Sarah. U.S. Military Assistance and Latin America – WOLA. [online] 27 April 2017) as well as a chart (figure 5) that I put together regarding US involvement and human rights program effectiveness in Latin America.

I am so excited to see what the rest of the summer has in store!

Natalia Gonzalez

Hey everyone! My name is Gilberto and I am a rising senior at Brandeis studying African and Afro-American Studies. Additionally, I am one of the recipients of the WOW Experiential Learning Grant. With the grant, I am completing an internship at the Parsnip Ship in Brooklyn, NY. The Parsnip Ship is a theater collective that brings diverse voices to their theater stage. Moreover, as the specific live show is happening it is also being recorded into their podcast.

I am just beginning my second week at the Parsnip Ship. As a New Yorker, I am accustomed to the busy nature of the city. However, being in the work force and actually being busy is a whole other thing. I feel like I’ve reached the highest form of New Yorker! Anyway, my internship is unique in that the organization was started by a Brandeis alum and most of the people on the staff team are from Brandeis. This level of familiarity has been the grounding part of my internship amidst all of the busy things that have been happening!

My day-to-day schedule looks like: meeting with the staff to discuss updates on our current projects, talking with playwrights and actors about logistical necessities for the shows and completing other basic administrative duties essential to the theater collective.

For the next season that will start up later on in the summer, all shows are exclusively written by playwrights of color. As a unique opportunity and a good way to bring in my passion and skills in reading performative texts, I get to be part of the committee that reads the submissions and chooses the plays that will make it to the final stage.

Here is an image of the first page of the program I worked on:

I have been incredibly blessed to find an internship that allows me not only to witness creative work but enables me to put on creative work. I am so excited to continue learning in this amazing environment. Stay tuned for more!

Gilberto Rosa ’19

The idea of securing an internship was always an intimidating career step to me. Everyone has a different idea of what an intern should do, whether they should be paid, and how valuable their experience really is. I was afraid that interns were overburdened, insufficiently supported workers whose sole contribution was to carry out their supervisor’s agenda without having strong ties to the rest of the office or team. Luckily, this has not been my experience this summer at Care Dimensions.

My biggest surprise as I began working regularly in the office was that my supervisor rarely had a strict agenda for me to complete. Though this was part of my expectation of internships, my background as a full-time student also contributed to this assumption. By the first day of classes at Brandeis, each professor has spent at least half an hour explaining a three to seven page syllabus that often contains a detailed schedule for the full semester. While, as a student, I generally knew how to best organize and prepare for my academic responsibilities ahead of time, I’ve had to become very flexible in my position within Care Dimensions. In the past two weeks, I have driven to patients’ homes while shadowing a nurse practitioner; I have worked in the Waltham office and the Kaplan Family

Hospice House (KFHH) in Danvers; and I have helped on projects for four different volunteer coordinators and two different bereavement counselors in the two separate offices. Most recently, I have been working on small projects for a bereavement counselor in the Kaplan House, and that has required fast familiarity with several areas of the program used to store patient data. The tasks themselves are simple enough, but it involves a lot of data entry and modification. Though the counselor showed me how to do this, I quickly discovered that if I spent some time exploring the program, I would find a new approach that was easier for me and allowed me to finish much faster. As I fell into a rhythm and knew what information to expect on a patient profile, I occasionally found errors that the counselor could later correct. I was also happy to share a few shortcuts she hadn’t previously used, but was excited to learn and try.

 

 

 

Since my exposure to Care Dimensions staff and volunteers has grown to encompass two offices in the past month, I can more confidently say that people choose to work and volunteer for the organization because they have a real desire to contribute to hospice. Whenever I describe my internship to friends and family, the most common reaction is that the environment must be incredibly depressing. While it’s true that patients and families on hospice can experience a great deal of emotional distress, the nurses, social workers, volunteers, bereavement counselors, and other staff at Care Dimensions are genuine, supportive, and caring resources. During my shifts at the front desk of KFHH, I met and spoke at length with a number of volunteers. They shared the reasons they got into hospice as well as the reasons why they’ve stayed—in some cases, for up to seven years. Many volunteers got involved with Care Dimensions following a personal, positive experience with the hospice and wanted to join the team to give back to other families in a similar way. So I can’t say that my internship with Care Dimensions has been in any way negative, depressing, or intimidating; rather, the people and the cause have inspired and challenged me since day one.

Angela Balcom ’18

Working at the Malden District Court has been a truly immersive experience. I’ve made it my personal goal to attend as many jury and bench trials as possible, and at each one, I’ve made detailed notes of the prosecution and defense attorneys techniques in opening, closing, and cross examination. Through these notes, I’ve been able to witness a plethora of styles of oral advocacy.  Surprisingly, it helped me better understand how attorneys face audiences, whether juries or judges, when presented with trials.

Outside of the workplace, I’ve gotten to know the attorneys and court personnel of our office and court and talked about their experiences in law, law school, court, and lives as legal professionals. It’s been a great way to get an insight into what it’s actually like to work in the public sector as a criminal prosecutor, and I’ve felt more than welcomed by all of my peers to ask and inquire as much as I’d like.

The staff at my office are phenomenal at teaching me anything I’d like to know.  So within the past two weeks, I have learned how to create redacted copies of case files, file discovery notices, and create CTU folders (I’ve included a blank picture of one here). This takes hours of time off the attorneys hands, and in the process, I get to learn about what the different components of a case file (like the elements of discovery) consist of and how they are relevant to investigation.

While I was watching a jury trial, I asked an attorney about the significance of side-bar conversations with the judge during trial. After she explained it to me, she noted, “This is the stuff they don’t teach you in law school!” At first, that statement was shocking to me, because it seemed as though court proceedings and techniques would be necessary to teach in law school, but the more trials I attended, the more I saw her point. Academic life is a wonderful way to learn about the law, master it, study case law, and become an expert in the components and contents of the law and case matters. The most representative of the difference between on-site and off-site learning can be exhibited here with this Annual Report.  It contains a wealth of information, and it all becomes much clearer once you are actually in the court watching it happen. Practice and observation is where I have learned the intricate details in oral advocacy and court etiquette that make all the difference when bringing a case to trial. These hands-on experiences are what show me what makes a successful defense attorney or ADA, because the requirements extend beyond what case law can teach you. (For instance, here’s some information regarding the types of jurors that exist in the MA court system: http://www.mass.gov/courts/jury-info/trial-and-grand-jurors/ http://www.mass.gov/courts/jury-info/mass-jury-system/ )

Not only has this experience taught me to properly analyze, observe, and interpret case files and trial proceedings, but it has also taught me to become a better oral advocator myself in enhancing my organizational and communication skills. I know how to present myself in court and to the public, and I’m learning how to closely read cases and spot relevant information that might be important or worth noting for future arguments. These are vital skills that will carry with me through my academic career at Brandeis and law school, but they will also assist me in all other areas of my life in my professional career as a lawyer, my personal interests in reading and writing, and my on campus involvement with student groups that aim to reach and affect wide audiences. It’s been a wonderful first four weeks, and I’m more than excited.

Nadisha Wickramaratne

Walking through Providence everyday on my way to work feels refreshing. The combination of a once unfamiliar place beginning to feel like home, and of a transition into a truly vibrant city with new people, has made my summer exciting. I’ve grown to appreciate Providence and all that it has to offer, as well as accept that there is so much more to see that I have yet to explore. As a Sponsorship and Development Associate at RIIFF, I have become acutely aware of just how many more dining hot-spots and local tourist attractions I should check out in my quest to feel more of the Rhode Island experience. I have been able to see the buildings that host many of the major events of Rhode Island through my sponsorship work. One such building is the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC), a gorgeous building that will be used for our Opening Night.

My time during this summer at RIIFF is much more focused than when I am full-time at Brandeis, by nature of being able to truly  focus on my internship itself. At school, I juggle a multitude of commitments, ranging from academic pursuits to social activities, including work, community service, athletic teams and classes. During this summer at RIIFF, I have not had to balance so many of those obligations, so my time at work is truly the main receiver of all my energy. I am able to come to work each day with a fresh mind without many distractions. This is something I have truly come to appreciate in the day-to-day lifestyle I am able to live this summer.

One of my favorite aspects of this internship is engaging in interviews with our favorite filmmakers. It is so rewarding to be able to talk to and learn from some of the best in the industry. I have the opportunity to interview one of my favorite interviewers on his documentaries regarding the impacts of prison and necessary reforms surrounding the system. I am grateful for the opportunity to do so, particularly given my long-standing appreciation for this filmmaker and my passion for the topics that he covers. In addition, the ability to view so many different films from all over the world is invaluable, and I feel as though I have learned so much from watching them.

I have loved immersing myself in the world of sponsorship work. The skills I have learned here at RIIFF are those I could certainly apply in other aspects of my life. I feel confident in pursuing sponsors, should I need to, for clubs I am involved in on campus now. While many of the interactions I have with potential sponsors take place over the phone, I have come to realize that in-person meeting is a much easier way to specify exactly what is wanted so that I can persuade potential sponsors to provide that. Communicating over the phone is very important in my role here, which is a skill that I will be able to apply in almost all of my future endeavors. It is rewarding to focus on being charming while communicating over a medium which is often seen as impersonal because of its lack of face-to-face contact.  

I am looking forward to seeing all of the work completed by RIIFF staff come to fruition during the festival. We already are anticipating the business of that week with much excitement! If you are interested in attending, please feel free to click here to purchase tickets!

-Anna Craven

During February break, I began researching hospice positions around Waltham and, within a week, I received a call back from a volunteer coordinator from Care Dimensions. What I had expected to be an informative conversation about the role of hospice turned into an impromptu interview and an informal offer for a volunteer position. Though I was ecstatic to have a summer job, I was most appreciative

that the volunteer coordinator seemed to understand my fear that I wasn’t ready to visit and form relationships with terminally ill individuals. Since then, I’ve completed six of the eight volunteer trainings she spoke of over the phone, and my confidence has grown with every exercise, Q & A, and guest speaker. All volunteers received a manual covering topics from the role of nurses and social workers to dementia to grief and bereavement. Through the trainings and given resources, I’ve developed a greater understanding of hospice’s mission and of my own contribution toward that mission.

When an individual is admitted to hospice service, it means that two physicians have certified that, if their disease follows a normal course, the patient will likely live no more than six months.  Following admission, the patient and family are assigned a care team comprised of a nurse, a social worker, and a chaplain who will visit regularly. This clinical team is assembled to care for a person medically, emotionally, and psychosocially. As part of my training, I met three people representing each aspect of the team and was struck by their commitment to the service they are trained to provide. As they spoke of their duties, they revealed the enthusiasm for their work that drives them to give the highest quality of care possible. I was also lucky to join Care Dimensions just in time to receive an invitation to their summer volunteer appreciation dinner, during which I met people who contribute a variety of talents to the hospice; I chatted with a volunteer coordinator from Danvers about her five pets, I laughed as a media specialist snapped my photo, I asked a woman a million questions about her therapy dog as I petted the very same dog, and I shared my excitement over joining the volunteer team with a woman who later rose to give a speech and introduce herself as the new CEO and president of Care Dimensions.

As I prepared my application to join the WOW program, I already knew that my responsibilities would include an extensive training, weekly social visits to patients, administrative work, and involvement in the

monthly volunteer support meetings. I knew that the volunteer coordinators were lovely people committed to the hospice cause,but I didn’t know just how much everyone at Care Dimensions values the volunteers. The sincerity they express in their gratitude for our service has been my motivation to finish the assigned readings, travel an hour to Waltham for trainings, and ask tough questions. I’ve learned so much about end-of-life care, and I am eager to begin visiting patients and to share the passion and dedication I’ve seen as characteristic of Care Dimensions. My greatest hope for my role as a volunteer is that I can have a positive impact on people who, as a consequence of their situation, are pulling further away from society, but still deserve awareness and respect from their community in a way that preserves their dignity.

 

 

I have just concluded my first week interning at the Middlesex District Attorney’s office (MDAO), and I’ve already learned more than I could have anticipated in such a short period of time. The MDAO office consists of prosecutors and public servants designed to help effectively prosecute cases and provide prevention programs and partnerships for the community. (A list of those programs and areas of prosecution can be found here.) Since last Wednesday, I have been working in my own office on the first floor of the Woburn office alongside with legal interns, an administrative assistant, and Assistant District Attorneys (ADAs). My internship assignment is with the Malden Superior Court, so my assistance in the Woburn office has been focused on cases related to the Superior Court division, which handles serious criminal crimes with possible prison sentences of more than 2 ½ years (more info on differentiating the Superior Court from District Courts can be found here on the DA’s website!). So far, my biggest assignment with this office has been reviewing jail calls by a person incarcerated at a House of Corrections facility who is awaiting trial. My job is to listen to the records of his jail calls from visits and recreation phone calls to see if the inmate admits to the crime or leaves hints about his crime or other crimes he may have been involved in. These notes will eventually serve to assist the ADAs in their investigation. I listened to over 100 calls so far from 3 CDs! Each CD contains about 22 hours of footage, and I included a picture of them below:

http://www.mass.gov/courts/court-info/courthouses/ipswich-marl/malden-district-court-generic.html

After spending a few days here in Woburn, I realized that I am very interested in observing how the court process works, so I asked my supervisor if I could attend a few days of my internship at the Malden District Court (featured above), and now I will be working there three days a week (with the remaining two days at the Woburn office). Yesterday was my first day, and the moment I stepped in, I witnessed 12 pleas in three different court sessions. The ADAs were constantly moving, and it was fascinating to watch them conduct each session. It was also the first time I ever heard a criminal plea, and by the end of it I could recite the informational requirements the Judge gives to each accused before he gives his plea (Otherwise known as Criminal Procedure Rule 12 subsections a through d, found here.) It was perfect to analyze the court system and learn about pleas directly from the judges, accused, Defense Attorneys, and ADAs themselves.

Following court, I was given a desk at the ADA’s office, and within four hours, I had already assisted with case research and case filing for three different attorneys. All of this help went directly to their case files, which affects how the cases will be treated moving forward and how they will be filed in the District Court system. I was also told that the next time I go to court, I will be helping organize more of their case files while I watch the trials. This way I’ll be able to help the attorneys better access the research they need for trial while I learn about how the trials work by observing.

This internship experience has so far met my goals to learn about the role of the Prosecution and objectives of the DA in defining justice above and beyond, and I’m very excited for the next few weeks for me to get involved in more in-depth projects and see how much more I can be involved in. I began this internship with the intent to learn more about prosecution and the DA, but I also wanted to fully immerse myself in the experience so that I could learn about areas I didn’t previously know about. After just one week, I’ve already learned about prisons systems (from the inside), the role of detectives at crime scenes, the role of judges, appellate courts, and members of the DA office like Victim/Witness Advocates that I work alongside in my office at the court. Featured above is only one of three folders that I’ve received from my supervisor filled with information about criminal justice, the court, the DA office, elements of crime, etc. Everyone is eager and willing to help and talk with me whenever I have questions, and I’m excited to start my next week to see what else they have to show me!

This summer I am fortunate enough to be working with Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival. I am working as a sponsorship associate through their internship program. This is a particularly special summer to be working with Flickers’, as this year is their 35th anniversary. The Flickers’ film festival is New England’s sole Oscar and BAFTA qualifying film festival, and receives a wide variety of independent films across all genres. Last year, over 5500 films were submitted to the festival. The act of showcasing the work of independent filmmakers is so important, as an audience is needed for any piece of art. As such, I am so happy to be a part of the RIIFF team.

My desk at Flickers!

Within my first week at RIIFF I noticed and appreciated how much I felt like a part of the team here. Interns are given great ownership of their assigned tasks, and expected to complete them independently (with help as needed, of course!). I enjoy fulfilling my duties as a sponsorship intern, which include researching potential sponsorship organizations, updating the sponsorship database and meeting with sponsors to discuss their roles in the festival. In addition, as a member of the RIIFF intern team for 2017, I also take calls, attend staff meetings, and help judge films submitted to the festival. I was blown away by the level of professionalism and in some cases, perfection, in many of the films submitted. My first day I watched many of the films under the college submission category, and saw such an extreme amount of talent, in terms of video design, sound editing, acting, and more. I feel lucky to be able to watch such a wide variety of films with so many different purposes, workers and themes.

On the day to day, the other sponsorship intern and I compose a list of companies to call regarding a potential sponsorship for the festival, then call those companies and discuss partnership opportunities. I love the team environment that I am working in, because I truly feel that I am a significant part of the important work that Flickers’ is doing to prepare for the festival in August. A personal strong suit of mine is conversing over the phone for professional purposes, so I am happy to be able to put this skill to use and to continue to work on it.

Going into this summer, I have three distinct goals. I hope to build close connections in the film industry, explore Providence, and learn how films are marketed after the production phase. So far I have been able to spend time with my fellow interns and the rest of the RIIFF team, and learn from their experiences. I have also been exploring Providence after work: I am in the perfect location to do so! My internship is in Providence, near the state house, and as such, is bustling with action, day and night. We are also near Providence Place, an incredibly vast and beautiful mall, with lots of parking. In addition, through my work as a sponsorship intern I have become more aware of local food and dessert hot spots near me, so I hope to check more of those out this summer. Lastly, I have already learned much about how film festivals are run behind the scenes, particularly in terms of what happens with films after they are submitted. I know that my knowledge of how film festivals run will increase more as we approach the festival in August, when we will all be gearing up and it will be all hands on deck! I’m looking forward to being able to see all of the work put in this summer culminate to one wonderful week.

-Anna Craven