‘Internships’ Articles at WOW Fellowship Blog

Post 5: The Personal is Political

Hello everyone!

I cannot believe that five weeks have gone by already. How time has flown! Working at Ancient Song Doula Services for the past two months has been one of the most fulfilling and rewarding experiences in my life.

Going into this summer, I was fearful that I would not gain as much from working here compared to all that I learned last year. Quickly I realized, however, that with such important work, the responsibilities are constantly growing and evolving and so is the learning.

My work this year has been centered around tackling current events and political reform as we have gotten closer to the reimbursement of doula services through Medicaid insurance, which has been a long awaited goal. , If done correctly, this reform can assure accessibility to undeserved communities. With progress and change around the corner, it is important to keep the momentum going. This does placed added pressure on community-based services who have been at the forefront of the birth justice movement since the begining.

Here is a flyer I created on our upcoming Decolonize Birth Conference!

Because Ancient Song is such a lean organization, every role is vital. Returning to the organization or a second summer appeared to make everyone else’s job a lot easier as responsibilities were better distributed. In my second year, I continued to learn and grow as a professional. In particular, I strengthened my organization and prioritization skills. I am able increase my productivity when I organize my tasks according to what is most urgent. I continue to work at how to confidently I communicate with my coworkers/supervisors letting them know when I feel something needs to change in the work space.

Before starting this work, I wish I would have understood how personal this work is for me. I thought I could separate the personal from the political, but the two are very much intertwined and layered within each other. This is what makes social justice work sometimes taxing on your body and mental health. You have a constant urge and feeling as though you are not doing enough or you could be doing more, especially with such a small team. Reminding myself that I am doing the best that I can while giving myself constructive feedback is something I find myself constantly doing.

Last year at Ancient Song, I found that it was difficult for me to say no whenever I was asked to take on additional responsibilities or stay additional hours, and I found that this became very taxing on my physical and mental health. This is why I would recommend to anyone who pursues this work to prioritize themselves and their well being over anything. This is an important lesson for professional development in general.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you should always be prepared to pitch yourself to folks who may come into the work space, as you may not know the connections they have or the network of people and organizations with which they are linked. I’ve found that this year at Ancient Song, I have met so many amazing people within the birth justice world. I am always introducing myself and what I do and this often leads to sharing contact information.

Overall, I feel blessed to have been given the opportunity to work at Ancient Song Doula Services, and I am looking forward to what future summers may offer!

Working with Refugees on the Path to Employment at IIB

I have so much to reflect upon about the beginning of my summer as a Workforce Development intern at the International Institute of Boston (IIB). IIB is a refugee resettlement agency, with two other locations, in Lowell, MA and Manchester, NH. When a refugee (or asylee, Cuban/Haitian entrant, or Afghan and Iraqi Special Immigrant Visa recipient) is resettled in Boston, they are enrolled in Case Management, Employment Services, and English classes. I work with Employment Services. You can read IIB’s mission on their website, but to explain it in my own words, I will describe my job as a Workforce Development intern.

This summer, IIB is in a temporary location, since their new building is under construction. Their interim space is now with the Asian American Civic Association (AACA), another non-profit with a goal of developing the workforce and promoting economic self-sufficiency.

I do many different projects and tasks with Employment Services. I create resumes for clients and then meet with them to review. I apply for jobs for clients after knowing their preferred positions and locations– the positions are mostly entry level, but the jobs vary on the English level of the client. I make retention calls to clients after they get jobs, and update the records, which is important for IIB to track how clients are doing in their jobs. Clients are enrolled in CRES or TAG, and both are funded by the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement, and you can read about them here. Something I did not expect was the amount of French I would be speaking (I took French from 6th-12th grade). I am often assigned to meet with Haitians with low-English literacy because I can translate material.

A big part of my job is teaching. On Mondays, I teach the Cultural Orientation Program (COP). New clients are enrolled in COP which runs for four weeks. This class covers living in the US, rights/ laws, education, personal finance, government, health/ hygiene, and sex ed. I never thought about these aspects of life in the US since I grew up here, but many of the clients come from countries where there are different cultural norms and expectations.I never pictured myself teaching consent to a group of young men from Somalia, but this internship always surpasses expectations.

On Fridays, another intern, Sylvia, and I lead the COP trip. Examples of the trips include the Freedom Trail, Boston Public Library, Harvard Square, and the State House. Also on Fridays, Sylvia and I teach the Workforce Orientation Workshop (coincidentally, another WOW acronym) to the same students in COP. After the trip, we give the students a break, and we prepare for the afternoon class, which also runs for four weeks. This class covers getting a job in the US, job etiquette and workplace standards, interview skills, and personal finance/ budgeting/ taxes. This class is a great way for people to learn about jobs they may have in the US, and how to apply and interview for them. It is difficult to find a job in a new country where you may not speak the language well, do not have professional references or a career network, and do not have an equivalent degree in the US to one you may have earned in your home country.

COP trip to the State House. IIB often requests this guide, Brian, who adjusts the tour for people who are new to the country and who may have low levels of English proficiency. — COP trip to the State House. IIB often requests this guide, Brian, who adjusts the tour for people who are new to the country and may have low levels of English proficiency.

My main goals for this summer were to see how this furthered my career interests and to apply what I am studying in school to my work. For my career interests, I have become more interested in non-profit management. For my academic goal, I have seen how my studies apply to my internship. I have been able to apply Politics and Economics classes, as well as certain classes like American Health Care. When I am teaching US policies, laws, and personal finance, I want to think more about what I have learned at Brandeis, and how it can help refugees who are assimilating to American social, political, and economic life.

I have already seen how rewarding the work can be– two brothers were recently resettled in Boston and enrolled in programs at IIB. From teaching them in COP and WOW, I could see how determined they were to get jobs. They were excited the day they received Social Security cards, which meant I could help them apply for jobs. I helped them apply for a job, took them to the local Citizens Bank to set up bank accounts, and practiced interview skills. In the same week, they each interviewed and were hired at the same full time job. After their first job, they can come back to IIB to enroll in the Service Industry Training Program or the Hospitality Training Program, and they can use any other employment service.

This is just the beginning. I’m looking forward to a fulfilling summer at IIB!

Emilie Kahn-Boesel ’18

Blog Post #2

The work environment that I am in has proved to be fluid, fast-paced, and unpredictable. About two weeks ago, my supervisor notified my intern cohort that she would be leaving our organization to take on a new position elsewhere. Wow! Her departure was certainly unexpected and shocking. Another employee in the office is now overseeing my internship program, which has been somewhat of a difficult transition so far. While I am still enjoying my internship, it has been challenging to get used to the different leadership style of my new boss. However, I think that once the entire office gets acclimated to having one less employee, everything will smooth back out. The work environment has also proven to be fast-paced given the nature of the state legislature. Our office is always on its toes since we have to react quickly to the new bills, vetoes, and other actions carried out by the legislature. The most recent example of this occurred this past Tuesday, when Governor Baker made a line item veto to the new state budget plan in which he cut $600,000 for family planning. Our organization had to respond immediately to this upsetting news, which meant shifting our priorities at the last minute. Instead of focusing on creating testimony for our next legislative hearing, we had to strategize a mini-campaign to respond to the Governor’s disconcerting actions. Despite the stress that comes along with the nature of politics, I find the fast pace to also be really exciting.

The most exciting part of my summer so far occurred this past week, when I had the opportunity to testify in front of the Joint Committee on Financial Services in the state house for one of NARAL’s bills regarding confidential health care. I read an anonymous personal story that was submitted to NARAL that related to the bill that was being heard before the legislature. This is a picture of me testifying before the legislature.

(Picture taken by NARAL intern)

This next picture was taken the same day, but at a separate hearing for pay equity and pregnant workers’ equity.

(Picture taken by NARAL intern)

You can also find information on the bills that were heard with these links.

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/189/House/H871

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/189/House/H948

Life in the working world comes with a lot of freedom and responsibility that I do not have in university life. I like being in the city, where there is a lot of excitement and movement, as opposed to the sheltered atmosphere of campus. I have also come to value the feeling of returning home after a day at the office and having no more work to do. During the academic year, I always feel as if there is more work to be done. I think that the physical separation from the office to my house back in Waltham also creates a psychological barrier between work and free time. On the other hand, constantly being on campus makes it harder to separate the two.

This internship experience has forced me to adapt to change, which is something I have always struggled with. The skills that I am building as a result of the transition in my office, which are hard to put a name on in the moment, will definitely come in useful in the future. I am learning to be more flexible and patient when facing situations that are not ideal. I am also learning how to advocate for my needs, as I have had the opportunity to express to my new boss how this transition has affected me personally. I think that this summer has been transformative to say the least, and I am looking forward to returning back to campus this fall with the new skills I have developed from this internship.