‘Community’ Articles at WOW Fellowship Blog

3) Wrapping Up My Time With the Integrity Institute

It feels like it was just yesterday that I was starting my internship with the Integrity Institute, and I am now in my final weeks as an intern. Looking back at the goals I set for myself at the outset of this internship, I feel that I met several of my goals. I got to learn about the culture of a non-profit organization and a think-tank all the while learning about some of the ethical conversations happening within Big Tech. One takeaway from my internship is that change is common and that there are several moving pieces within a think-tank. Prior to my internship, I was not acquainted with the culture of a think-tank; I feel that this internship provided me valuable insight into what a think-tank looks like.

During my internship, I learned how vital communication is in developing ideas and the overall success of the think-tank. My goal of establishing a sense of unity with my team was partially met. There were times throughout my internship that I wondered if my experience would have been different had I been working in-person, but I am overall appreciative of my colleagues who made concerted efforts to get to know me and supported me throughout my internship.

This internship has also helped clarify career interests. Prior to this internship, I do not think I would have envisioned myself working in the tech sector. However, this internship opened my eyes to ways that individuals can make contributions in Big Tech without necessarily having a comprehensive background in coding or machine learning. I still have a desire to attend law school after college; I am leaving this internship even more interested in exploring internet and privacy law.

Not only did this internship illuminate professional interests, but it also aided me in learning about myself in the workplace. I am a diligent worker so I can get work that I need done remotely, but I think that this internship helped me realize that if I am working remotely, I need to be surrounded by a team with strong communication skills. As the adage goes, communication is key. In reflecting upon my internship experience, I realized how much I value communication. Perhaps going forward I will explore in-person internships, or if something is a remote opportunity, I will inquire further about the communication culture of the respective organization to see if it fits my style.

With regards to advice I would give to a student interested in an internship, I would say embrace the opportunity with open arms and go for it! It has become increasingly difficult to get an internship, so if there is an opportunity that sounds remotely intriguing, consider applying. The worst someone can say is no, and with every experience, one will undeniably walk away having learned something new.

Further, throughout my internship, I gleaned the importance of flexibility as I had the opportunity to take on a myriad of different tasks. This was made possible in large part because I consistently reached out to colleagues to see how I could get involved. In essence, show that you are eager and willing to learn on day one. Obviously, there comes times where one may need to set boundaries and decline taking on tasks, but generally speaking, accept anything that comes your way. Oftentimes we grow the most when tasked with projects that seem rather unfamiliar at first, so try to be open-minded and say yes to all new opportunities.

More specific to remote work and interning with a think-tank, I would say that being proactive is critical. A lot of growth is dependent upon how much effort you put into the process, so setting up one-on-one meetings with colleagues and reaching out for feedback is poignant. Similarly, if you face roadblocks during your internship, make time to collaborate with those who you feel supported by. If you are someone interested in interning with a think-tank, I would advise you to consider how a think-tank operates. In this type of work, things tend to move rather quickly and you are likely working across disciplines. If you like to wear many hats at once and immerse yourself in research, a think-tank may be the right fit for you!

A photo I took right before a meeting with a colleague. Please excuse the many tabs–I was busy at work!

Overall, I am proud of the initiative I have taken throughout this internship. From the very first days of my internship, I reached out to colleagues and tried to integrate myself within the team. I think that doing so influenced the trajectory of this experience. It is bittersweet that this internship is coming to an end, but I am grateful to have had this opportunity.

2) The Value of Communication in a Start-Up

Throughout the last six weeks, I have both learned and grown as an intern with the Integrity Institute. When I accepted an offer to intern with the Institute, I knew the general focus of the organization, but I did not know precisely which teams I would be working with throughout the summer. Nevertheless, I was eager to accept the opportunity to intern with a start-up think tank, an experience that I knew would likely be different from my previous internships. Not only has this been a new experience for myself, but this is also the first time that the Institute has taken on interns.

I have been working with the Institute for a little over six weeks, and often find myself wearing different hats, taking on projects across various workstreams. While I am someone who generally thrives with structure, I have found that the fluidity of a start-up and diverse workload allow for additional learning and keep me engaged. I would be remiss if I said that interning at a start-up has been completely seamless. At times, it has been difficult to firmly grasp the Institute’s culture and to receive feedback given that the Institute conducts work remotely. With changes happening constantly and only one scheduled all-staff meeting each week, I was initially unsure how to integrate myself into the team and sometimes felt a lack of guidance.

During my first two weeks, I took it upon myself to reach out to each member of the team, familiarizing myself with their respective projects and seeing how I could get involved. In retrospect, I think that taking initiative with my colleagues in combination with attending all working group meetings and member chats has been invaluable to my growth throughout this internship.

Last semester, I took a class with Professor Daniel Breen called Louis Brandeis: Law, Business, and Politics that looked at American life through the lens of Brandeis’ legal philosophy. The class was incredibly thought-provoking and entailed discussions on topics such as privacy, the First Amendment, and antitrust law. Incidentally, towards the end of the semester, I wrote a paper applying Brandeis’ jurisprudence to two modern-day free speech controversies concerning social media platforms’ ability to moderate user speech. In writing the paper, I was able to incorporate a news article that discussed the Integrity Institute and the dissemination of misinformation on social media.

My World of Work internship has differed from my university work in that I am not solely researching and providing a hypothetical analysis, but I am actually getting to have conversations with experts. Similarly, I have been able to conduct research that is being utilized to advise stakeholders regarding the European Union Delegated Act on the Digital Services Act (DSA) as well as background research on algorithmic audits for the DSA. As opposed to receiving a grade, it has been rewarding to contribute to work that will hopefully influence policy change.

A snapshot at the dashboard I created to track my work throughout the internship

Furthermore, my internship contrasts from the typical academic setting, which often entails strict deadlines. Work for the Institute tends to be done in sprints, and there are sometimes deadlines, but generally speaking, there is more flexibility. Ironically, I have become more intentional with how I organize my digital workspace. After getting acquainted with Notion, I devised a tracking system that helps me easily store my work and visualize productivity for my own awareness. I have found such success with this practice that I hope to incorporate a similar process in the fall for my schoolwork.

I look forward to making the most of the remainder of my time at the Integrity Institute and thoroughly appreciate the support that this fellowship has provided.

Post 1: Starting my Internship at Shalom Task Force

My name is Esther Bistricer and this summer I am interning at Shalom Task Force, a nonprofit organization that supports survivors of domestic abuse and aims to build safe families and communities. Their work primarily focuses on providing culturally sensitive programming and services to the Jewish community through a confidential hotline and chatline, free legal services, and preventative education workshops.

My work day starts at around 9:15 when I check in to the WeWork office building in midtown Manhattan. On the 8th floor, there is a nice shared space to sit on one of several couches, at a long table or booth, and take advantage of the free coffee offered to employees made by a barista. This is the point of my day when I ask myself why I don’t drink coffee and make my way up to the 14th floor where I meet with the other four college interns in a glass-enclosed office space and wait for our internship coordinator and Shalom Task Force Director of Communications and Program Operations, Jeffrey Younger, to welcome us and go over the agenda for the day.

Ready for the first day of my internship!

Experiencing the morning rush on the New York City subway on the way to the office

Every day looks slightly different but generally consists of meeting with a member of the staff to discuss ideas and ways to develop education workshops in schools and summer camps, how to properly conduct outreach in communities so more people are aware of the services the organization provides, or marketing for the upcoming ping pong fundraiser. Another interesting meeting we participated in recently was hosted by the United Jewish Appeal, a philanthropic organization that funds hundreds of nonprofit organizations such as Shalom Task Force. The UJA gathered a group of social services agencies to connect and engage in a presentation led by a psychologist about family functioning in the Orthodox Jewish community. I found this particularly interesting because, before this meeting, I hadn’t had any exposure to empirical research on this topic. In the research conducted by Dr. Steven Pirutinsky, it was found that Orthodox families display high degrees of enmeshment or emotional closeness and rigidity in lifestyle and relationship dynamics. While this may not be “average” as compared to results in other studies, I took away from this presentation the importance of understanding cultural differences and the idea of cultural competency. This can apply to learning about and understanding different cultures and using that to assess what is accepted behavior and what can be considered unhealthy based on cultural context.

Along with meetings that I have the opportunity to sit in on and participate in, I am working with the other college interns to develop educational materials. Currently, Shalom Task Force gives presentations to 12th grade Jewish day school students on the “fundamentals” of domestic abuse which includes information about what a healthy, unhealthy, and abusive relationship can look like, types of abuse, and “red flags”, or unhealthy behaviors in others or yourself. Moreover, Shalom Task Force speaks to 9th grade students about boundaries and digital safety in their “Virtual Reality” workshop. One of the projects the group of college interns and I have been working on is creating a workshop to add to the curriculum about communication and conflict resolution with interactive activities, relatable clips from the media, and actionable steps we can take to be a supportive friend and community member. We are also thinking about marketing for their upcoming fundraiser, doing independent work where we research media about domestic abuse, healthy and unhealthy relationships, or conflict resolution, as well as compiling a list of synagogues and other community spaces into a directory.

Slide from the “Fundamentals” workshop listing forms of abuse

So far in my experience I’m learning a lot and enjoying getting exposure to what work in a nonprofit organization looks like, where there are a variety of tasks and meetings to participate in and everyone’s contributions make an impact and move the programming in a slightly different direction. I am looking forward to seeing the progress I will continue to make alongside the other interns with the workshops, the directory of synagogues and communal spaces, as well as the projects that will come up along the way, and learning and personal growth that will occur over the next few weeks.

1) The Integrity Institute: Bridge-Building to Better the Social Internet

This summer, I have the privilege of interning with the Integrity Institute. The Integrity Institute is a startup advocacy think tank that seeks to promote a healthy social internet by holding tech companies accountable and helping the world understand the importance of integrity work. While the Institute believes that the “social internet should help individuals, society, and democracy thrive,” the reality is that most aiming to realize this vision lack the expertise of integrity professionals. Integrity workers are individuals who have a keen awareness of platform operations and tangible experience dealing with areas such as misinformation, child safety, and hate speech.

The Institute is led by a small staff, though it is primarily driven by its community of integrity professionals who all have at least six months of integrity experience at the time of joining. As of this writing, there are upwards of 210 members who comprise the growing community and have experience working for platforms like Meta, TikTok, and Twitter. Members use the community in varying capacities, which include, but are not limited to, networking, providing insight to the Institute, and working on projects (working groups).

As an intern, a lot of my work entails draft writing, communications, and research, though no one day is the exact same. Typically, my week starts off with an all-staff team meeting where we discuss updates regarding matters ranging from fundraising and communications to operations and research. Throughout the week, I have the opportunity to converse with colleagues and fellows, in addition to attending meetings with Institute members. I occasionally provide input during member working groups, but I have undoubtedly gained the most knowledge from these meetings by observing and synthesizing discussions in detailed notes.

More precisely, I have attended member chats regarding tech talent and the taxonomy of artificial intelligence. It has been interesting learning about generative AI and comprehensive transparency requirements that can be implemented to address social media harms, though I have felt most energized participating in the elections integrity working group. Prior to this internship, I had participated in civic engagement work and enjoyed addressing voting related matters. When I learned about the Institute’s robust elections program, I was excited to partake in the meetings.

Currently, the Elections Integrity working group is working to finalize the second part of a guide that can be utilized to impart guidance to tech platforms about election programs. My meetings with this group have been fruitful, covering a wide range of topics such as working with external stakeholders and abusive actor taxonomy. Overall, this working group has opened my eyes to the pivotal role of technology in shaping voting on a global scale. Furthermore, during my internship, I have done research and written about policy updates, and I have taken on several projects, such as auditing the Institute’s membership hub and writing for the Institute blog.

Discussing the auditing membership hub project with the Institute’s Community Organizer, Maddie Aleman

There are a myriad of goals that I have for myself and my learning this summer. Given that the Institute conducts work in a remote environment, I want to learn how to best establish a sense of unity with a team despite the lack of physical interaction. Additionally, I hope to strengthen my interpersonal skills and my ability to work in a fast-paced environment. I am intrigued by the ethical conversations in Big Tech and how they can be interpreted from a legal standpoint. Accordingly, I hope to acquire an understanding of this subject matter throughout my internship. Finally, I anticipate that my internship will afford me the opportunity to learn more about the culture of a non-profit organization.

Thus far, it has been inspiring to collaborate with individuals who are ardently dedicated to the Institute’s mission and continuously advocate for quality and ethics over output metrics. I greatly look forward to the inevitable growth that I will procure during the remainder of my internship this summer!

Post 3: Finding Power in Coalition Building and Communal Growth

Hey everyone!

This week, I have been thinking a lot about how I define change and progress both personally and within the organization where I am working. In thinking about the goals of my organization–which are very much centered around social justice and health equity– it is always crucial to question where there are areas for continued growth and development, while also acknowledging the big and small strides and positive outcomes. This evaluation is key in assessing what could be the most effective steps to reach our goals as an organization.

With the goal of making equitable maternal healthcare accessible to low-income families, as well as black and brown folks, Ancient Song Doula Services wears many hats as a community-based organization. It is important to note that this lack of access to healthcare, resources, food, and housing stems from a much larger root cause: anti-blackness. Because of this, reaching our goal as an organization is not solely about providing resources to our communities, but also involves taking action around the systems and institutions that first put these barriers in place. Given the immense nature of this multi-faceted goal, what one could consider an “immediate success” becomes difficult to measure, making endurance and consistency key in this work.

At Ancient Song Doula Services, we are constantly multi-tasking, taking on different roles, planning for community outreach events and reaching out to other organizations for support and/or partnerships. We are always looking for different opportunities to spread the word and collaborate with other social justice collectives because it is crucial to identify the intersection of different movements, whether it be birth justice, food justice, or environmental justice. It can be very stressful–especially for a small organization–to take on such a wide range of tasks, but this is why we stress the importance of collaboration and solidarity.

” A Day of Solidarity” held at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Click on the image to watch the full panel

So, what does change or progress look like for me? Progress, I’ve learned, is very much rooted in and driven by coalition building and communal growth. Recently, my supervisor was a panelist in an event called “A Day of Solidarity” held at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, where the panelists engaged in a conversation around the recent policies regarding the separation of immigrant families and discussing ways to take action. One of the main topics discussed was how crucial it is for communities to gather in support of each other, stand in solidarity as allies, engage in dialogue and, most importantly, listen to each other. Listening and trusting one another gives marginalized identities agency over their own narrative and experience. At Ancient Song, we often practice this is, as we not only hold events by and for the community in collaboration with other organizations, but also center our workspace around physical and mental wellness. In this way, I’ve learned that, as an organization, listening and building trust and community allow us to constantly assess and reassess the needs of the communities we serve so that we can continue to evaluate our methods for change and be that much closer to reaching our goals.

There is power in unification, as it is crucial not only for the healing of marginalized identities, but also, in standing firmly against or for a movement and demanding action. This is progress.

Week One at the Domus Foundation

This summer, I will be working with the Domus Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works with adolescents in low income, at risk situations in Stamford, Connecticut.

The Domus Foundation works on behavior modification and attendance retention at their charter schools through multiple models, including the Family Advocate model. The Family Advocate model looks at the emotional well being of the children, in and outside of school. This requires at home visits, in school visits, student success plans, and more.

Over the next two and a half months, I will be shadowing these Family Advocates, as well as helping gather behavioral and attendance based data for the future success of the Domus Foundation. Since the students are in school for the first few weeks of my time here, I am helping the middle school, Trailblazers Academy, with preparation for data analysis of attendance and the eighth graders’ graduation.

Trailblazer Academy student volunteers with some of the Family Advocate staff

By the second day I already knew a handful of the seventh and eighth grade students and was helping them with their science fair projects due at the end of the week.

In order to get to know the students better, I joined the Director of Family Advocates, as well as a couple of the Family Advocates on a community service project. A sense of community is important to the schools that partner with Domus . Many children lack this feeling at home and the goal for the schools is to make each and every student feel comfortable and safe with every staff member.

Cleaning up Trailblazers Academy with a student

During the two hour community service project, the students and Family Advocate staff cleaned up the outside of the school by picking up trash. We then debriefed with the students about their volunteering experience and what they would like to do in the future. This community service experience showed the students how important it is to help others and how good it can feel to do so. By the end of the activity, I had students coming up to me asking which volunteer project they could participate in over the summer and if I could be their Family Advocate for the next school year!

At this moment, it made me realize how important this internship is to me and to the students. The majority of these students have been sent to Trailblazers Academy because they were deemed the “trouble kids”and have been expelled from their other schools. Most students have experienced trauma and struggle to be successful individuals while trying to figure out how to cope with their personal situations.

The fact that some of these students started to open up to me with their stories and want me be a continuing part of their lives shows how these children are craving attention and love that will help them succeed in life. As my first week of my internship is coming to an end, I cannot wait to continue my relationships with the staff and students at Domus and Trailblazers Academy!

First Week at Orchard Cove

My internship has begun at Orchard Cove, an independent living and enhanced living retirement community. Orchard Cove is part of the Hebrew Senior Life network. Orchard Cove empowers seniors to live healthy independent lives and honors the aim of the Massachusetts Coalition for Serious Illness Care to ensure that “delivery of care is aligned with values and preferences at all stages of life and all points of care”.

At Orchard Cove, my internship involves working for The Vitalize 360 Program, a platform through which Vitalize coaches “elicit and document residents goals, values and preferences.” The way the program works is that a vitalize 360 coach meets with a resident twice to discuss the resident’s wellness, health, and quality of life. The coach helps the resident to set goals and then create an action plan, or vitality plan, to assist the resident in accomplishing his or her goals and pursue what matters most in their lives.

In first arriving at Orchard Cove, I was impressed by the beautiful facilities and friendly atmosphere. During my first week, my supervisor brought me to almost all of her meetings so I could get a grasp of what Vitalize 360 is all about and meet the Interdisciplinary Team members, all of whom support the best lives of the residents at Orchard Cove.

Front exterior of Orchard Cove

The first meeting I attended was on the topic of “What Matters Most.” What matters most (WMM) is a philosophy on which Vitalize 360 and Orchard Cove are built. It emphasizes the idea that residents should define what matters most to themselves and have conversations with their loved ones.

During our time together, the team reflected on the Second Annual Coalition Summit which included research presentations from Massachusetts Coalition for Serious Illness Care as well as personal experiences. The team discussed their thoughts on the conference and also talked about how it related to the idea of “What Matters Most.” A major aspect of the Coalition and Vitalize 360 is for individuals to get on their own personalized path to “What Matters Most.” With the goal of finding what matters most, individuals define their specific values and preferences, make sure those preferences are clear to loved ones, and create a health care proxy.

With another team member, I began brainstorming an art project for the kickoff WMM event Orchard Cove will be holding in June. I have also begun to support the team by helping to develop a “What Matters Most” tool box that will be used to support residents to articulate and capture what really matters in their lives.

Additionally, I have also supported the team by taking the lead on administrative tasks, such as creating folders that contain important surveys and questionnaires used during Vitalize 360 evaluations with residents. I had the opportunity to sit in on a resident evaluation with my supervisor and vitalize 360 coach which provided a helpful perspective. My supervisor asked the resident questions about her life and interests. With help from the coach, the resident was able to determine what matters most to her, and create goals for herself to achieve what matters most. This plan is called a vitalize plan.

Vitalize 360 logo used on most documents for the program.

I also sat in on two meetings related to Vitalize 360 both led by my supervisor. At one meeting, my supervisor trained other staff members to become vitalize 360 coaches and at the other meeting, we discussed different residents and how the team can best support their vitalize plans. I was also able to learn how the Vitalize 360 online software works. In addition, I have done a lot of research on Vitalize 360 and other resources out there for seniors. I also had a chance to sit in on a laughter class led by one of the residents.

I am looking forward to really delving into the Vitalize 360 and What Matters Most Projects, work directly with residents, and see how the interdisciplinary team works to support the residents.

A Summer of Hope: Thoughts on Working at the Esperanza Peace & Justice Center

At the Esperanza, I enjoy not just working but living as a part of a community. Everything done here reflects the values of inclusion and community. One of the aspects of working at the Esperanza includes self-reliance. Since our community is predominantly working-class, many folks don’t have the privilege of paying someone for building maintenance. The interns spent a couple of weeks repainting walls after taking down an art exhibit. Everyone takes turn cleaning bathrooms or mopping before a performance, and we invite community members to help fold La Voz before mailing out the magazine.

DSC_0095 - Copy — Photo courtesy of the Esperanza Peace & Justice Center. I’m on the scaffold.

As far as outside of the workplace, I already knew that San Antonio is extremely economically segregated, but my time at the Esperanza reminded me how true that is. Early on, the director and other staff members took us to different parts of town—Eastside near the Hayes Street Bride and the near Westside—to learn the history and conditions of people living them. Developers have started targeting the Westside, a predominantly Mexican/Mexican-American working-class side of town. Many cities have been hit with gentrification and displacement and San Antonio is no different.

Working in the real world back at home feels like more of a relief than working in college. Although I have to drive nearly everywhere I go (welcome to Texas), I know where I am and can often navigate without the assistance of GPS. My internship feels like a full time job, considering I spend more than forty hours a week at the Esperanza. More importantly, I feel like the work I do affects people other than those that live in a campus bubble.

One significant change is my outlook on meetings. This summer, I’ve observed city council, comprehensive planning, and housing bond committees.

Photo from The Rivard Report. That's me in the hat. — Photo from The Rivard Report. That’s me in the hat.

Many meetings I’ve attended in college revolve around planning events or discussing long-term organizing strategies. The meetings I’ve sat at (or spoken at in some cases) affect the lives of the over one million people living in San Antonio. It amazes me that policy can be decided in a simple conference room. For example, I recently attended two meetings surrounding San Antonio’s affordable housing bond. This bond had the potential to provide affordable housing and emergency repairs to families. At the meeting—in which the committee had to make draft recommendations for affordable housing—members were surprised to learn that they could not pass most of the policies for legal reasons.

Much of the work for SA Tomorrow involved reading, research, and coming up with creative solutions. One of the other interns majored in urban planning and environmental policy, so while she already had background education around sustainability, I have to read extra to understand some proposals in the works. Hopefully this extra work will pay off when studying for my environmental studies minor. I’m also learning to take the initiative on certain projects. One of the interns and I are spearheading a social media campaign talking about water in San Antonio. This will build my social media skills, which I can transfer to campus organizing.

Anastasia Christilles, ’18

Social Justice WOW Fellow

Commission Update

The interns from the commission come from all kinds of backgrounds, some are local Rhode Islanders but there are quite a few out of staters or local students some in undergrad RI schools, and Law students. Everyone is very friendly and motivated to work.

My first few weeks were difficult, I had some struggles with my workload at the commission. There seems to be a high expectation of self sufficiency that I had conflicts with, for example Interns are responsible for reviewing cases of discrimination that are filed with the commission as they progress or reach a conclusion. This means that I can either receive a fresh new case that needs investigation or a case that has been going on for years and requires final review for closure. Whatever the case may be along the way interns are responsible for finding out what is missing in order to progress in the case and sending out those requests for information to all parties involved. We write our correspondence using few templates that are saved on USB drives and the rest comes through comes as you go through asking questions and getting exposure to legal language in your interactions with other investigators at the commission.

Interns also get access to what are called PDC’s, which refer to pre-determination conferences. PDC’s occur when an investigator is having difficulty reaching a recommendation as to whether or not there is sufficient evidence suggesting the legitimacy of the claims that the complainant alleges. All parties involved are invited to attend a hearing in which they can explain both sides of the story and it is the only time we get to meet the people involved in each case. I really enjoy the PDC’s because it brings each case to life and makes your work feel more validating. At the end of the PDC the commissioner usually stays for a few more minutes to give the interns law advice, for those who might be thinking of attending law school after college. There are about 10 commissioners appointed and so far I’ve met about 7. I find it interesting that some of the results of our involvement in these cases as interns will most likely never reach us seeing as they will outlive our internship stay.

The work can be very intimidating at first, but I noticed that the long work days provide interns with lots of practice and soon one gets used to the workload. It’s very reassuring when it comes to thinking of future work experience. For now it’s got me thinking of law school, since the majority of interns at the commission are currently enrolled in law programs. Here’s a link to the commission website

here’s also a link about attorney Cordona, an appointed commissioner who advised us about law school.

First Week at Centro Presente

Hi! My name is Ivonne Moreno and I am an intern at Centro Presente located in Somerville, MA. Centro Presente is a member-driven, state-wide, Latin American Immigrant organization dedicated to the self- sufficiency of the Latin American immigrant community of Massachusetts. Centro Presente struggles for immigrant rights and for economic and social justice. Through the integration of community organizing, leadership development and basic services such as youth programs, adult education, and legal services, Centro Presente strives to give its member voice and build community power.

During this summer, I will be working in the legal department at Centro Presente, which provides legal services, educational trainings on immigrants’ rights to the Latino Community and works closely with politicians, religious groups and other community organization. This first week, we have been focusing on organizing the next educational training called “Citizenship Fair”, the main goal of which is to educate Latino immigrants that qualify for citizenship about the process of becoming a US citizen and the importance of voting. My main responsibility has been getting in touch with immigrants who have come to the Centro and have said to be interested in becoming citizens and invite them to come to the next citizenship fair and how to sign up for the upcoming class to take the citizenship test.

One important event that has a big impact at Centro Presente has been President Obama’s announcement on June 15th giving opportunity to undocumented young people who qualify to obtain a two year permit to stay in the US legally and obtain a work permit to be able to work called deferred action. This announcement has been a joy and an achievement for the immigrant community and especially for those young people who have been in the United States since they were kids and have been unable to get jobs and go to college because of their immigrant status. This week, we have been receiving a lot of calls from people asking about the deferred action and how they can apply if they qualify. In the weekly meeting staff, the Centro decided to do something like a forum and invite the community to give them all the information we have on the deferred action. I think it is very important to do since they are people who are trying to take advantage of this situation by asking people for money to apply for this permit when there is not even an application process and the ICE has 60 days to organize the application process.

In the weekly staff meeting, I was introduced to the people who work at the Centro Presente and the work they do. I was really impressed by the work they do and how passionate they are about fighting for the rights of the undocumented community. From this short period that I have been at Centro Presente, I feel that I will gain a deep understanding of the US immigration system as well as the many issues that undocumented people face in the United States. It has been great to also have a different working experience that I did not have the opportunity to get before.

– Ivonne Moreno ’13