This summer, I had the opportunity to intern at the U.S. Department of State in Washington DC. I worked in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, in the Office of East Asia and the Pacific.

I received a security clearance in order to perform my daily responsibilities in the office, which were primarily research-based and focused on China. I also got to participate in several State Department events on a variety of different topics, including working the State Departments first ever International Religious Freedom Ministerial.  My favorite part of my internship was getting to know the other people in my office. This internship allowed me to get firsthand exposure to different career paths and observe government work from the inside. I learned more about what day-to-day life is like as part of the Civil Service as a Foreign Service Officer.

My time in DC not only helped me hone several skills such as writing, critical thinking, and analysis; but it also provided me with valuable experience as I continue to determine my career path. This internship will additionally help me determine how I want to engage with important human rights issues going forward.

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This summer, I had the opportunity to intern for the United Nations Refugee Agency Representation in the Republic of Korea. The United Nations Refugee Agency, or UNHCR, is an official UN mandated organization to assist refugees, asylum seekers and all other persons of concern around the world. Its representation in Republic of Korea serves to help with capacity building for refugee protection in Korea and is in close partnership with the government and the civil society. Another big role that the representation in Korea does is to raise awareness on the refugee issue and to bring in donations.

I was the Communications intern to the Private Sector Partnership team, which means that I assisted with producing materials for existing and potential donors as well as the general public. These materials include blog posts, reports on UNHCR activities and/or refugee situations, newsletters, etc. In addition to creating contents for UNHCR Korea’s various channels, I also took on some administrative tasks such as keeping track of the Communications unit’s inventory and ordering various promotional items for donors and partners.

This summer, I learned that I was right about pursuing my interest of working for the refugee issue. It felt right that I continue working in this sector, especially in my homeland, Korea. I also felt that, now that I have tried working with a bigger company, I would like to try working with a smaller organization in the civil society, in a field other than fundraising.

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Federico Elizondo ’17 researched xenophobia in Cape Town, South Africa.

Ubuntu—the word I never knew I knew.

With the help of my Colgate professors, Mark Stern (Educational Studies) and Ryan Solomon (CORE South Africa/ Writing and Rhetoric), and Career Services’ Summer Funding, I was able to intern at Africa Unite. Quite succinctly, Africa Unite is a Non-Governmental Organization in Cape Town, South Africa with the mission of promoting human rights and social cohesion—especially amongst the youth. Without the options and financing that Colgate University provided, I would not have had the opportunity to gain professional skills as well as career insights on social work.

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