Kyra Sanborn-Burch ’23
Advocating for Civil Rights in Small Claims Court
This summer I learned how advocating for underserved populations in the legal system is a complex process that involves many moving parts. As an intern at the Center for Social Justice at the Western New England University School of Law, I saw how some of these parts function. I was responsible for researching and drafting legal memos and documents, organizing and maintaining client files and information, and getting the community involved through outreach programs. I also learned how to keep a non-profit organization running and how to communicate effectively and respectfully with clients. I connected many of my experiences as an intern to what I’ve learned here at Mount Holyoke and I look forward to sharing them with the audience.
Tahin Osborne ’23
Major: Africana Studies and Sociology
Annunciation House: A Summer in El Paso
What does migration look like in the United States? How do migrants take care of themselves, and who takes care of migrants during this long, and too often taxing process? This summer, I interned at Annunciation House in El Paso, Texas and worked to provide basic necessities such as hot meals, shelter, English to Spanish translations, and help with transportation planning for family reunification to migrants who had just newly crossed the United States-Mexico border, and migrants newly released from ICE Detention Centers. Additionally, I helped run pop-up shelters, in order to help as many people as possible. This work helped me understand migration on micro, individual levels, and macro levels as policy changes effected the patterns of migration to the United States. Moreover, this internship provided me with the skills to communicate in Spanish, and has inspired me to enter the world of migration and humanitarian work.
Kayla Olds ’23
Major: French and Politics
Navigating Interning Abroad
Over the summer I interned for SOS-Montpellier Ukraine, an association helping Ukrainian refugees get orientated in Montpellier, France. I conducted most of my work in French, and was responsible for welcoming people to the association, answering questions, and filling out intake forms. This presentation will focus on the challenges I faced finding an internship abroad, my experience interning in a second language, and my work experience at a small local refugee association. Overall, I faced many challenges in the process of my internship as the experience was entirely new to me. However, I ended the summer with a greater understanding of the type of work I would like to pursue after graduation.
Louise Olivier '23
International Relations and East Asian Studies
Legal Non-Profit Work in the Criminal Justice System
My presentation will focus on how non-profits make use of limited resources to best affect change in situations of mass systemic injustice. Specifically, I will be discussing my time at the Innocence Project New Orleans, a legal non-profit that works to free innocent individuals serving life sentences for crimes they did not commit, as well as factually guilty individuals serving draconian sentences for minor crimes.