The office and team is very friendly, very willing to help you learn. Tasks are different everyday, so you won't be bored doing the same things over and over. It can be very busy one week, but very slow another week. The staff depends on interns for a lot of work!
What I wish was different
Advice
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Intern of department of Center for Well Being
October - December 2017 • Tucson, AZ
What I liked
Intern will get many opportunity to experience medical system and medical field. Especially, majoring in psychology students are very helpful to understand learned method to apply in real terms.
What I wish was different
I wish to have more opportunity to work with other departments within the organization.
Advice
You will drive a lot to transport clients, and you will need patience to meet advocacy with non-English speaking clients.
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Intern
May - August 2017 • Decatur, GA
What I liked
Interacting with refugees
What I wish was different
If I had my own project to work on- most of my work was assisting the social workers.
Advice
Take initiative and stand up for yourself. Create your own project or take the initiative to help out with someone else's project.
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development & case worker intern
September 2017 • Abilene, TX
What I liked
I loved being able to communicate with a variety of people through office phone for appointments and events, organize personal client information into excel and other filing systems, interact with local refugees to help receive appropriate services, assist in aggregating and raising both in-kind and monetary donations.
What I wish was different
I wish it would have been a little more organized. I didn't like showing up everyday not knowing what I would be doing. It's was day to day tasks, no big projects or assignments.
Advice
This is a great position to learn how it feels like to be in an office environment and start to develop some of the basic skills. Do it if you're interested in non-profit, it will get you lots of connections.
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Resettlement Intern
June - September 2018 • New York City, NY
What I liked
Amazing organization, a lot of hands-on field experience and contact with the refugee population.
What I wish was different
Advice
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Front Desk Intern
June - August 2018 • Elizabeth, NJ
What I liked
The Clients.
What I wish was different
Exposure to cases.
Advice
One should review the description of the internship and it depects exactly what one will be doing.
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Intern
May 2018 • San Jose, CA
What I liked
Meeting the staffs and interns, and the clients we worked with.
What I wish was different
My actions and contribution.
Advice
Have fun and push to learn as much as you can.
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Sociology
October - December 2016 • San Jose, CA
What I liked
I enjoyed being able to wear multiple hats, different roles, during my time there. Great learning experience!
What I wish was different
Advice
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Community and Economic Development Intern
May - August 2018 • Glendale, AZ
What I liked
-Worked a real project.
What I wish was different
-More interaction with the whole office rather than specific department.
Advice
-Sometimes starting something from scratch is hard but it will be worth the effort.
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Behavioral Health and Survivors of Torture Case Management Intern
June 2020 • Tucson, AZ
What I liked
The in-depth training interns receive on immigration issues and how to work with people who have experienced trauma, the staff community, networking and learning about the current issues in healthcare
What I wish was different
It would have been nice if in-person interactions had been possible, but the department really made the best of the circumstances and found creative ways to continue their work.
Advice
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New Roots Intern
May 2018 • Charlottesville, VA
What I liked
Loved the team, really great experience in and out of the office. Really felt the impact of the work I was doing.
What I wish was different
I wish it had been paid.
Advice
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Cultural Orientation Intern
July - August 2019 • New York City, NY
What I liked
I liked interacting with refugees about classwork and their life stories. I would definitely do it again!
What I wish was different
I wish their was more scheduling/office work attached to my internship and I wished I would have submitted my paperwork earlier because I could have gotten cleared earlier in the summer.
Advice
Submit your paperwork early and get ready to work in a fast paced environment!!!
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Extended Case Management Intern
May - August 2018 • Dallas, TX
What I liked
Not only were the clients I worked with amazing and inspiring individuals, but the IRC team in the office was easily one of the most supportive, knowledgable, and dedicated teams I have ever been a part of. They provided great training, and were always there for me when I needed guidance. The IRC gave me one of the most rewarding opportunities of my life, and I feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to work with our refugee clients and this groundbreaking organization.
What I wish was different
Nothing, I wouldn't trade it for the world. The only thing I would change would be that my internship lasted longer than just the summer.
Advice
Jump in!! The beginning will feel very challenging, but that is because you are stepping out of your comfort zone. Be okay with feeling uncomfortable at times, because those were some of the moments I learned the most. The staff at the IRC are there to help you, so ask questions. The biggest mistake you can make is to hold back out of fear of the unknown. The best way to learn from this position and get the most out of this experience is to be as involved as you can!
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Anti-trafficking intern
June - August 2018 • Silver Spring, MD
What I liked
I learned a lot about trafficking, refugees, immigration, and welfare in the US. I enjoyed the people I worked with and getting to have direct contact with clients, as well as the opportunity to attend trainings and learn more about both direct service and policy needs.
What I wish was different
There were time where I had less to do, so I wish I had fully taken advantage of the opportunity to reach out to other departments and help them out too.
Advice
You will be given the opportunity to shadow other departments— definitely take advantage of this to learn as much as possible about how the organization works!
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Survivors of Torture Intern
September - December 2019 • Tucson, AZ
What I liked
Making a difference in their lives
What I wish was different
Supervisor was more professional
Advice
Do not go into this internship thinking it will be easy since there’s 100% a lanaguage barrier
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Anti-Human Trafficking Intern
June - September 2019 • Sacramento, CA
What I liked
The work was rewarding
What I wish was different
Time
Advice
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Case Work Intern
August - December 2019 • Glendale, AZ
What I liked
I loved being able to learn about this organization and get hands-on experience working with refugees.
What I wish was different
I wish it was a paid internship so that I could have devoted more time to it. Because of my financial situation I had to redirect some time to my other job.
Advice
Even if you think you aren't qualified, just try! You'll be surprised at how quickly you learn when you are passionate about something.
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New Roots Food & Health Intern
May - August 2020 • Phoenix, AZ
What I liked
I loved the people, the location, and feeling like I was making a difference and learning.
What I wish was different
COVID halted a lot of programs and plans, so that was disappointing, but it was still amazing to work with my supervisors.
Advice
Take initiative in your work, find new projects to work on!
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Software Quality Assurance Analyst Intern
June - July 2020 • Tucker, GA
What I liked
I liked reading the different hardships that these refugees were going through their transition here in America. Some of their stories were inspiring.
What I wish was different
I wish we were able to be in the office but because of COVID, we had to work from home. It was very impersonal and a lack of planning and transparency.
Advice
Know your skillset and know what you are good at and hone in on that. The work was not challenging and engaging enough for me.
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Aquaponics Intern
September - December 2019 • Phoenix, AZ
What I liked
The most interesting aspect of this internship was learning how aquaponics emulates the nitrogen cycle found in nature and utilizes it to create a nearly closed feedback loop that produces vegetables and fish protein in an urban setting. Learning about this system has inspired me to work with urban food resilience.
What I wish was different
I would have liked to work more directly with the refugee farmer community to get a better understanding of displaced stakeholders in the Phoenix metro area.
Advice
Self directed internships are what you make of them. Having effective lines of communication with your supervisors allows flexibility in determining what roles you play or what projects you could make yourself apart of.
