Philippines Team Lead, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs

Major: GVPT - International Relations

Minor: Global Poverty; International Development and Conflict Management

Class Year: 2023

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What was a typical week like in your internship position?

Over the summer, I was a research intern, where I spent 30 hours a week researching an assignment environmental defender case. Through this, the other interns and I compiled a 500+ slide presentation of killings of environmental human rights defenders and analyzed the trends among them to present to an Embassy. In August, I was given the opportunity to be a Team Lead, which has completely altered my typical week. Instead of researching, I now oversee everything (the presentation, the meetings, the Excel) and delegate tasks to the interns on my time. I function as a sort of liaison to our supervisor and create agendas for each meeting. My favorite task is creating data visualization, including graphs, charts, and maps, for our presentation to show trends among these environmental defenders.

 

 

What do you enjoy most about your current position?

I love everything about this position. I am so passionate about the work, and so are all of the other interns. It has really allowed me to expand my leadership skills on a professional level and has opened up networking opportunities. My area of study is a bit different than the bureau I am working for, but through the program, I have been able to meet with people from many bureaus throughout the State Department in both the Civil and Foreign Service, who have all given me amazing advice and assisted me with career planning.

 

 

How has your coursework helped you in your internship?

This internship combines many topics that I was passionate about and that my courses prepared me for, including international development, environmental politics, international organizations, and economics. I am currently minoring in International Development and Conflict Management, so those courses were beneficial to this internship. There is often discussion about the financial situation in the various countries we research as many topics tie in with corporations, hydropower, mining, and agribusiness projects, and their funding. Microeconomics and my minor in Global Poverty prepared me well for this aspect. Finally, the most impactful course I had taken prior to this internship was Global Environmental Politics (GVPT306). This internship allowed me to apply the lessons I had learned in this course and move everything into a unique perspective.

 

 

How did you locate your internship position?

I located this internship through the Global Fellows program. The Fellows program does an incredible job sending out opportunities in various fields to students throughout the academic year, and when they sent out this posting, I knew I needed to apply. This internship is also a part of the Virtual Student Federal Service program, which has countless of incredible internship opportunities in different federal departments and bureaus. 

 

 

Advice for students:

While considering internship opportunities, it is important to build up your resume and apply to programs as early as you can. Throughout my sophomore year, I applied to over thirty internships between the spring semester and the summer and only heard back from four. I did get a bit discouraged during this time, but, ultimately, ended up participating in two internships that I loved and am passionate about. Now, as a junior, with more experiences on my resume, I have been able to get opportunities I would never have expected to earn, such as leading a team of interns at the Department of States and an upcoming internship with the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis (which I was applied to twice prior). If you are struggling with feeling motivated to apply over and over again, I highly recommend applying to programs, like the Fellows program that requires you to complete an internship experience and assists you with every step of the application process. Everyone goes through this process, and it is stressful, but do not get discouraged!

 

 

Anything else you want to share with students about your experience?

Networking has been a weakness in career planning skills, but I have learned it is so important! The connections you make throughout your internship, even with other interns, are key. It may be difficult in an online environment but stay connected with everyone to the best of your ability!