It’s hard to reflect on my tenure at Human Rights First without immediately thinking about those with whom I’ve worked.  To say staff members and fellow interns have made my experience a delight would be an understatement.  They have inspired me with their dedication, humored me with their wit, and amazed me with their intellect.

In the past months, I have attended events put on by universities, think tanks, and Congressional offices.   At times encouraged, at others surprised, I have seen first-hand the diversity of groups working to rid the world of human rights abuses, as well as the complexity of matters yet to be resolved.   And in spite of an acute awkwardness that continues to pervade my social life, I even managed to make a few connections.

My time spent inside the office has been equally rewarding.  As a general program intern, I sit at the intersection of many program areas– most notably, Law and Security, Business and Human Rights, and Refugee Protection.  From here, I explored various issues and discovered interests formerly unknown to me.

For example, in researching lawmakers’ voting records with regard to provisions on indefinite detention of suspected terrorists, I coupled my love for domestic politics with my interest in national security policy.  Projects with the Refugee Protection Program struck a similar balance, as I was able to directly support refugees seeking asylum in the United States while learning about systemic gaps in refugee law and practice.  Following daily developments in the struggle for global internet freedom and reporting back to the Business and Human Rights team offered me a distinct view into a critical, and relatively uncharted, field of human rights.

Through my work and the feedback I’ve received, both formally and casually, my desire to continue working on behalf of human rights has strengthened.   Of course, it would be disingenuous to say that all the days have come easy.   Many weeks, my pride in the United States’ stance on equal rights for all quickly turned to disappointment when examining its record.  Yet interning at Human Rights First has shown me that it is precisely this schism that should serve as motivation.   Though imperfect in practice, this country’s greatness stems from its ideals and our recognition that freedoms are truly universal.   As citizens who are afforded such rights, it must be our collective duty to assure the same safeguards for humans across the world.

I presume many past and future interns will share similar, bittersweet feelings as their time with Human Rights First comes to a close.  Entering the final month of the internship brings with it a sense of organizational attachment and familiarity, just as the specter of life after college looms large wherever I look.  Yet whether or not I succeed in future academic and career-related endeavors, I know that my time at Human Rights First has given me the best opportunity to do so.

I leave Human Rights First with greater awareness and renewed commitment.  I return to the University of Michigan better prepared to bridge the divide between scholarship and practice.  And while the decisions I will soon face concerning my own career path are intimidating, these choices will be made, most fundamentally, on the beliefs and ideals I have cemented while at Human Rights First.

On June 20, 2011, I attended a day-long program hosted by Torture Abolition and Survivor Support Coalition International (TASSC) and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS). The program, Survivor Journeys: Immigration, Detention, Asylum and Family Reunification, was part of the annual TASSC June Survivor Week, a forum in which survivors of torture from across the U.S. and around the world are able to come together to share their stories and participate in activities to end torture.  As a new summer intern, I hoped hearing torture survivors speak about their experiences would provide me with insight into the personal struggles of asylum clients Human Rights First represents.

Perhaps the aspect of the day that impressed me the most was hearing torture survivors share their personal, and often painful, stories in a completely honest and uninhibited manner. I can only imagine how much courage it takes to share these experiences with a room full of strangers.  The survivors spoke of the persecution they had attempted to escape by coming to the United States, where they then languish in detention facilities while their mental and physical health deteriorated.

In addition to listening to torture survivors from Cameroon, Yemen, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Equatorial Guinea, I learned from specialist organizations such as Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS), Physicians for Human Rights, UNHCR, and Human Rights First (including HRF’s very own Annie Sovcik!).  The panelists made important points regarding the contradictory nature of our current immigration system and its implications for torture survivors.

As Americans, we owe a great deal of respect to asylum seekers and refugees who have left their families, homes, and loved ones behind in order to seek protection in the United States.  Unfortunately, this respect has not been afforded to all survivors of torture and that is disheartening.  Having already suffered extensively in their home nations, these men and women are often forced to face poor treatment, hardship, and confusion as they navigate through U.S. immigration courts and languish in detention facilities that look far too similar to prisons.   It’s a process that seems unnecessary.

Rather than exacerbate asylum seekers’ pain through indefinite sentencing, lack of adequate health services, and immigration laws designed to work against them, the United States should be doing everything in its power to protect these people from encountering any further adversity.  Listening to the stories of the torture survivors renewed my admiration for the people that come to us for assistance, and I was encouraged to know that members of the Refugee Protection Program at HRF are working to make the American experience inclusive rather than hostile for their clients.

Partly because of this, and because I am hoping to enter the non-profit field in New York when I graduate, I applied for a summer position with the Communications department at a larger nonprofit,  Human Rights First’s New York office. My task would be to focus on social media and some of the newer methods of communication, rather than traditional press work. I had some prior experience with website analysis and new media, so I was thrilled at the opportunity to gain additional skills and to see how best to put such tools to work on human rights issues.

When I was interviewed for the position, I was also told that I could be involved in podcasting over the summer if that was something that interested me. As it turned out, this became my largest project during my time at Human Rights First, and it was a great learning experience. Working with Marc Climaco, the Program and Communications Assistant, and Daniel Littlewood, another Communications intern, we conducted market research on podcasting and took steps to improve Human Rights First’s podcasts. It was the little things – like bringing in more external audio clips to add more voices to each podcast, adding new intro/outro music, and obtaining a professional microphone – that really made the difference in quality. As the summer wore on, I also spent more and more time drafting and editing podcast scripts to ensure they were reflective of the organization’s goals and user-friendly enough for a wide audience.

By mid-July, we were ready to launch FirstCast on iTunes. Through the power of email and social networking, our podcast climbed the charts to #1 overall under “Government and Organizations” and was among the top three “New and Noteworthy” podcasts under “News and Politics” for several days in a row. Success!

Though I worked on every podcast in some capacity, I had the opportunity to draft and narrate four of my own, which was incredibly rewarding. I also conducted interviews with staff from several different programs, which gave me the chance to get to know the issues better and to meet other people in the organization. I was impressed by the level of trust and respect Human Rights First gave to interns and fellows. We were treated as valuable members of the team, not as mere worker bees or temporary labor. The intern program was both structured and flexible, giving everyone the opportunity to show their strengths.

By the end of the summer, I gained new skills in storytelling for advocacy and in the nitty-gritty technical side of podcasting. I also knew much more about tools like Google Analytics, Google AdWords, Facebook, and WordPress, and I got a broad picture of how non-profit communications works in today’s fast-paced media environment. These are all skills that will help round out my resume, and put me in a good position to work in the not-for-profit sector. What’s more, I felt like I really contributed to Human Rights First’s work and mission, making for a fulfilling and exciting summer.

Beth is a current Master of Arts student at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, studying human security and international environment & resource policy.

Contrary to legal practices in more stagnant or rigid areas of law, a career in human rights law requires being up-to-date on events, changes and developments in the domestic and international community, which call into question on a daily basis the application and evolution of this relatively young body of legal principles. At a basic level, this means reading the news—but it is more important to consider how these daily happenings shape broader events and trends. Surveying news and events is essential for devising potential solutions and strategies based on analysis and synthesis of past and present events.

When addressing human rights questions, (like all other politically, culturally and socially complex questions) two, ten, even one hundred heads are undoubtedly better than one! Hence the need to get out from behind the desk and meet, talk, reason, listen and interact with other interested people. There’s certainly no shortage of opinion or debate in Washington D.C., and the two conferences I attended allowed me to learn from speakers and other conference participants, and to consider views and strategies which I could never possibly conceive on my own, no matter how many college degrees I might obtain!

The sweet smelling fruit of this cross-pollination of ideas to a young intern bee is that golden word: Networking. I’m not a particularly aggressive “networker”—I tend to feel uncomfortable starting a conversation with someone purely for the purpose of walking away with a potentially useful business/contact card – but the stimulation of thoughts and ideas at such conferences seems to be a fair reason to strike up a conversation with someone. What’s more, this week made me appreciate how far the long tentacles of just one encounter can reach. As a result of one conversation with a fellow conference attendee and a “pay it forward” action on their part, I’ve ended up with a fantastic contact all the way back in Australia, something I never imagined at a small conference in D.C.!

The life of an intern is rather wasted spent sitting at a desk (and especially hiding under it!) waiting for tasks to come. Initiative really cannot be overstated. I’ve been extremely fortunate to intern with an organization that appreciates its interns and recognizes the importance of education and networking in this business, and actively seeks to extend such opportunities to us. My advice to other students is to seek out employers who don’t intend to use you as cannon fodder in the trenches, but instead offer to help you become highly trained soldiers ready for battle in the real world!

Washington, D.C. wasn’t my original choice but I am very content with this location for many reasons. One reason is that I was fortunate enough to land an internship with Human Rights First, a great NGO dedicated to human rights education and reform in the United States and abroad. Human Rights First’s D.C. has three main program areas: Refugee Protection Program, Law and Security, Crimes Against Humanity. As a General Programs intern, I am working on tasks for the Refugee Protection and Law and Security programs. The organization treats its interns with great appreciation and respect, and the staff is intent on making sure we get the most out of our experiences by assigning tasks that are specifically aligned to the interns’ backgrounds and interests. For example, I have an interest in immigration law and was given a legislative amendment bill comparison task, which required me to rely on my legal interpretation skills and enhanced my understanding of common issues in Refugee Protection, like conditions of immigration detention facilities.

There are other perks to the job too! The office is situated in Capitol Hill, an amazing location right next to the Supreme Court—which makes for great views and a vibrant atmosphere. The endless variety of food choices available at the Senate Cafeteria is a great nearby attraction as well!

Voila! A snapshot of my first couple of weeks finding my feet studying abroad and interning with Human Rights First.