This is my first blog post for my Conflict and Dispute Resolution internship with the University of Oregon UNESCO Crossings Institute. Throughout this school year, I will be posting here weekly with updates about the internship, the work I have done, and some reflections.
This will be my last blog post for my internship with the UO-UNESCO Crossings Institute. When I applied for this internship almost 2 years ago, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. All I saw was that a Professor who worked with UNESCO (had to look that up) needed an intern who was interest in intercultural concepts and I needed to find something to satisfy my required internship hours. As I was just beginning to find my path towards intercultural communication as my final project topic, I thought it would be a good fit.
And it was.
However, I gained more than just my required hours needed for my graduate degree. My passion for learning and advocating for intercultural communication and dialogue formed and clarified through this internship. I have made invaluable relationships with professors that will hopefully follow me past academia. And, (I hope) I have been able to contribute to the UO in furthering the goal for more culturally competent students.
As my time in school comes to an end, it is difficult – as I have been in school pretty consistently for 20 out of my 25 years of life, the future is scary. However, I am eternally grateful for the opportunities both of my graduate programs have given me. Further, I will take with me the lessons and guidance I received from my time with the UO-UNESCO Crossings Institute.
Again, this week I only did a few hours of internship work. I met with a different supervisor (the one I meet with less often) to discuss the progress report. After that discussion I spent about an hour putting together the report. Hopefully I will have it complete enough by next week that I can give it to my main supervisor to send to UNESCO.
I have been answering several emails showing interest in this internship. I am super happy about that because that means the position will hopefully be filled before I leave.
At most, I will work with my supervisor for another 2 weeks – it is bittersweet. This internship was one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences I have had during my graduate studies. I have had to teach myself new skills, admit (more often than I am comfortable with) that I don’t know how to do things, and do work solo knowing that I was the one that the project depended on. I also created amazing relationships with faculty across many departments, gained new perspectives through diverse experiences, and learned so much.
I only worked a few hours this week. I met with my supervisor and discussed the progress report we need to submit to UNESCO before I leave. I worked for about an hour on that later in the week. We also discussed the hiring of a new intern and we went over the call for applications. Once we looked it over, I made a few tweaks and we sent it out. Hopefully we will get some interest and I will be able to sit down with the new intern before I leave.
I do no internship work this week – I was focused on defending my CRES course concentration and graduating from law school!
We had our event this week! The turn-out was not what I was hoping for, but the students who have participated in the Crossings Institute showed up and talked about their experiences. It was great to hear from the 2 graduate students who had a fellowship at UNESCO headquarters in Paris this last winter and from the undergraduate student who went to Ethiopia for World Press Freedom Day last week. It is incredible the opportunities this Institute can bring to students.
Knowing this was my last UNESCO Crossings Institute was bittersweet. I have really enjoyed this internship. Both of the Co-Directors of the Institute were in attendance (both my supervisors) and they said very nice things about me and the work I have done – I almost got emotional…almost.
Now that the event is over, my last task before leaving is to write a summary report to UNESCO. We have to give a progress report every 2 years on the work we have done. I will start working on that soon!
I have spent this week finishing my preparations for our event next week. I also had my midterm review with my supervisor. My supervisor gives me feedback pretty regularly, especially when I complete a project. He noted the usual things. He is happy with my work, feels I am professional, and have a great ability to work independently.
While going through my midterm evaluation we began discussing qualities needed for this internship. As this internship is project-based, we talked about the importance of initiative and self-teaching/independent working. If I have learned anything through this internship experience, it is how to work efficiently and without much guidance. I am grateful for the opportunity to be creative and learn new skills. Further, as this internship is about promoting and teaching intercultural dialogue and conflict-sensitive reporting, there is a lot of opportunity to think outside the box for new ways to do that.
The end of the year event is coming along quite nicely right now. We have everything booked and set. I also spent this week sending out the advertisement for the event. The invitation can be seen here: Crossings – May Event
I attended several meetings with both of my supervisors this week. We discussed the logistics of the event and discussed a multimedia presentation that I should put together before the event.
Finally, we discussed advertising for a new intern to replace me next year. My supervisor would like to find my replacement prior to my leaving in order to do some sort of orientation with them.
I spent a lot of time with my supervisor this week discussing the rest of the term. We spent some time perfecting the advertisement for our event in May, and discussing the Progress report.
We are really trying to market this event to showcase the students involved in the Crossings Institute. This year they have done incredible things. We had two students intern at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris and we have two students attending World Press Freedom Day in Ethiopia. Apart from that, we have students creating podcasts all the time – they dig into local, national, and international conflicts with the aim of promoting dialogue and press freedom.
During our discussions, we completed the advertisement (which I think turned out great). I also got catering ordered and coordinated to meet with the other co-director of the Crossings Institute next week to discuss who we are inviting and our main target population.
This week, I made significant headway on the planning of our May event. I have filled out the correct paperwork with the University, I booked the venue, and I started working on the advertisements.
As you may recall, last year I organized and planned a week-long event. That event was my first one, and I made A LOT of mistakes. The events went well, but it was stressful and I made it harder than it had to be because I did things the wrong way. This time, I was prepared – I knew what needed to be done, so I did it the right way.
For this event, I got all my paperwork done first, and utilized the help of people whose job it is to plan events. The planning is going SO much smoother and is WAY less stressful. I still have some planning to do, but it is coming right along!
This is my last semester as an intern for the UO-UNESCO Crossings Institute. I have had the opportunity to work for Professor Steven Shankman and serve the Institute for six semesters over two years. I have had incredible opportunities and I have made genuine connections with multiple mentors.
In this last semester I have only a few tasks to complete before I leave. First, I will be organizing and putting on an event in May. Essentially, I am in charge of making it all come together. This means booking the venue, ordering catering, organizing visuals and schedules, and marketing.
My next task is to complete the required UNESCO Progress report. Every two years, UNESCO Chairs must submit a progress report about what the institute has done. I will be in charge of writing up that report.
Finally, I will (hopefully) be assisting in hiring the new me. My supervisor is hoping to find my replacement prior to my departure. As my job includes multiple facets, it would be helpful to somewhat “train” the new UNESCO intern.
UO UNESCO Internship 