What are your main responsibilities at your position? What are some of your big projects? (this can include projects at your internship, your specific CAP project, etc)
At my position with Asian American LEAD, I will be working with the Maryland office to help coordinate their summer program for Asian American youth. I am responsible for communicating with youth and parents, helping with curriculum development, and conducting a program evaluation.
How does this internship fit with your professional and career goals?
As a master’s student in applied anthropology, I am passionate about working with community organizations to conduct ethnographic research that will help meet their needs. This experience will allow me to gain experience working closely with a non-profit organization aligned with my interest in AANHPI education.
What do you hope to achieve this summer as a part of CAPAL’s 2022 cohort?
As part of CAPAL’s 2022 cohort, I hope to make strong connections with my peers. In addition, I feel that components of the summer program such as the mentorship program and CAP project will help me to achieve some of my personal and professional goals.
What does public service mean to you? What sparked your interest or desire to get involved with public service?
To me, public service is about engaging with communities to accurately understand and serve their needs. As someone who wishes to help others through research, I believe that problem solving of issues should be done with members of the community involved as active participants. For a class in college, I had to interview female Vietnamese business owners in my hometown about their experience as business owners in the United States. By doing this informal research, I was able to connect with community members and share their stories. My interest in public service and research came out of the interactions I had with these Vietnamese women in the community.