What inspires you to work in public service?
I have always been passionate about social change and have always had a passion to pursue a career that serves underserved/underrepresented communities. Therefore, working in public service whether through nonprofit work or at the government level is a direct way to pursue this.
What is your major, and do you have any minors or specializations?
I am pursuing a B.A. in political science and also minoring through the Glenn College in Law and Public policy.
What coursework or academic experiences have most shaped your interests in policy, leadership or public service?
Almost all my major classes have shaped my interest in policy, from law and politics to law and public affairs. Having a passion for law led me to explore the public policy side of politics, and has given me an additional interest in examining how law and public policy intersect. Additionally, my involvement in the Undergraduate Law Review at Ohio State has given me an opportunity to write how policy directly influences legal decisions, from writing opinion based articles drawn from case law.
What specific skills or experiences do you bring to your internship?
As a professional, I posses organization and time management skills. As a very busy and involved student, I've developed skills to help manage all my different involvements while prioritizing all of the commitments and activities that are important to me; this all stems from strong organization skills. Additionally, I believe I have strong communication skills, specifically oral communication I have developed from participating on different committees and group-based organizations that require strong communication to succeed. Complimenting this, I have strong public speaking abilities and have a significant amount of presentation experience.
What strengths do you most rely on when collaborating with others?
When collaborating with others, I often utilize my leadership skills and patience to work efficiently and effectively. I consider myself a natural organizer when working in groups and often take the responsibility of coordinating meeting times, deadlines, etc. This stems from my strong organization skills. Additionally, when collaborating with others on projects or other tasks, I often find myself relying on my patience to stay grounded when disputes arise or tasks get difficult. Patience and remaining steady when challenges occur is key to maintaining an effective work environment with others.
What are your career goals and how do you hope this fellowship will support your professional journey?
My career aspirations are to pursue law school and become an attorney. At this moment, I am interested in pursuing immigration law or some aspect of international law. I believe WAIP will help support my professional journey by allowing me to take leaps in my professional growth and exposure to different careers in my area of study, through professional networking. Beyond this, I believe WAIP will expose me to the incredibly fast-paced and hectic work environment of D.C. which will open my eyes to how the professional world operates in the nation's capital. Lastly, through my internship work, WAIP will hopefully allow me to see where law and public policy intersect in a variety of spaces, from news media to nonprofit work.
What is your favorite or most impactful project from a previous role?
Serving as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion officer of my sorority was a role where I was able to participate in an impactful project that was meaningful to me. The fellow service chair and I hosted an event for our community where we worked with a nonprofit called RePlay for Kids, which is an organization that rebrands children's toys and makes them more adaptable for kids with disabilities. Being able to combine my passion for social change with service through this project was incredibly rewarding, and we were able to hand-make over 30 toys for children with disabilities by teaching our volunteers a complicated engineering process. This project was incredibly special for me to put on.