SLU Spain Program
Student Internships and Research Projects
Olivia Carrerio, RESCATE
For my internship I have been working for the NGO, RESCATE, in their department of Awareness and Education for Development. RESCATE is dedicated to the assistance of refugees and asylum seekers, and through their various branches they attempt to help ease their transitions into new societies; help with the internal conflicts in their home countries that have led them to seek asylum; and to raise awareness. My branch specifically works in schools and at NGO fairs to raise an understanding of the difficulties refugees face as they make these transitions and the differences between refugees and immigrants.
I was very fortunate in that I was able to find an internship that paired well with my major and my personal interests and has allowed me to refine what I would like to pursue as a potential career. Currently, I am a Spanish major and am working towards a double minor in Caribbean and Latin American Studies, and Government. I am very interested in immigration and border issues in both Spain and the U.S. seen as they are tops issues on the political agendas of both countries. Unfortunately most of what I had learned about them had been from classes and newspapers. My internship helped me break away from that and discover first-hand what can be done to help alleviate and prevent some of the issues surrounding immigration.
As a part of my internship I worked with another student to create an activities guide for future volunteers to be used in classrooms and at NGO fairs to promote awareness. Currently, I am working on helping them create a library in their Madrid office by creating an online catalog of materials and organizing their resources. Through my work there I have learned about the various efforts being taken to educate society about immigration and refugee related issues and about the internal conflicts in the countries from which the refugees are migrating from. It is very satisfying to know that I am helping with the productivity of the organization and contributing to their cause which I am very passionate about.
Most of the people I work with seem just as eager to learn about the U.S. as I am about Spain. I have become good friends with one of my coworkers and we exchange our favorite bars and restaurants, interchange music, and he has told me about great places to check out in Spain and helped me to prepare some of my other traveling. One of the most enjoyable parts of the internship has been that it took me out of the comfortable environment that is the school and forced me to push myself and take advantage of what I was being offered while abroad. I am greatly looking forward to continuing as a volunteer when my internship is done, and hope that I will be able to open doors for other students who are trying to pursue similar interests in the future.
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