The following blog was written by Ally Harris, who interned with JWW this past summer and is now joining the 2015-2016 Cohort of Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis University Fellows.
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Almost two years ago, at the beginning of my senior year of high school, my international relations teacher had our class watch Hotel Rwanda as part of a chapter on genocide. Watching this film gave me an immediate sense of global responsibility and determination to end genocide. I began reading books and doing my own research, and for the first time, I had an idea what I might want to do with my life. This new-found direction is the reason why I decided to go to The George Washington University and is the reason I pursued an internship at Jewish World Watch.
I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with the incredible team at the Jewish World Watch this summer. This internship has completely reaffirmed the passion I feel towards social justice and fighting genocide, and has taught me so much about how to do just that.
The beginning of my internship was not as glamorous as I had expected it to be. My first few weeks were filled with tedious phone calls to congressional offices, filling out an endlessly complicated google-doc and tracking different pieces of legislation. Next, I was tasked with transcribing interviews and reading and summarizing long articles on topics such as “Mobilizing Regional Action for Peace in South Sudan.” (Edited to add by JWW Staff: Thank you, Ally! It may have been tedious, but it was essential.)
However it wasn’t long until my responsibilities became more exciting and I was beginning to see my work pay off. Before I knew it I was setting up congressional meetings using the information I had compiled at the beginning of the summer. I was also able to do research to update the website, write a blog post with one of the other interns, and sit in on several phone calls and meetings. Each day I had new tasks, but I was beginning to see how it was all connected and I realized that even jobs that had seemed like busy work were very important. (Edited to add by JWW Staff: True that!)
One of the highlights of my summer was our meeting with Congressman Ed Royce. Everything from the preparation for the meeting to the gourmet waffles we ate for lunch afterwards made it a memorable experience. Having been out of town during the training sessions, I expected to sit and observe rather than participate in the meeting. But when Mike told me that I actually had to say something, I realized how much I learned this summer. I was surprised at how comfortable and confident I was talking about the Darfuri refugees in eastern Chad, which is something I would not have been able to do before this summer.
After such a fantastic experience as an intern this summer, I am excited to say that this is not where my involvement with JWW ends. I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to serve as a Schulweis Fellow for this coming year and cannot wait to bring my enthusiasm for combating genocide and mass atrocities to the GW campus.