U.S. Green Building Council New York

Organization: U.S. Green Building Council New York

City: New York, NY

Unpaid

I interned here in the Spring of 2009 and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in green building or sustainable development. While my tasks are often tedious and consist of lots of data entry, there are also some really fun projects that interns are assigned to. I have worked on putting together educational events that are hosted by teh USGBC as well as picking “sustainable menus” for events. I would say that one of the most satisfying parts of working at the USGBC is working with some really great, fun people who are all interested in working for a great cause. I have met some wonderful people in the office as well as at networking events outside of the office sponsored by the USGBC. Another great perk about this internship is the free access to events and LEED workshops. If you’re looking to get LEED certified, this is a perfect opportunity. With free study classes and potentially free LEED exam registration, this is an incredible opportunity to get a head start in the green building field. Employers really respect the USGBC and it’s contributions to the green industry, so this is a great resume addition.

Foro Ciudadano de Participación por la Justicia y los Derechos Humanos (FOCO)

Organization: Foro Ciudadano de Participación por la Justicia y los Derechos Humanos (FOCO)

City: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Unpaid

I loved working at FOCO.  Basically, the organization has two parts.  One works on transnational corporations and their human rights abuses and the other part works on gender issues.  This is because the founders are a husband and wife team who specialize in these areas.  I worked for both- mostly translating between English and Spanish for the transnational corporation side and then working coding interviews for the gender side.  I also had the opportunity to develop a sexual education workshop curriculum with my boss and then go with her to teach it to a group of underserved students at a private school in La Matanza.  The people at FOCO were super nice, young, and liberal.  They were EXTREMELY patient with my Spanish, and always invited me to meetings.  They were also really open to helping me with my research project for school, and including me in any way I wanted to participate.  I enjoyed going there twice a week, and my Spanish improved greatly.

MADRE- Programs Department

Organization: MADRE

City: New York, NY

“Paid”- $10/day

I had a terrible experience working for MADRE.  The organization is an established women’s human rights non-profit that works around the world.  As an intern for the programs department, all I really did was do online research or translate from English to Spanish and vice versa.  The thing I really hated about the experience was that no one spoke to me.  My boss, Natalia Caruso, had no interest in me other than the work I produced and never even asked me what my major was at school.  No one else in the office even bothered to introduce themselves.  I was never invited to meetings or even to eat lunch with others.  They simply shoved me in a dingy office by myself and gave me things to do.  My boss was not very good at communicating what she wanted, and then acted annoyed when I asked clarifying questions.  Perhaps my experience would have been different if I had worked in a different department, but stay away from Programs, people!!

The Transgender Project, National Development and Research Institute

Organization: The Transgender Project, National Development and Research Institute

City: New York, NY

Unpaid

This internship was one of the best experiences I’ve had.  This research study followed 600 transgender people for a few years, mainly focusing on HIV and general health.  The surveys were lengthy and both English and Spanish speaking subjects participated.  Working at the study really gave me a good understanding of what it’s like to conduct public health research.  My supervisors, Dr. Larry Nuttbrock and Monica Macri, were both extremely generous and helpful.  They both took a genuine interest in me and tried to explain things along the way.  I did a fair amount of clerical work (checking that each question on surveys was completed, data entry) but I also got to do cooler projects (figuring out coding for one section of the survey, coding it, changing qualitative data to quantitative data).  And the nice part was that when I did have to do clerical work, Monica would be doing it as well, so I never felt like I was a slave.  They were extremely appreciative of my help and they engaged me in intelligent discussion frequently.  Unfortunately, the research study is closing down in the next few months, but if you ever get the chance to work for either of these people, you should!!

Shanti

Organization: Shanti

City: San Francisco, CA

Unpaid

I was the HIV Services intern for Shanti during the summer of 2007.  I absolutely loved it there.  The work itself is extremely rewarding.  Shanti provides emotional and practical support to people living with AIDS.  I spent time working with several clients one-on-one, as well as working in the drop-in center with more transient clients. I also helped organize a women’s support group, and learned a TON about social services in San Francisco.  This internship definitely requires you to be adventurous and sometimes fearless as you will see and hear about things that you probably have never been exposed to in the past.  Shanti’s offices are located in the Tenderloin, so even getting to work can be eye-opening.  The people that work at Shanti are some of the coolest folks I’ve ever met- super relaxed, liberal, and eager to help interns learn.  I loved my summer their and continue to fundraise for the organization and stay in touch with people who work there.

IkamvaYouth, Connect-123

Organization: IkamvaYouth non-profit, through Connect-123 (www.connect-123.com)

City: Cape Town, South Africa
Unpaid

Pros-
The good thing about Connect-123 is that they do a lot of the work for you. After applying and paying them a sum of money, they find the internship for you in the city and industry of your choice. You have options- if you don’t like the sound of one that they find for you, they keep working until you’re happy. Once you arrive, they come get you from the airport, show you to your apartment and your roommates/flatmates, and have introductory meetings with you about how to live and exist safely in Cape Town. Cape Town is also an amazing place to spend a couple months- it’s a fun place for young people and if you are remotely interested in the outdoors, you will love South Africa! Connect also planned a variety of events (every other weekend) for the interns, so it was nice to get to see other people who didn’t work with you and who weren’t necessarily your flatmates. All of the other interns were great and we got along really well- my roommate and I have stayed really close and bonded from our South Africa experience. If you want an independent summer and you know you’re proactive, Connect is a great match.

Cons-
My specific internship didn’t work out so well- IkamvaYouth was pretty disorganized and didn’t even know it. Even though they had 4 willing American interns, they didn’t utilize us at all and we made a lot of copies for a month. I didn’t pay Connect-123 for a summer of making copies and I thought that Connect should have done a better job of ensuring that everyone’s internships were running smoothly. Though they warned of the necessity to be proactive, once they gave us our internships, we didn’t hear from them again. Sometimes they were annoyed when we complaints about our internships, issues with our apartments, etc, and weren’t always the most helpful (but this may have been a generational/cultural thing). It was also frustrating that sometimes Connect would spring things on you- like the necessity to rent a car- and not tell you in advance how expensive it was going to be. They also assumed that everyone doing their program was a rich American, and would expect you to be able to attend their events, even though they were sometimes extremely expensive. Though my internship was pretty hellish, personally, I know a lot of people/other Connect interns who loved theirs- the internships at the Children’s Hospital, at HIV/AIDS non-profits, at the Cape Times newspaper- they all had glowing recommendations, so maybe I just got unlucky this time.