Hi everyone! I’m Uma Menon (she/her), and I’m from the Orlando area in Florida. I’m a rising sophomore in Rocky. I plan to major in the School of Public and International Affairs with certificates in Creative Writing, South Asian Studies, and Gender & Sexuality Studies. I’m involved with the Debate Panel, Asylum Project, Oral History Project, and the Nassau Literary Review, among other things.
This summer, I interned at the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES) as a Bogle Fellow. RAICES is the largest legal services nonprofit for immigrants in Texas. I worked in Donor Communications in the Development Department.
I worked on a few different projects during my internship. In my first project, I created a database and audited RAICES’ email fundraising campaigns to provide recommendations on their communication strategy. In my second project, I wrote email copy from interviews with RAICES clients and employees. In my final project, I created a simulation of the asylum journey process so that audiences could learn about the complexity and challenges of the asylum-seeking process. Throughout the internship, I also provided general support, such as editing fundraising emails, taking notes, etc.
My day-to-day varied a lot. Generally speaking, I attended a few meetings a day and spent the rest of the day working on my current project. My supervisors really prioritized incorporating me into the organization, so I got to attend all meetings with the department, present at them, and ask questions. I really enjoyed the working environment, which I found to be a productive and empathetic space.
