Student Reflection by Ava Strong (C’27 W’27, Spanish target)
This summer, I interned at the Nationalities Service Center (NSC) in Center City, Philadelphia on two different projects: (i) Ready4Life and (ii) Pathways to Success. Both programs fall under the Youth Wellness umbrella at NSC – Ready4Life teaches youth ages 16-24 years old life skills and communication skills to help them have more success in the United States, and Pathways to Success aims to provide youth with a career pathway in a specific industry or support youth in entering post-secondary schooling.
I’ve been interested in working with refugees and asylum seekers since high school; volunteering with Catholic Charities and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) were only a few of my most important extracurriculars. I found NSC while doing some research on Philadelphia-based organizations that help immigrants and refugees, and realized they had a comprehensive youth wellness program that was seeking interns. Growing up, my family always emphasized the importance of building healthy relationships, understanding one’s own emotions, and building an emotionally fulfilling career, so when I learned that these were some of the Youth Wellness Program topics, I knew it was a great fit.
I split my work week between the two programs. On Mondays and Wednesdays, I worked closely with the Pathways to Success manager and associate manager to enroll over 25 participants from places like Colombia, Congo, and Vietnam. I started by shadowing enrollments, and by the second day, I was leading enrollments on my own, one-on-one with clients. That is the beauty of the internship program at NSC: I was promptly pushed to take on new responsibility, knowing I had senior leadership to back me up.
I practiced my Spanish language skills with Spanish-speaking clients, and used Language Line and other translation tools with clients whose language I did not speak, like French and Arabic. I found joy in adapting, learning new cultural facts, and seeing the immediate impact of my work. On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, I worked as part of the Ready4Life team. I assisted with outreach, while teaching a weekly workshop to three Spanish-speaking clients. Teaching about emotional wellbeing and personal finance in Spanish stretched my language skills, and pushed me outside my comfort zone.
I learned an immense amount about cultural exchange during my summer at NSC. By the end of the internship, I could interact professionally with clients older and younger than myself, even if we did not speak the same language. Watching my co-workers handle difficult client situations taught me to respond with patience and grace to unexpected incidents, a skill which I will certainly continue to utilize inprofessional spaces and other parts of my life. I hope to bring back to Huntsman the knowledge that you don’t have to go overseas to get experience interacting with people from all over the world – the opportunity is right here in Philadelphia, and I’d encourage anyone interested in international affairs or migrant affairs to get involved with NSC.
