Interns complete summer of working, learning about social justice
Aug. 2, 2006 News media contact: Kathy Gilbert * (615) 7425470* Nashville {461}
NOTE: Photographs and audio available at http://umns.umc.org.
By Kathy L. Gilbert*
WASHINGTON (UMNS) - Young strangers from a dozen states spent two months in the nation's capitol working side-by-side with seasoned grassroot advocates on issues ranging from children's rights to world peace.
However, one of the most valuable they lessons they may have learned was how to live with each other.
"I think the most memorable experience I had here was simply my day-to-day interactions with the other interns," said Lydia Baek, 20, a student at Oxford College of Emory University, Atlanta. "We're all so different in so many ways... I learned a lot about others and also about myself through my interactions with the other interns."
The interns brought with them a wide range of interests, passions and personalities, according to the Rev. Neal Christie, an executive with the United Methodist Board of Church and Society who oversees the Ethnic and Young Adult summer intern program.
"What personally strikes me about the 2006 class of interns is that they unexpectedly learned a new lesson -- how to deal creatively with conflict arising from living together in a diverse Christian community," he said.
From June 4 to Aug. 1, the interns lived together seven days a week on
the campus of George Washington University. They spent their days working in organizations addressing social justice and their evenings in devotions together. Every Friday, they attended seminars at the United Methodist Building on Capitol Hill, discussing topics of social justice. Each Sunday, they attended a different United Methodist church in the area.
The internship has been sponsored by the board for the last 20 years and has at least 200 participants who either now lead the church in some way or influence society in their vocations, according to Christie. The interns are chosen from the five ethnic caucuses of the United Methodist Church - Black, Hispanic, Asian, Native American and Pacifier Islander.
"I expect to see many of our interns leading their local churches and campuses standing on the base knowledge gained at their placements," he said.
Working for justice
The 2006 interns worked at the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, NAACP, Peace Action, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, Central American Resource Center, TransAfrica Forum and the Children's Defense Fund.
Baek and William Seo worked at Peace Action, which is nearly 50 years old and is considered the nation's largest grassroot peace group. Seo, 21, is a student at the State University of New York at Binghamton.
"This internship enabled me to be particularly conscious of U.S. foreign and military policies," he said. "Before this internship, I wasn't too concerned about what's going on around the world; however, this placement has allowed me to make the connection between our policies and its negative consequences."
Both Seo and Baek participated in a peace demonstration in front of the White House that involved Baek lying down between coffins to signify how families are hurt by the war in Iraq.
"That was definitely something I had never done before," Baek added.
Lupe Maka, 20, a student at Chaminade University of Honolulu, had never been so far from home. She was assigned to the Children's Defense Fund and worked with the Rev. Sally Jo Snyder, a United Methodist, on the Children's Sabbath, a weekend observed by religious congregations of all faiths that focuses on concerns for children.
One of the highlights of Maka's internship was attending the Sojourner's Pentecostal Convention and hearing Marian Wright Edelman, founder of the Children's Defense Fund, and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), speak. Obama was born in Hawaii.
"I'm not really into politics and I never knew of him (Obama)," she said. "I didn't know he was such a powerful speaker. It was a great experience to be there and just listen to what he had to say and how he connected the role of the church and government."
Just being in the nation's capitol was "life changing," according to Maka. "In Hawaii, you are so sheltered. Here there are so many people, I feel like an ant. I didn't know how big the world was."
Monica Michelle White, 20, was assigned to the NAACP. She attends Howard University and is from San Antonio, Texas. It was her responsibility to research the minimum wage issue and present a report at the end of her internship.
"I'm trying to get people to realize that it's not a living wage, it doesn't help the majority of Americans," she explained.
White found living with the other interns was sometimes challenging. "We do come from diverse cultures and sometimes we do retreat back to that," she said. "But everyday we made a conscious effort to be amongst each other."
Other 2006 interns participating in the program were: Agnes Poveda, Florida International University.; Joe Kim, University of Michigan; Aloise McCullough, Tulsa Community College; Militoni Toetu'u, University of Hawaii; Massiel Wingeier-Rayo, Guilford College; Xochitl Garcia, Hendrix College; and Sade Marie Young, California State University.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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United Methodist News Service Photos and stories also available at: http://umns.umc.org
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