Izabella Rosen interned with Urban Humanities Fellows/LitLabs within the Department of Public and Applied Humanities, supporting public enrichment projects, commemorative event planning and student coursework evaluation.
How did you get your internship?
I took a class with Dr. Barrios in which I created a zine around Tucson’s southside and the TCE groundwater contamination that affected the community. After this work, Dr. Barrios told me that my project was very effective and she encouraged me to continue in giving this work deeper purpose. We discussed future plans and she asked if I would be interested in interning under her with some more work around the southside of Tucson. I was able to start this internship because of the quality of the previous work that I had done and my mentor’s faith in my abilities.
Why did you choose this internship?
I was at a very big turning point in my education and career trying to decide where to go moving forward. Dr. Barrios shared some of her own career journey with me and it helped show me some of the different options that I could pursue for my future. I wanted to do this internship with her specifically because I appreciate her dedication to her work and had noticed throughout taking her class the immense effort that she put into even the small details of her class. I knew that through working with her in the community aspect as well as the institutional aspect, she would provide the support and flexibility that I needed to succeed. In our initial meeting where we planned the contents of my internship as well, she urged her desire to make my work flexible and cater my focus to specifically what I felt would be important to me moving forward.
What kind of work did you do throughout your internship experience?
In our planning phase, Dr. Barrios mentioned that although we had a vision for the work that we would be doing at the beginning of the semester, it was likely to change throughout the course of the work in practice. In the beginning months, most of the work that I was doing involved planning and attending events in Tucson’s southside, such as the ceremony for the El Pueblo Community Center’s 50th anniversary and the 30th anniversary of the Unified Community Advisory Board (UCAB) water cleanup advocacy effort. As time passed, my focus shifted to more events around campus, specifically in events for Spaces for Solidarity at the Lotus Lounge, which extended into a series of meetings commemorating a community advocate Lorraine Lee. Some of these events included a community hike, a food tasting based on the Chinese Chorizo Project, and a campus mural project. As the semester went on, my work shifted into supporting Dr. Barrios with one of her classes. This included creating samples for assignments and evaluating student work.
What new knowledge and skills did you practice, learn, or develop in this internship?
Throughout this internship, I developed my adaptability, communication, and networking. The constantly changing nature of my work allowed me to learn how to move with the ebb and flow of different priorities. I was often in situations in which I had to take a new perspective and problem solve quickly. I also learned communication through working with my other interns as well as with Dr. Barrios and became more comfortable navigating different work styles. In many of the different events that I attended, I was able to practice communication and networking in more spontaneous settings and in the fast-paced interactive style of our community meetings.
How was the internship related to your Applied Humanities degree?
My internship was directly related to my humanities degree as the work tied into community engagement and enrichment, such as the event commemorating Lorraine Lee. Many of the events that I attended were collaborations with the Lotus Lounge, aiming to create a collaborative space for students to engage. Within my class-based work, I also worked with students helping guide them to complete their work effectively.
How has your internship experience influenced your plans for your future?
Before this internship I was not sure about where to go moving forward. Throughout this experience, I came to understand some of my own interests and what I think I would enjoy doing in the long run. This experience exposed me to many different people with many different occupations and over time as I met new people I became more direct and willing to ask them questions about their career which helped me think about my own future. It was also through this experience that I came to choose the focus of my honors thesis as I had the chance to network with some military personnel through the UCAB events. I have decided to continue in my education to complete my masters degree next and I have decided to shift my educational focus towards intercultural competence theory and practice.
What advice do you have for other students as they search for and/or begin their internship?
In my experience, I have found that it is best to not overthink things too much if you are not certain about what you want. There are infinitely many decisions and directions that you could go, so just start moving in one direction and you will find your way from there. Procrastination is the true killer of success; as long as you are doing something, you will learn over time whether that thing is meant to continue or end in your life. I also think it is so important to listen to your intuition because if something doesn’t feel right or like a good fit, it probably isn’t. There will always be more opportunities so if you work hard and trust yourself, everything will work itself out. Just keep moving forward and pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone to make connections as you never know where they may lead.