Bridget Ryan ’19
Chicago Human Rhythm Project
Chicago
Summer Internship Series: My Human Rights Summer
Ivanna Salgado ’18
Immigration Organizer Intern, Chicago Religious Leadership Network, Chicago, Illinois
My name is Ivanna Salgado and I am currently a senior at Denison University. I am double majoring in Women’s and Gender Studies and English Literature. This past summer, I interned with the Chicago Religious Leadership Network as an immigration organizer.
When I first received the McMahon recognition, I mentioned that I was involved with the Denison community through the activism in campus and outside of campus. I had done a lot of the organizing in campus through Amnesty International. My goal for this summer was to learn grassroots organizing so I could come back and teach it to my team and to organize with outside communities.As an immigration organizer intern, I was able to build stronger relationships with over 20 congregations, which were relationships that could never be replaced. These congregations had interest in creating a more inclusive community by teaching its members about social justice movement through training. I also wrote blogs about them. For example, for the University Church, I wrote an article about their Sanctuary Café, which was very exciting and worthy.
One of my favorite experiences was learning about the sanctuary city in Chicago, which actually inspired my senior thesis. Chicago is known to be a sanctuary city under the Welcoming City Ordinance; however, it still violates the 4th amendment rights of those who are undocumented and documented. For example, the Chicago police have been working with ICE by passing along information to deport immigrants who don’t have any criminal records other than crossing the border without documents. Another example is that the Chicago police has been arresting children that lead them to having bad criminal record. Most of the people that are affected are people of color and low-income communities.
Although in the past I had only focused on undocumented immigrants, this internship taught me about expanding sanctuary. This topic is about expanding sanctuary not only to undocumented immigrants but also offer sanctuary beyond the physical mortar walls to people who are often discriminated and are documented.
For my senior thesis, I will be exploring this topic through theory by redefining citizenship in the United States. I will be writing an essay and turning it into a project throughout my senior year. Half of it is field research, which I am personally excited. I hope with the right guidance, I will able to get my message across and build stronger relationships with those who believe we get handed everything. Working with the campaign, personally, gave a me a broader perspective of what non-profits do and pushed me to accomplish my future dream as a lawyer and as a social entrepreneur
This internship taught me to be flexible from working remotely, to going to protests, to going to speak to alderman, going to congregations, and working in the office. I definitely recommend students who want to learn about human rights and grassroots organizing to apply. Cinthya Rodiguez, my supervisor, was amazing and great young woman who has a lot of passion for the work that she conducts as an organizer. She has built a great reputation amongst many organizations in Chicago. This was an amazing opportunity.
If you have any questions about my experience, please feel free to contact me. I would be more than happy to talk with you!
Summer Internship Series: Margie’s Girls
Josie Olschansky ’18
Social Media and PR Intern, Margie Korshak Inc., Chicago, Illinois
My name is Josie Olschansky and I am a senior creative writing major. This summer I interned at a PR firm called Margie Korshak Inc. located in Chicago, Illinois. Margie Korshak is a boutique PR agency that has been around for over 50 years. It started out as the only PR firm in the city and opened everything on Michigan Avenue from Bloomingdales, to Sax Fifth Avenue, to restaurants, to Chanel. Margie Korshak, the founder and CEO of the company, is someone who still has an enormous amount of respect and prestige within the industry. I was most impressed by the fact that even though she is eighty years old she still comes into the office every single day!
I have had a number of PR / marketing internships but it was truly an honor to get to work for Margie. During my time there I was a social media and PR intern, which meant that I created and scheduled social media for our various clients. As an intern, I wrote posts on multiple platforms for clients, remodeled the company’s Media Kit, drafted and edited press releases and post releases for companies such as Krispy Kreme, interviewed and selected four new fall interns, and I developed and organized copious media lists.
I definitely learned a lot throughout my experience and acquired tools and skills that I hope to bring with me wherever I end up after graduation. The absolute best part of my internship was the other interns that I become close with. We spent so much time together that we truly became friends; we called ourselves “Margie’s Girls” and we had lunch together every day outside the building. That hour of lunch was the perfect escape from the business of the office. My summer went by so fast that before I knew it I was packing my things to come home.
