Introduction
Greetings everyone!
My name is Jacky Guzman, pronouns She/ Her. In this upcoming school year I will be a senior at the University of Washington, Bothell. I am double majoring in American Ethnic Studies and Society, Ethics, & Human Behavior, I am additionally minoring in Diversity Studies. As a transfer student from Everett Community College, I found passion through my sociology class where I first learned about past and present social justice issues, implicit history perspectives, and about educational empowerment. Now, at UWB I have focused my studies on understanding further how institutional oppressions are upheld, why, and how to dismantle systemic oppression and racism, with a focus on power dynamics. Considering that my major was specifically U.S-based I never thought about considering studying abroad because why would I travel to another country to learn more about U.S. history? That didn’t make sense to me! However, I was proved wrong.
My BIS300 professor, Ron Krabill, excitedly pushed me to apply to the Global Scholars Program, an experience that connects marginalized students to study abroad opportunities and scholarships. Let me tell you, I am very happy that I got involved. Within the program I learned of the many opportunities that could fuel my individual and professional growth. I was filled with gratitude that I was strongly supported by my professor to join the Global Scholars Program, especially once I saw everything I would’ve missed out on. Being the first in my family to ever embark on a study abroad experience, I applied for Hyphen the World, a virtual internship within the non-profit organization of Pravah, based in India.
Pravah: Sajhe Sapne
Internship applications and interviews sound scary. Upon entering Pravah, I was scheduled to meet with my supervisor, Nehal Sharma. My experience was the exact opposite of what I was fearing! My supervisor focused the interview around understanding what my strengths were, areas of improvement, goals, and passions. Based on this information, I would be given options of which organization I would like to be put into. I was given two options and I was provided with a great amount of information on the background, context, and missions of each organization. This is when I selected to use my skill set in Sajhe Sapne. An organization that works to equip marginalized women from rural villages of India with technical skills, English-Learning, and employability skills. The sole purpose was to give marginalized women an opportunity to be economically independent, have their own job, so they can make their own choices in their lives. My task was to research, develop, and test an English Learning Module for students.
During my time in Sajhe Sapne, I was able to constantly reflect on my work. I realized that I had to apply many concepts from my majors in order to understand my position within the organization. Even though my majors were U.S.-based I still had to keep in mind power dynamics, my intersectional western identity, and my internal biases. Understanding this was essential to how I went about in my work because it was reflected in how I interacted with peers. It also allowed me to understand the effectiveness of the organization because I was able to analyze their motives and how it correlated with their mission and activism. Understanding social issues against women in India was one topic; however, knowing how to apply social justice concepts and pedagogy to actively dismantle systems of oppression, violence, and inequality against women was another topic. With this lens I was able to learn how Pravah’s techniques were directly addressing social issues, why it was working, what barriers they’ve faced, how those issues were addressed, and how to empower women and why it’s important. I was strongly supported in this analyzing and reflection space by Pravah’s weekly Connection Circle meetings, and my individual meetings with my supervisors Nehal and Ekta. As an activist learner, I was gaining solid insight into non-profit organization work but also about myself, my intentions, and goals. It was a challenge to think reflectively about myself, my skills, my confidence, and barriers but it was surely one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had.
My internship experience was shaped into one great massive learning opportunity. I felt safe to make mistakes because I was constructively supported through feedback and encouragement. I was able to apply my academic knowledge through direct activism, which made my work extremely rewarding. Through my reflective work with my supervisors I was able to apply my growth when I interacted with the students.
When meeting the students, I prioritized their perspectives, learning goals, thoughts, feelings, and personal experiences. With this context, I holistically created a culturally responsive and relevant module that addressed their learning needs. I learned the importance of incorporating assignments that allow for empowerment, growth, and reflection, rather than giving a multiple choice test. This way each student would individually grow personal and professional confidence within themselves. My learning target was to have students find self empowerment through the assignments to increase their acknowledgment of self love, have validation of belonging, and support within themselves.
Altogether, my time within this internship has been truly personally and professionally rewarding. I have a great understanding of how communities can be empowered through education and how even that can challenge and change oppressive structures. At Sajhe Sapne, my reflection, understanding, and analysis of the work was extremely rewarding. I highly recommend this opportunity to ANY major. It’s a definite glimpse into understanding worldwide issues and how different countries are tackling those issues. Much of what I gained are transferable concepts that I plan on using to address, dismantle, and challenge U.S. social issues as well. The only wish I have now is to one day meet my wonderful supporters from Pravah, in person!
