School of Humanities and Global Studies: Pathways Program

January 22, 2019Anti Human Trafficking Internship

This winter I had the wonderful opportunity of interning at the New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking. This internship not only gave me hands on experience, but it also opened my eyes to a serious issue. It was interesting seeing how I was able to apply concepts learned in my Contemporary International Human Rights class with Professor Root to this internship. Despite the internship being short I was enlightened and empowered the whole time. Looking back, I am proud to have been able to put such an amazing production with such great people.

– Gabriela Ulloa

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November 5, 2018Interview with Johanna Godinez by Kelan Chase

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October 25, 2018Blog from Sorrento

Over the summer of 2018 I had the incredible opportunity to do an internship in Massa Lubrense, Italy through the Sant’Anna Institute in Sorrento.  I worked with Vervece Charter, a touring company on the island of Capri and the towns of Positano and Amalfi. It was such an exhilarating feeling being an American working in Italy and being able to teach tourists from all around the world about the incredible “Blue Island.”  

While working in the office, and during some of my free time, I was asked to contact travel agents in the Tri-State Area and to assist in creating their website.  All of the employees were so welcoming and made every aspect of the day feel comfortable. Living in Italy for a month on my own enabled me to befriend some of the locals and to improve my Italian language skills.  Before I returned to the States, I was offered the opportunity to return and work for another summer. I can’t wait to go back next summer!

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February 22, 2018Heart Racing - Confidence Booster

At the beginning of October, two NBCUniversal representatives visited Ramapo College presenting a “Career Conversation” regarding internship and job opportunities. In a short time of two days, my interest to be part of NBCUniversal’s team (whether temporarily or permanently) quickly grew. After organizing a professional resume, researching NBCUniversal, and preparing for an interview, I attended the Career Conversation with an anxious, excited, and determined mindset.

The representatives presented a PowerPoint on NBCUniversal’s broadcasting and production industry. The focus on fields I was unfamiliar with concerned me, but did not deter my interest in working at NBCUniversal. My eagerness and curiosity allowed me ask questions such as, “What can someone with a writing background do for your company?” The representatives answered my questions with affirmations that although their department focuses on broadcasting and production, communication with other departments may result in openings for numerous writing opportunities. Throughout the presentation I was intrigued by NBCUniversal’s diverse environment, their welcoming environment for eager-to-learn college students, and the opportunities to grow within the company.

As the Career Conversation came to a close, the representatives welcomed anyone who would like to share their resume and discuss any opportunities to come forward. With my heart racing, smile large, and adrenaline pumping, I introduced myself and shared my resume with both representatives. “Can I have this copy? I will send this to a department looking for writers,” one representative said. Naturally, I wanted to jump up and down, scream and shout! I thanked each representative and followed up with both of them a few days later.

Almost a month later, another representative contacted me to meet for an interview. “Tomorrow,” the email stated. In spite of such a short notice, my eagerness and curiosity motivated me to accept the opportunity. The interview included a brief (yet thorough) explanation of an intern’s experience at NBCUniversal. As the interviewer expressed the importance for a detail oriented individual, I was asked to discuss a strength and weakness of mine. Well, what a perfect question, I thought to myself. Being detail oriented is both a strength and weakness of mine. As a writer, I am trained and prepared to pinpoint errors; thus, allowing me to submit my work at its best. On the other hand, my strength can also lie as a weakness. As a detail oriented individual, perfection becomes pertinent to work. That is to say, I could draft my work and come back to it later deleting everything and starting over again. Whether my response was fitting or not, I was honest and quick to answer the question. During the interview, I was exposed to NBCUniversal’s atmosphere, the interviewer gave me a tour around the building and explained any expectations for an internship position.

Finally, as my excitement for such an opportunity continued, I followed up with my interviewer expressing my gratitude for meeting with me. Unfortunately, the position was offered to another candidate. However, meeting with three of NBCUniversal’s representatives was an experience that allowed me to take advantage of an opportunity that came my way. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting with the representatives, being exposed to a diverse company, and learning from myself that rejection simply allows for one’s confidence to grow stronger.

– Krystin Bruno

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February 9, 2018“This Experience Will Open Many Doors for Me”

Throughout my spring semester of ’17, I constantly applied to internships at least 2 or 3 times a week. By the time finals came around I had easily applied to about 90 different internships and only heard back from about a dozen of them. I spent more time sending follow-up emails than actual applying to the position. Funny enough, I declined all of the offers I received simply because it wasn’t exactly what I was looking for. I didn’t want to settle on an internship just because it was the ‘right’ thing to do. I knew what I was looking for and I was not going to give up until I felt it was a good fit.

Oddly enough, the next day after the spring semester ended I applied to this one particular internship through the Ramapo College Archway and heard back from them that same day. It was exactly what I was looking for and I am currently still with them. I currently work for Estro Communications in Westwood, NJ. It a small digital marketing business that primarily focuses on digital marketing, IT, and public relations. This opportunity looked as though it would give me the ideal experience I sought after for months, but the second I was officially hired, my nervousness ensued.

On my first day, I walked into their small office, which was in Clifton, New Jersey originally before they relocated, where I was already nervous and shaky. They presented me with work I had never seen before right off the bat. I remember being very nervous and asking questions about how the work should be done. In no time, they recognized the potential I had and they saw how much I loved everything I was doing. Estro Communications threw me into the line of digital marketing right away by conducting research about certain products that are available and how they target their market. Soon after I was working directly with the client and ensuring that I meet their needs in terms of social media marketing.

As the weeks passed by I became more of an expert with social media and learned even more about its functionality and impact. It was then where they offered me part-time employment with them. I accepted that offer and is one of the two jobs I am employed with. Currently, I am working on several different projects including other clients’ social media accounts, generating reports to deliver to my team, and conduct competitor analyses surrounding different types of businesses. This internship experience has been quite a journey, but extremely rewarding. The unexpected challenging work is what I believed would be useful in learning more about myself professionally and personally. Not only am I thankful for the chance they have given me thus far in terms of experience, but also believing in me and giving me a chance to work in this field since I am currently majoring in a different field. This experience will open new doors for me when I look for my next opportunity soon.  Just remember, getting comfortable in one position is a sign for you to challenge yourself and doing something else. I have learned to never settle for less and never give up applying to opportunities you truly want. Things will fall into place and you never know what experiences will help you get into different career fields.

– Nicky Vasquez

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February 9, 2018The Girl who Found her Path

Ever since I was a little girl, I have envisioned myself in a courtroom. No, not on trial or anything like that, but as a successful attorney and eventually a judge. Whenever my family members used to have arguments with one another, I would arrange a court style mediation where I would decide who was right based on each side’s case. My family was always amused and fascinated by my evident passion for the study of law. The courtroom is where I am meant to be, and where I envision myself being in a few years. I had never felt more certain about my future until I found myself interning in a courtroom this past summer.

In Spring 2017, I had the wonderful opportunity to share a lunch with the Honorable Judge Jose Linares at Ramapo College. I was then serving as President of Phi Alpha Delta: Pre-Law Fraternity and Senate Liaison for the HGS in the Student Government Association. Through these positions, I was invited to join in on such a special lunch. While enjoying a lovely meal with the Federal Judge, I had the chance to gain a perspective on what it is like to work in such a prominent position. He also describe the persistence involved in his journey, where he unremittingly pursued his own version of the American Dream as an immigrant from Cuba. His persistence and determination was so inspiring to me, and has encouraged me to continue chasing a similar dream.

After sharing a lovely afternoon with Judge Linares, I left him a thank you e-mail explaining how inspired I was by his story and how it related to my own life. I was pleased to find a quick reply from the Judge. In his e-mail to me, he stated that he would speak to a Judge in the Superior Court of Essex County about a possible internship opportunity for me. Thanks to his kind and caring nature, Judge Linares was able to secure me an internship with the Honorable Judge Linda Lordi Cavanaugh. So, in the Summer of 2017, I had the chance to work in a Judge’s chambers.

Judge Cavanaugh works in the Family Division of the Essex County Superior Court, located in Newark, NJ. Specifically, Judge Cavanaugh mostly handles cases involving child abuse. Unsurprisingly, I was met with many sad stories about children that had faced physical, emotional, and mental abuse. Though she was confronted with these stories on a daily basis, she seemed to always remain hopeful for the future of each family she encountered. Thus, she constantly took endless measures to ensure the safety of the children she met. To my surprise, she even placed much importance on ensuring that each parent was given proper services to guarantee that abuse would no longer be an issue for each distinct family. I had never realized that child abuse court goes beyond the needs of the child. This experience truly opened my eyes and made me understand the different aspects involved in punishing, ending, and preventing abuse against children.

Through this internship, I was able to meet many other Judges like Judge Cavanaugh and Judge Linares, who are in their professions in order to help others. I now find it humorous to watch television shows or movies that depict Judges as intimidating and heartless individuals. While that may be the case in some instances, every Judge I encountered was beyond compassionate and understanding. The Judges that I met validated my instinct to pursue a career path in the legal field, and to always stay humble and sympathetic, no matter how successful I become. In the end, success cannot be measured by the number of dollar bills that you acquire, but by the amount of lives you touch.

I intend to touch as many lives as I come across. Without the opportunities Ramapo has given me, I do not think I would be as confident in my ability to continue on this path.

– Sabrina Santamaria

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December 15, 2017Fanning the Flames of Your Dreams

Being a college student means experiencing new things. These new things are supposed to enhance your education and continue the flame of your future goals. My future goals are to attend a top law school and become a Criminal Prosecutor for the state of New Jersey or New York. For me, this meant interning at a Criminal Court. This experience was one I never thought possible as a young naïve almost-third year college student. I can honestly say this was one of the best experiences that I encountered in a short 8+ weeks.

I went in to the Superior Court in Newark, Essex Vicinage not knowing what my duties would be; at first I wasn’t the happiest. I was told I’d be working on a BIG project of expunging unwanted papers from past court files. I was more excited than I should have been. I was in the Criminal Records Room, otherwise known as “the vault”…how thrilling! I sat at a small desk with another intern a year older than me and unstapled files, recycling the unneeded ones. I thought this was it for my internship and although I wasn’t learning much, I was making a few connections. As the weeks went on, my internship experience skyrocketed.

My luck was at its peak this week when I found out about a murder trial happening in my building only 1 floor down. So I went to my boss and she was happy to let me sit in. Sitting in was more than enough for me but I ended up meeting and conversing with the Presiding Judge in the Criminal Division; you can imagine how ecstatic I was. It seemed the judge liked having me around so he let me become his “intern” for 3 weeks where I watched the trial from a different perspective, talked with the judge about his thoughts on the trial, and made copies and helped the law clerk with her duties. This was more than I ever asked for, but it is what I hoped for. The judge gave me advice for law school, introduced me to the leading prosecutors in the building (which was my favorite part), and initiated conversations with the attorneys on the case.

This experience was better than my wildest dream. I gained connections that could help me after law school, as well as an almost (praying) shoe in for an internship next summer with the Presiding Judge. This never would have been possible without getting out of my comfort zone and asking to sit in on the trial. The trial, which I saw from almost the beginning to the jury’s verdict, was possibly the best thing I have ever seen and solidified my desire to become a criminal prosecutor. I couldn’t have asked for anything better and I can only hope for better experiences in the future.

– Matti Stewart (December 8, 2017)

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December 15, 2017Transcribing "The Landscape" of Bergen County and Out of Place on First Day

While college students intern during the fall and spring semesters, a majority participate in internship programs during summer break. This summer, I was lucky enough to secure two internships in two very different fields. I found my first internship as a transcriber for the Upper Saddle River Historical society through The Archway, where I had to send a resume, cover letter and a letter of recommendation from a faculty member. I applied to my second internship at a production company in New York City online, and was hired as one of four summer office interns. These were the first internships that I ever had and were overall great learning experiences for me.

My internship for the Upper Saddle River Historical Society fit with my idea of what a remote internship would be like. I was tasked with transcribing a newspaper that was printed from 1888 until 1901, titled The Landscape, written by A.P. Smith, an African American male who lived in Saddle River. There are over two hundred editions and, while I was only able to complete a little more than half of them this summer, I have been asked to continue my work throughout this school year and next summer. One of my favorite things about this internship was that it taught me so much about the county in which I live. Not only have I learned the histories of some of Bergen County’s most respected families, but now I can’t go anywhere without recognizing every street name that corresponds to a family I have read about. While transcribing is not one of the most challenging things to do, this project was, and continues to be of great interest to me. Furthermore, I know that when I have finished transcribing and creating an index of everyone mentioned in The Landscape, my work will be used not only to help researchers from Bergen County’s many historical societies, but can also help local families learn more about their history.

My second internship at a production company in New York City was definitely one of the most challenging experiences I’ve faced in my time at Ramapo College. Before the start of my sophomore year, I had thought about working in the production field after graduating college and therefore wanted to find a production internship to get my foot in the door (even though I am majoring in American Studies and Political Science). I found this company online, applied with a resume and cover letter, and within a few weeks had a video interview. Fun fact—I didn’t get the job at first. I had been passed over for individuals who were majoring in some sort of communications program at their respective schools and who had more experience than I did. A month or two after I was turned down, I received an email from the woman I had interviewed with, letting me know that there was a spot open if I wanted it after two students had backed out at the last minute. I (of course) said yes, happy that I would be able to gain some valuable production experience and learn more about the field. But in the week before I first started, I had doubts about my ability to succeed in the new field I was entering.

As an American Studies and Political Science major, I quickly felt that I was out of place on my first day—surrounded by creative people and working with interns who were majoring in some type of film or media degree with previous production experience. Over the course of my first month, I found that my previous fears had been overblown and baseless. For starters, one doesn’t need a degree to complete “runs” to buy groceries or pick up and deliver things to different people (figuring out the subway system was the most challenging aspect in that regard). I continually found that every skill that I had learned in my various liberal arts classes, from my writing ability to the discipline I developed in handing assignments in on time, was my key to succeeding in this unfamiliar world of narrative and documentary film production. While I was asked to do tasks that I had never done before, such as script coverage, executive summaries, and grant research, I found that I was able to quickly adapt and learn. One of the greatest assets during my summer internship was my ability to succinctly summarize information and present it in a clear, well-written manner. Going into future internships, I will now have the confidence to realize that, because of the skills I have learned in my classes here at Ramapo, I am prepared to face any challenge that comes my way.

I know that I initially didn’t appeal to the woman in charge of finding interns for the production company, probably because I had no previous experience in a production office and because my majors were not even close to the types of degrees that their normal interns pursue. While those who hire interns or employees may be biased by the degrees individuals are working towards, it is important to know that students pursuing degrees in the humanities are just as capable, if not more, than students who choose more “mainstream” majors. I hope that I was able to open the eyes of those at the company this summer and show them that students majoring in film and production are not the only ones who can succeed in their industry. By the end of the summer, I no longer felt out of place, but instead felt as if my skills gave me an advantage over the other interns working there.

– Francesca Evans

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