Author: Isabella Alcantara, junior
This summer, I had the privilege of interning with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), a global nonprofit dedicated to supporting refugees and immigrants through resettlement and essential services such as education, legal aid, medical care, and social support. Within the IRC’s Youth Education department, I worked as both an Administrative Intern and a Youth Peer Mentor for the Newcomer Youth Summer Academy (NYSA), a program designed to help refugee and immigrant youth transition academically, socially, and emotionally into the NYC public school system.
In my administrative role, I developed logistical and management skills essential to running a summer program for vulnerable communities. Before the program, I assisted with curriculum evaluation to ensure teachers created trauma-informed classrooms that accounted for cultural diversity and varying English proficiency. Afterward, I analyzed student progress data to assess growth across the summer.
As a Peer Mentor, I had the unique opportunity to directly support and guide youth from diverse cultural, linguistic, and migration backgrounds. I connected with students in ways I never anticipated—whether by speaking with Spanish-speaking students in their native tongue to ease loneliness, or by creating safe spaces that met students where they were. These moments showed me how layered and diverse migrant youths’ experiences and emotions truly are.
Through this work, I came to appreciate the vital role organizations like the IRC play in fostering community, offering protection, and encouraging youth to set goals they can carry forward. Refugee and immigrant youth face barriers beyond academics—language, trauma, and cultural adjustment are daily challenges. With nearly a one-to-one ratio of youth to volunteer mentors, NYSA provided holistic individualized care most students would not otherwise experience in public schools. Being part of this intentional model deepened my commitment to showing up for each student and made the connections I built some of the most rewarding experiences of the summer.
Professionally, this internship deepened my understanding of the challenges nonprofits face, revealing how even the most well-intentioned programs are often limited by funding and resources when serving marginalized communities. At the same time, it reaffirmed my passion for nonprofit and humanitarian work and strengthened my sense of purpose moving forward. As I write this, I plan to continue my journey at Fordham through pursuing an Accelerated Master’s in the Humanitarian Studies program—an opportunity that feels all the more meaningful because of this experience. I am truly grateful to the Honors Program for supporting me in such impactful and rewarding work!
