Esther Kwon
SED’19 | Education
Writing Intern
CCD: Tell us about your internship experience. What were your responsibilities?
Esther: I researched and wrote articles about cultivating justice within sex trafficking. The main project was to complete the non-profit’s annual magazine which discussed underlying themes such as purity and virtue within a Christian context. Our team of interns also accomplished subsidiary tasks of translating resources to Spanish, improving the website, and contributing to blog posts. The internship allotted substantial freedom for interns to pitch their own ideas for articles, write, and be an active participant in assisting with practical logistics.
CCD: What was the best thing about the experience? What did you learn?
Esther: More than the cliche of life-changing, this internship was mind-shifting. My outlook on purity and sex trafficking has transitioned from ignorance to deeper understanding of truths often hidden from the general public. I learned new material from the wealth of the organization’s knowledge, but I also gained more awareness through independent research utilized for articles.
The only drawback was not taking full advantage of the internship. The leaders of the non-profit are well adept in the field but I often held myself back from initiating frequent contact. I was also too focused on finishing my own assignments rather than maintaining a larger perspective of team work and employing a more innovative, synergistic approach.
CCD: What lessons did you find beneficial in your experience?
Esther: Pro-activity is critical. To hastily generalize, interns can fall into two categories. One group simply follows directions and accomplishes given tasks. The other takes steps of self advocacy by maintaining frequent communication with the leadership board, pitching new approaches to group projects, and preparing insightful questions for discussion. The benefit and costs that result from both approaches largely impact how much both you and the organization gain from the experience.
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