Kayla Casey

JD Candidate, College of Law
South Texas Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project (ProBAR) [1]
Harlingen, Texas

Kayla is a student at the University of Iowa, College of Law. This summer, she will work as a legal intern at the South Texas Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project (ProBAR), along the United States/Mexico border in Harlingen, Texas. While working for ProBar, Kayla will conduct legal research to determine the eligibility of detainees under the Immigration and Nationality Act and factual research about country conditions for asylum claims. She will also be writing memos, briefs, and court documents for staff attorneys and Immigration Court as well as representing individuals herself in Immigration Court. Finally, she will be presenting “Know Your Rights” campaigns to detained individuals. During her legal internship, Kayla will also put her ability to read, write and speak Spanish fluently to use. “The legal profession has an incredible tool to help others fight for a just system. While all professions have a role to play in promoting human rights, lawyers have particular opportunities to challenge injustice in the system.”

Rachel Nathanson

JD Candidate, College of Law
Centro De Los Derechos Del Migrante (Center for Migrant Rights) [2]
Zacatecas, Mexico

Rachel is a first-year law student at the University of Iowa, College of Law. This summer, Rachel will work as a legal intern for the Center for Migrant Rights in Zacatecas, Mexico. This organization is the only transnational workers’ advocacy organization for Mexicans in Mexico who have potential claims in U.S. courts and need assistance. Rachel will use her Spanish fluency to perform outreach activities in communities affected by frequent migrations, conduct research to assist attorneys will individual cases, conduct interviews of migrant workers, and further CDM’s policy work advocacy in the United States. Through her efforts, Rachel hopes to increase CDM’s capacity to work directly with affected migrants. “As a first-year law student, I am building the tools necessary to be an effective advocate. I would like to use these skills on a transnational level to help close the gap in communication and advocacy that so often causes disconnects between top-down level policy and those who are the closest affected.”

Hasti Barahmand

JD Candidate, College of Law
First Star [3]
Washington D.C.

Hasti is a second year law student at the University of Iowa, College of Law. This summer, Hasti will work as an intern for First Star, an organization in Washington D.C. centered around improving the lives of abused and neglected children in the United States. During her time at First Star, she will focus on legislative research regarding the legal rights of minor children in abuse and neglect proceedings across the country. She will also be working to complete congressional report cards on children’s rights issues. Finally, Hasti will be researching and writing amicus court briefs in support of children who are parties in particular court proceedings. “The knowledge and experience available to me this summer is invaluable, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to advance First Star’s mission while gaining the skills to take initiative once I graduate from law school.”

Hussein Waliye

MD Candidate, College of Medicine
Gimbie Adventist Hospital [4]
Gimbie, West Wollega, Ethiopia

Hussein is a physician in training at the University of Iowa, Carver School of Medicine. This summer, Hussein will return to his home country of Ethiopia to work at Gimbie Adventist Hospital (GAH) helping to provide healthcare services to those who do not have access to healthcare. Growing up amid the dire circumstances of Ethiopian healthcare, Hussein has made it his personal and professional goal to serve medically underserved communities. While at GAH, he will focusing on the issue of IDD, also known as Iodide Deficiency Disorder, a prevalent condition in Ethiopia that increases the occurrence of poor pregnancy outcomes such as miscarriage, stillbirth, and increased infant mortality. Hussein will work with GAH to improve and/or develop an effective educational outreach program about IDD and strategies to address the need. He will do this through data evaluation, patient and physician interactions in rural clinics, and attending educational outreach programs at GAH, the rural clinics, and other community outreach sites. “This internship will serve as a catalyst for many more trips I hope to make to Ethiopia in order to provide the people with medical and preventive care.”

Louisa Hill

MFA Candidate, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Playwriting)
Grrl Action [5]
Austin, Texas

Louisa is a University of Iowa graduate student studying playwriting. This summer, she will work as a mentorship intern with Grrl Action, a summer camp that empowers girls ages 13-16 to write and perform their stories in Austin, Texas. Through a combination of engagement with the arts, creative problem solving, social responsibility, self-respect, and tolerance, the camp seeks to help girls realize their potential as artists, critical thinkers, and powerful role models. As an intern, Louisa’s responsibilities will include working as a mentor and teacher during the camp and as an administrative and development intern. “As a graduate student in playwriting and an advocate for girls’ and women’s rights, I tremendously value developing one’s confidence and voice through writing, art, and performance, and I can’t imagine a more perfect intersection of these passions and skills than what Grrl Action is going.”

Walter Hyde

Undergraduate, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (History)
Prakash Deep [6]
Faridabad, Haryana, India

Walter is an undergraduate student at the University of Iowa studying History. This summer, Walter will return to Prakash Deep, a non-profit school for underprivileged children in Haryana, India where he volunteered during the summer of 2010. Through his efforts at Prakash Deep, Walter hopes to provide children of great poverty with an avenue for escaping their poverty through the opportunities afforded in education. In addition to his daily classes for children, Walter will be providing an English language class to improve the English language skills of many of the local teachers employed by the organization. Walter also plans to expand on his efforts from the previous summer by putting together a resource binder containing basic worksheets and teaching plans to provide Prakash Deep with greater institutional and educational continuity as volunteers come and go. “While I saw first-hand the great struggles through which these children lived, I also sat with them on the ground each day and learned how important Prakash Deep was for them. It provided them with a place to be themselves, to play and laugh, to be cared for, and to be respected and affirmed as unique and precious human beings deserving of all of those things we might otherwise take for granted.”

Eric Wilson

Undergraduate, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Biology/Pre-Med)
Karuna Trust [7]
Karnataka, India

Eric is an undergraduate student at the University of Iowa in the process of finishing his prerequisite courses for applying to medical school in the fall of 2012. This summer, Eric will work as an intern for Karuna Trust, an NGO in Karnataka, India which focuses on providing primary healthcare services to rural populations. Eric’s MA degree in Economics from Duke University has helped to shape his understanding of the challenges faced in providing adequate healthcare, especially in impoverished and rural areas, leading to his pursuit of studying medicine. Eric’s internship will structured around developing standard operating guidelines for the primary health centers run by Karuna Trust, but will also encompass the creation of standards specifically relating to emergency medical services. Upon his return to Iowa, Eric will continue corresponding with his supervisor in order to sustain he implemented over the summer. “Improving the health outcomes of the disadvantaged will have a direct effect on their ability to overcome other human rights issues such as poverty.”

Dwijavanthi Kumar

MD/MPH Candidate, College of Medicine
Karuna Trust [7]
Karnataka, India

Dwijavanthi is a medical and public health student at the University of Iowa, Carver College of Medicine. This summer, Dwijavanthi will travel to Karnataka, India to work for Karuna Trust, a public charitable trust (NGO) that is devoted to empowering marginalized people to become self-reliant. Dwijavanthi will be focusing on the issue of mental health. In Karnataka, mental illness can carry much more social stigma, consequence, and burden than other medical problems. During her time at Karuna Trust, Dwijavanthi hopes to engage local community members to recognize mental health as right, to raise awareness, and distribute educational materials to reduce the abandonment of people with mental illness. In order to do this, Dwijavanthi will work closely with rural community members and patients in primary health clinics to gain the trust and confidence of the community and conduct thorough needs assessments. Her familiarity with South-Indian culture and proficiency in the Kannada language will further enable Dwijavanthi to work within the cultural context of Karnataka to produce long-term health outcomes. “I strongly believe that this experience will provide me with a better understanding of how health and mental illness are perceived in non-western cultures and how I, as a medical and public health student, can work towards eliminating health disparities in such populations.”

Thomas Bang

Undergraduate, College of Engineering (Civil Engineering)
Bridges to Prosperity [8]
Ciudad Sandino, Nicaragua

Thomas is an undergraduate Civil Engineering student at the University of Iowa. This summer, Thomas will for the University Bridge Program of Bridges to Prosperity (B2P), a NGO whose goal is to empower rural communities through footbridge building, thereby advancing personal responsibility, community public works and economic prosperity as well as providing access to schools, health clinics, jobs, and markets. This program matches teams of university students with a bridge site in rural, third world communities where the students will implement a pedestrian bridge they have designed. Thomas and his teammates collaborated with University of Iowa professors to design a pedestrian bridge for Ciudad Sandino, a community in Nicaragua, as part of their senior engineering design class. The bridge will serve the community of 5,000 people and will connect children with the local primary school, replacing the current unsafe bridge. Due to her expertise and previous experience, Thomas will be personally responsible for designing the substructure, which includes the design of the towers and the anchorage for the bridge. “My goal is to provide these people with the same basic human rights that I have been so fortunate to have growing up in the United States.”

Luke Smith

Undergraduate, College of Engineering (Civil/Environmental Engineering)
Bridges to Prosperity [8]
Ciudad Sandino, Nicaragua

Luke is an undergraduate Civil/Environmental Engineering student at the University of Iowa. This summer, Luke will be working as a volunteer intern in Cuidad Sandino, Nicaragua with Bridges to Prosperity, a non-profit organization that locates communities around the world that are in need of a bridge to facilitate access to schools, markets, and health centers. Luke will be traveling to Nicaragua with a group of other University of Iowa engineering students to work with locals in building a bridge that they have designed. The bridge is expected to be approximately 40 meters long and serve 5,000 community members and replace the currently unsafe bridge. One of the primary uses of the bridge is to allow over 300 students to travel to and from school multiple times a day. Luke’s role in the project is to design and help lead the implementation of the superstructure, or walkway, of the bridge so his presence on site is imperative to its timely construction. “I am interested in pursuing this internship because not only will it make access to an elementary education possible on a consistent basis for all children in the community, but it also potentially increases the number of students prepared to go on to a secondary education, women’s employment opportunities, and provide closer and quicker access to medical care.”