Marietta, from Wyoming, is a part of the WYA in-person internship in Brussels.
She first turned inquisitive about WYA and a WYA internship after listening to a chat from a regional director for WYA North America at her faculty. “What stood out to me was how so many of my interests converge in this kind of work”, she says, “I love the kinds of organizations where you’d have to wear a lot of hats. I love having to do lots of things…like running events”.
Marietta was an intern for the North America workplace final summer season and cherished the work she did a lot that she utilized for the European internship in Brussels. “I had to fundraise my way here”, Marietta says, “I didn’t know if I had enough to pay for multiple trips across the Atlantic. But it really panned out. It’s amazing how when you fundraise, you realize how many friends you have who care about you and are excited about what you’re doing. And I still have moments of like, am I actually here? Am I actually doing this? This is kind of crazy”.
As a WYA member and as a part of her internship, Marietta sits in on the European Parliament and listens to the debates.
“It is true that most of the day is spent on the computer”, she shares, “[but] we’re a certified NGO. Our members can get badges for entrance to the European Parliament. So the first week out here, I applied for a badge and attended. There are several committees that we follow in the EP. And so I attended a meeting and took notes and wrote up a report and sent it to the Regional Director for Advocacy”. Marietta says that this expertise was “the highlight” of her internship.
All WYA interns have massive takeaways and studying experiences. For Marietta, it was gaining an consciousness of what goes on within the worldwide political sector and solidarity amongst different individuals worldwide.
“You find the people who care about the same things that you care about…so there’s a sense of solidarity that you get with everyone around the world who’s also working for the protection of the dignity of the human person”.
Do you will have a want to advertise human dignity in your area or overseas? Sign up for our fall internship program! View program schedules right here and e-mail schooling@wya.web to use!