Samiha Rahman- CCIA Intern, World Savvy

I served as the Global Youth Media and Arts Program Intern, for which I helped plan our upcoming Global Youth Media and Arts Festival. I also conducted site visits to various New York City middle and high schools at which I helped lead art and music workshops that explored the complicated issues of immigration and identity. These experiences, coupled with my preparation help from Columbia’s Center for Career Education allowed me to understand the methods through which to become a confident and effective employee and gain the practical skills through which to significantly contribute to a non-profit organization.

The internship was an incredibly eye-opening experience. Given that the Brooklyn chapter only employs one full-time staff member, I was exposed to virtually every part of the small organization. This was very informative, since I had the opportunity to get involved with various projects, and had a nice degree of flexibility with what specific tasks I would tackle. For example, since I am particularly interested in using hip-hop as a medium for education, I volunteered to work closely with a teacher in the Bronx who wanted to implement hip-hop workshops into her classroom. Since there was only one other staff member and one other intern, I was able to take the lead on the hip-hop project I was passionate about it.  When I first visited the school, the students were just beginning to write songs. By my last visit, they had polished the songs and were ready to record them. To see the transformation from initial brainstorming to final performance was really inspiring. Though the students were only in middle school, they composed the most genuine, insightful, and honest songs. Having helped plan the workshops, having helped facilitate the workshops, and knowing that the songs will be performed at the festival that I’m helping plan, confirmed that all my office work had actual meaningful effects in the real world.

It is experiences like this that make me proud. To know that the hours during which I sit in the office, periodically call the same food vendors and email the same City Council members and City Council members’ schedulers every couple of days for months on end all contribute to a larger picture goal is really validating. I spend my time taking tangible steps towards providing a service to young people, and to know that both me and these other young people grow from these experiences makes me really proud.

Overall, what I value most is being given so much responsibility to enact so many comprehensive, sustainable, and impactful events. I deeply value the fact that I am trusted with overseeing important projects, and am held accountable for the successful completion of these projects.