By Emma Cross, Justice and Legal Thought
I was impacted most by the relationship I was able to build with the voters of Baltimore, as well as the deeper knowledge of social justice issues and how they directly impact Baltimoreans.
When I first started this internship, I was excited about gaining experience working on a campaign and building professional relationships as a college student. While these were all very significant throughout my experience working for Thiru Vignarajah’s mayoral campaign, I was impacted most by the relationship I was able to build with the voters of Baltimore, as well as the deeper knowledge of social justice issues and how they directly impact Baltimoreans. I am very thankful for this internship because, despite it being one of my first work experiences, I was able to do a lot of hands-on work in many different areas. When I got to the office, I would either work on policy work, help set up meet and greets with Thiru, or make phone calls to help people register to vote. Most days after working in the office for a little while, I would be sent out to different areas with other interns to canvass at food markets, polling locations, or even neighborhoods where we door-knocked. This process was very intimidating at first, but I have come out with a greater ability to speak to anyone in any circumstance. I am grateful for these conversations I had because I was able to hear directly from Baltimoreans about the struggles of living in Baltimore and what issues are most important to them. Even with my experience with coursework involving law and social justice, it is hard to process how these issues truly affect people until you understand them on a more personal level. I think going into my future career, I will be able to use this knowledge of both justice and legal thought in both a classroom and real-world setting to propel work in a social justice career, whether that be through non-profitwork or running for office.
Hey Emma! This poster caught my attention because I currently live in Baltimore and can understand the turmoil that surrounds it. The murder rate is extremely too high and needs to be fixed somehow. Do you actually believe that Thiru will be able to reduce this rate and follow through on many of his promises?
This project piqued my interest because I've always wanted to be a part of a political campaign that actually worked towards change in our local communities. From this project, I learned about a major problem that plagues Baltimore City and the people that are trying to fix it through the political system. I also want to ask if you feel like Thiru will actually be able to follow through with his promises?
This project piqued my interest because I've always wanted to be a part of a political campaign that actually worked towards change in our local communities. From this project, I learned about a major problem that plagues Baltimore City and the people that are trying to fix it through the political system. I also want to ask if you feel like Thiru will actually be able to follow through with his promises?
As someone who has lived in Maryland her entire life, Baltimore is a city that is near to my heart, so your project stood out to me especially. From your poster and your detailing of the experience, I learned how local leadership can be influential on large scale issues and how important the ground work done by interns can be for campaigns. What specific issues have you thought about tackling in your future non-profit work?
I was interested in this poster because I live in Baltimore County, Maryland and not to far from Baltimore city and have seen day in and day out the amount if social injustice that goes on in this city. I am very pleased that JLT offers an internship for this very issue in my hometown. I didn't know how involved politicians were in Baltimore City until reading that you as an intern went door to door informing people of Thiru's campaign and what he planned to do to change the injustice in Baltimore. Most people are scared of approaching the problems and issues that are within the city and just leave it to continue to progress and worsen. Building relationships…