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By Hamsaa Kumar, Justice and Legal Thought College Park Scholar
I truly felt that I was able to relate my internship to the ideology and topics we had discussed in the Justice and Legal Thought Program. I learned just how extensive the issue of social justice could be, especially when it came to public health crises, but also in terms of environmental justice (with the Climate Change campaign) and animal justice (with the Antibiotics campaign).
My poster is a representation of my internship with MaryPIRG, a non-profit that works to educate and train students in social activism. I specifically worked on the Public Health Campaign. I had an amazing time learning about the various campaigns that the organization was spearheading this semester, as it gave me a chance to expand my horizons on what I believed to be under the umbrella of social justice. My work with MaryPIRG helped me explore my passion for justice studies along with public policy, and helped me develop considerable communication and teamwork skills that I did not have before. My responsibilities consisted of creating social media posts about resources and legislation surrounding public health issues in Maryland, calling students and the local community to inform them of current public health legislation and coming changes, attending weekly meetings to become more educated on the topics I was advocating for, and pushing petitions to pass better policy. I truly felt that I was able to relate my internship to the ideology and topics we had discussed in the Justice and Legal Thought Program. I learned just how extensive the issue of social justice could be, especially when it came to public health crises, but also in terms of environmental justice (with the Climate Change campaign) and animal justice (with the Antibiotics campaign). I was shocked to witness firsthand how interconnected the government and legislative bodies were with legislation regarding justice towards the local community. However, I was thankful to be able to make an impact by helping to push petitions that would lead to progressive policies for the state of Maryland and UMD students. I entered into this opportunity with an idea that we would simply dive right into social activism and advocacy work, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that students were first educated and then constantly re-educated on the subjects of their social advocacy, which aided in students better understanding the scope of their activism. This is a great opportunity for students who wish to delve into the inner workings of social activism and interact with current policy to enact just and equal change around them.
Hi Hamsaa,
I was interested in your poster because I have heard good things about MaryPIRG in the past. Since your internship centered around public health and was during a pandemic, how do you think it would have been different without the pandemic?
Hi Hamsaa,
I was drawn to your poster because I saw you worked on a public health campaign. As a public health major, I was really interested to see the work that you had done. It was interesting to see how you did this role and still promoted Covid-19 safety through a virtual platform. Where were your outreach materials circulated and do you think they reached the audience necessary?
Hey Hamsaa, I was drawn to your poster since it had a clean design. I learned a lot about the health challenges students face through your poster. I liked that you had a direct role in informing students of the public health resources they had. My question would be what was the resource student's seemed to need the most that you promoted?
Hamsaa,
Your poster stood out to me because it was a unique topic that caught my eye. I thought it was interesting how you were able to make a direct impact on activism by informing others and getting them involved. What would you say was the best part about your internship experience, and maybe something that you didn't like?
Hamsaa!
First of all, I miss you and I hope you're well! Your poster stood out to me because of its very precise and clear organization. Due to its formatting, it was both visually appealing and easy to understand. This project informed me of the hidden dilemmas and challenges that a multitude of students face on our campus. Although these challenges are invisible to the typical eye, you discussed these issues very informatively. In doing this work, do you feel as though you made as much of an impact as you would have in person? What specific aspects or challenges were you shocked by?