Role

In my role as Assistant Director for Internships, I support thoughtful engagement between Princeton students and community partners via internships, most notably the RISE Program and the High Meadows Fellowship Program. Something I love about my work is empowering students with tools to contextualize their internship experiences within larger systems so they can engage with service from a learning mindset grounded in empathy and mutual respect. I would be delighted to hear about your experiences with community engagement, discuss different opportunities available through the Pace Center for Civic Engagement, and offer support and resources as you continue to grapple with big issues.

Background

Service and experiential learning continue to be central threads in my professional life. After graduating from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a degree in International Affairs, I interned abroad in Macedonia, Ghana, and India. My career in experiential learning began at a wolf sanctuary in the mountains of southern Colorado, where I oversaw sustainability education programs, supervised interns, and experienced firsthand the joys and challenges of hosting volunteers at a small non-profit. I later returned to Ghana to facilitate experiential service learning programs for US students. My experiences with volunteer tourism sparked critical questions for me and inspired me to pursue a Masters degree at SOAS University of London, where I conducted research on the impact of volunteer tourism on communities affected by colonialism. In 2017, I moved to Dakar, Senegal, where I worked for the next five years in a variety of roles in experiential education, study abroad, facilitation, and training— supporting the Novogratz Bridge Year program, running a People Operations department, and coaching industry leaders in the humanitarian sector.

Come Talk to Me About

• Facilitation & workshop design
• Reflection
• Support with advocacy & activism
• Social & environmental justice topics
• Preparing for community engagement

What I’m Watching & Reading

If you haven’t watched Amend: The Fight for America, I highly recommend it. This documentary takes a look at the fight for freedom, justice, and equal rights throughout the history of the United States through the lens of the often forgotten 14th Amendment of the US Constitution. I like how this documentary illuminates parallels between moments of struggle and negotiation throughout US history to the institutional and societal tensions we are living with today. A great reminder that change is messy, non-linear, and driven by committed advocates and activists.

As for books… I am currently re-reading Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time fantasy series for the fourth time, because we all need to escape sometimes and this is what soothes me.