My name is Annie Hebel, and I am a Senior studying Diplomacy and International Relations, Spanish, and Journalism at Seton Hall University. Currently, I am interning with the Refugee Support Services (RSS) division of the International Rescue Committee in Elizabeth, NJ. In this role, I directly support a caseworker in her work with newly arrived families with some form of humanitarian parole, mainly from Haiti and Cuba. My daily tasks often include observing client intakes, filing public benefits applications, and assisting with client communication in Spanish and Haitian Creole.
The most interesting part of my job is getting to learn about the experiences of my clients and helping alleviate them out of difficult situations. Many people who enter the U.S. with humanitarian parole face a significant backlog of time before they can start to work or receive benefits, which often leaves them vulnerable to economic or financial exploitation. The support offered at the IRC helps prevent migrants from falling victim to this by providing a space for them to ask questions and learn about all of the options available to them for support.
This has been a particularly valuable experience thus far because, though I have gotten experience in various other forms of immigration work, I have never worked in a direct support role. Because I want to go into immigration, this is an invaluable experience. I am learning so much about how to respond to direct needs of migrants and develop relationships with organizations that can provide aid. I am also learning so much about how to communicate with clients who speak little to no English, improving my intercultural
communication skills. However, this has also been the biggest challenge – most of our clientele speaks Haitian Creole, which I am only just beginning to learn. It has proven a challenge to be able to fully support these clients and also adjust to using translation services.
Through my internship, I have confirmed that while I want to continue to pursue a career
in the immigration space, I feel as though I am not the most qualified for a direct support, social work-focused role and instead would prefer to work in the legal area of immigration. However, this position has been invaluable to help me develop skills that will translate, such as intercultural communication and a chance to learn and practice Creole. Overall, I would recommend this internship, especially for people who are interested in working with immigrant populations.
-Andrea Hebel, ‘24
