Deborah L. Giannone - “Ethnic Studies as a minor has enhanced my undergraduate degree here at ASU's West campus. My internship was working with the City of Glendale – Department of Parks and Recreation working with the Senior Program of the YWCA and the young men’s teen program. I feel in order for one to become educated and to be successful in any career choice you must first understand the people with whom you are relating to on a daily basis. Understanding what customs and or cultural beliefs that influences the acts of others helps clarify gray areas we operate in our daily work environment. It allows individuals to become more sensitive to issues of the people of this world.”

Javier Canchola – “The internship allowed me the opportunity to expand my knowledge in an organization that is closely related to my field of study. My participation in the Summer Youth Program gave me widespread experience in counseling, while working alongside adolescents of various ethnicities and socioeconomic statuses. As a role model to the teens, I hope that I inspired them to set goals and objectives for their futures and gave them direction in accomplishing them. As a representative of a minority group, I also hope I demonstrated to the teens that they too can achieve higher education and be prosperous and diverse individuals.”

Julie Charochak – “Through this internship, I have learned various things about myself. Going into this I thought I had read about poverty and felt pretty knowledgeable. Unbeknownst to me, I knew nothing! These kids were very street smart and it made me realize all that I didn’t know. At the beginning of the internship, I believed that all parents were responsible for the situation they were in. But, as I became more involved in the internship, I realized that the cycle of poverty is very hard to break. I also learned that the parents themselves had most likely experienced the same thing as their children. Overall this experience has made me less naíve, and more able to understand the true colors of the homeless population.”

Monica Kline – “Ethnic Studies enhanced my awareness of other cultures and provided me the education of different Ethnicities within the United States. Some of the skills that I applied during my internship and will use in my future employment are understanding, compassion, and problem solving. Another important skill I was able to develop successfully was communicating with people in order to solve their problems. I can honestly say that this internship was one of the most rewarding and important experiences of my time here at ASU.”