On The Ground And Behind The Scenes: Kroc School Students Share Video Updates From Summer Internships

This summer, 35 Kroc School students who are part of the MA in Peace and Justice (MAPJ) program have internships working with peacebuilding organizations around the United States and around the world. The students were asked to share updates from their internship experience. Previous submissions can be read here. The following are a collection of video submissions from MAPJ students Leah Haeber, Robin Jensen and Austin Galy on the work that they are doing during their summer internships.

Discovering New Interests And Passions

Leah Haeber gives an update from Colombia where she's working with Tejiendo Vida, a group of displaced women who have come together and built a community for a sustainable productive project involving sharing their stories and knitting. In regards to the influcence the group has had on her, Haeber said, "When I came to Colombia, I thought I would work in peace education, but this has really opened my eyes to another part of peacebuilding that I am really interested in, and that's productive projects. So, I think when I get home, I want to turn this into my capstone and then pursue the productive projects either here in Colombia working with Tejiendo Vida or organizing something in San Diego with female refugees." 

Creating Peace And Building Relationships Through Sports

Robin Jensen shares her experiences with El Club Deportivo Santa Ana in Granada, Colombia, an organization which aims to contribute to the construction of territorial peace and conflict resolution through sports. As part of Jensen's internship, she is tasked with learning the ins and outs of the sporting events and how sports can be leveraged as an activity for creating peace. The idea being, by learning about these processes, she would be better able to write the methodology used by the Club so that it can then be used throughout the country and beyond.

Addressing The Negative Impact of Hypermasculinity 

Kroc School MAPJ student Austin Galy and Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice Associate Director Jennifer Freeman appear on "Morning Brew," a news show in Trinidad and Tobago. Galy and Freeman share their thoughts on the influence of hypermasculinity and patterns of violence in the small Caribbean nation. Having worked on similar issues within the United States, Galy applies his takeaways from spending three weeks researching and learning alongside experts including activist Ravi Lutchman and 2017 Women PeaceMakers fellow Sabrina Mowlah-Baksh, and the ongoing battle against hypermasculinity in Trinidad and Tobago.

Ready to propel your journey as a peacebuilder? The Kroc School is now accepting applications for Fall 2019 graduate programs.