Announcement
IRC Immigration Intern, Alyssa Ortiz, joined our team in January 2017. As she prepares to take the next steps in her career, she reflects on her time with the IRC and what this experience has meant to her. When asked if she’d do it all again, Alyssa replies with a confident grin: “Oh yeah!”
IRC Immigration Interns, Celeste Runyon (left) and Alyssa Ortiz (right), after a successful Green Card Workshop.
Photo: IRC
Alyssa interviewed for the Immigration Internship position over Skype while in Italy and recalls feeling right away that this was the organization for her: “I was drawn to the possibility of working with people from other cultures and utilizing my education in political science and international affairs.” A recent graduate from Seattle Pacific University, Alyssa was ready to put her educational and work experience to use helping families new to the U.S. thrive.
For the past six and a half months, Alyssa has dedicated two full days of her week helping refugee and immigrant community members reunite with family, become legal permanent residents (a.k.a get their “green cards”), and become naturalized U.S. citizens. “I was really impressed by the flexible, multi-hat wearing role. Everyone was doing a little bit of everything; it made work interesting and appealing. There was never a dull moment!”
The IRC offers high-quality, low-cost immigration services and citizenship assistance across the United States. IRC staff accredited by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Board of Immigration Appeals provide comprehensive immigration services, while simultaneously paving the way for immigration interns to follow suit. When asked what advice she’d give to future IRC interns, Alyssa says: “Spend time around the office! Make connections with staff. You never know, it could change the direction you want to go in life.”
Alyssa, herself, is now interested in studying Trauma-Informed Yoga – a certification held by another member of the immigration team – and is even considering going back to school for immigration law. “You hear of people in the news with Special Immigration Visas and other immigration statuses, but can’t understand the full extent of what they mean.” She continues, “In my internship with the IRC, I began to develop a greater understanding of all the work it takes behind the scenes to help people navigate the immigration system and process – it takes a long time. Green cards generally take six months to process, and that is without any delays.”
One of the most memorable parts of her internship experience has been meeting IRC clients, who are often full of gratitude to have the extra assistance of interns. “They have so much patience and persistence,” Alyssa recounts with a degree of adoration.
Learning about the individual stories of the clients she served helped Alyssa gain a new appreciation for the experiences of refugee and immigrant communities: “This work has put it all in perspective for me. What I once only read about or heard about in the news, now has a face to it. The struggle refugees and immigrants go through, how much they want to contribute to their new country – they just want a normal life. A safe life.”
We thank Alyssa for all she’s done to welcome refugee and immigrant families to our community and wish her the best of luck on as she moves on from the IRC to new adventures.
Interested in becoming a volunteer or intern with the IRC? Check out our volunteer opportunities page to learn more.