Intern Highlights: Ushan and Hannah
Intern Highlights: Ushan and Hannah
Written by Skylar Perez
Meet Ushan Perera! He is a current senior at Texas A&M University, majoring in Hospitality, Hotel Management, and Tourism Science. In addition to his professional and scholastic endeavors, he is a dedicated track athlete, proudly holding both the South Asian and Sri Lankan high jump records. His current focus is on his role at the Brazos Interfaith Immigration Network (BIIN), where he serves as a fundraising and outreach intern.
At BIIN, his position involves developing and executing strategies to raise funds that support the organization’s mission of providing vital services to immigrants in our community. This includes organizing fundraising events, reaching out to potential donors, and collaborating with various stakeholders to secure the necessary resources for our programs. His role is crucial in ensuring that BIIN can continue to offer legal assistance, educational programs, and other forms of support to those in need.
His experience at BIIN has been incredibly rewarding! Working with a diverse team of passionate individuals have allowed him to gain valuable insights into the challenges faced by immigrants. He is also grateful to play a role in the impactful work being done to address these issues. This role has not only enhanced his skills in project management and community outreach but has also deepened his commitment to social justice and advocacy.
Overall, his journey at BIIN has been a blend of professional growth and personal fulfillment driven by a shared goal of making a positive impact in the lives of immigrants in our community!
Meet Hannah! Hannah is a current masters student studying nonprofit management with a concentration in international nongovernmental organizations. In the past year she’s been completing her first year of her master’s degree, where she has one more year. Before BIIN, she worked for a few different international nonprofit organizations. For a while she worked as a program administrator for an organization that provided coding and technology classes to girls in different countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. She also worked a few other jobs and internships before that. One was an internship she had with a Canadian NGO working in Nicaragua where she worked as a monitoring & evaluations and agribusiness intern. Outside of BIIN, she is involved in her church and enjoys hanging out with friends and the occasional dance class!
She serves as BIINs legal assistant and intern. Thus far in her career, she has worked mostly in nonprofits/NGOs focused on development in Latin America and the Caribbean. As a part of this, she has made dear friends who have later become immigrants to the US and she has witnessed their journey to navigate a new culture and legal system firsthand.
Interning with BIIN has allowed her to learn more about how to help others like her friends through the legal process, as well as provide her with an opportunity to serve those in the community.
In her position, she provides legal assistance to BIINs clients as well as helping out with administrative and IRA work. She has really enjoyed her time working with BIIN so far!
