My name is Hannah Rudman, and I am a junior philosophy-psychology double major at Whitman. Through the Whitman Internship Grant, I have been working as a Sexual Assault Victims Advocate Intern for the YWCA of
Walla Walla. In this position, I have received education and training on how to support survivors of sexual violence. At the beginning of the semester, I helped lead consent training for the incoming first year class, facilitating discussion and sharing my own knowledge. Recently, myself and the other interns have been preparing programing for Sexual Violence Prevention Month (which is this month!) I have been learning how to create effective infographics and slogans, and was able to craft my own posters that educate the community on the realities of sexual violence. These posters are now hanging around the campuses of Whitman, Walla Walla University, and Walla Walla Community College. Our future programming for Sexual Violence Prevention Month includes a movie screening at the drive in movie theatre, and a book discussion, so stay tuned for those! Although my internship has been mostly virtual thus far, I am looking forward to going into the office in late April and May, as I will be fully vaccinated at that point. It has been amazing to gain experience in non-profit work, particularly surrounding an issue that impacts college campuses so greatly. Working to improve and educate Whitman’s campus has been especially rewarding.
Experiences like Hannah’s are made possible by the Whitman Internship Grant, which provides funding for students to participate in unpaid internships at nonprofit, some for-profit, and government organizations. We are happy to be sharing blog posts from students who were supported by either a summer, fall, spring, or year-long grants at organizations, businesses, and research labs all around the world. To learn how you could secure a Whitman Internship Grant or host a Whitman intern at your organization, send an email to Assistant Director for Internship Programs, Mitzy Rodriguez