Juman Tamimi (3-rd year exchange student from Al Quds - Bard College, Spring 2018)
Working with Back On Track Syria is one of the most admirable forms of Humanity I have ever witnessed. I am totally fortunate to be part of such a family, and to have the opportunity to provide "Educational Aids" - as I personally chose to call it: tutoring refugee children on subjects and aspects they decide themselves, helping them resume or even restart their academic and educational journey which they were forced to pause back home, and, most importantly, supporting them mentally and psychologically through the organization's main approach: "self-learning and self-decision making.” Everything we do is because we believe those young refugees are capable of getting their lives back for themselves.
I believe the work of Back on Track is extremely important, especially for refugees who haven’t yet settled into their new lives and still need orientation. This is why parents are involved in the weekly gatherings held with kids, so they can rebuild their own new German life together. And since Back on Track is a nonprofit organization, everybody in this family -most of whose members are refugees too - is giving first from their heart and then from their knowledge. Back on Track Syria gave birth again to a concept we all thought had died: Humanity.
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Donovan Stewart (Bard College Berlin, Class of 2018):
I worked with a non-profit whose primary goal was to use technology to benefit others. Luckily, I was given a variety of opportunities to write, edit and research the refugee crisis. I learned an incredible amount about the technological industry's relationship with refugees and other aid organizations. Overall, my experience with the internship program at Bard College Berlin was fantastic. As a student studying ethics and politics, I expressed an interest to the organizers of the program that I wanted to use my opportunity to get an internship that in some way worked to help refugees. Unfortunately, I had given them an incredibly late notice and I had not expected to receive an internship let alone one that fit my interests perfectly. However, thanks to the great connections that Bard Berlin has, I was able to get an amazing internship within a week, a feat unfeasible for me without BCB.
Aleksandra Smolianskaia (exchange student from St. Petersburg State University, the faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences/ Smolny College, spring semester 2016):
My internship at the International Literature Festival in Berlin helped me to feel more mature and confident. The internship involved research work, writing, development of the website for the event, and communication with authors. Interning in the fields of publishing and event management was a great opportunity to become acquainted with renowned German and international authors and take part in various lectures, workshops, and talks on relevant cultural topics which take place at the literature festivals in Berlin and Odessa. This experience allowed me to immerse myself in Berlin’s city life as well as to feel part of the world cultural exchange. The internship at the International Literature Festival helped me realize that I am able to work in an international environment and shape my understanding of the world and of myself within this world.
Selena Frandsen (exchange student from Bard Annandale, spring semester 2016):
Being an intern at a small not-for-profit gallery, Art Laboratory, allowed me to apply a lot of the knowledge I had acquired throughout my schooling to a professional setting. The internship not only gave me the exciting new experience of seeing the inner-workings of what it takes to run an exhibition, but also challenged my notions of art and made me interested in areas I had never before considered. I also gained research and communication skills, formed relationships with European artists and speakers and was able to participate in local events related to the gallery’s work. Perhaps the most rewarding part of the experience was my ability to experience the city not just as a student or observer, but also as part of the community itself. Sitting next to residents on the U-Bahn as we commuted, I felt as though I was truly part of the city.
Rebecca LaPoint (exchange student from Bard Annandale, fall semester 2015):
Participating in the internship program while at Bard College Berlin enhanced my study abroad experience. While actually working in the city, Berlin became more of a home to me, rather than a city that I was just passing through. I was able to make life-long friends at my internship, and make international connections in my field of study. My internship was with a human rights organization, Büro zur Umsetzung von Gleichbehandlung (BUG). BUG provides legal aid to individuals looking to file a claim under Germany's Equal Treatment Act, which protects against discrimination. I did a lot of translation work from German to English, in order to make BUG's services accessible to those that didn't speak German. Interning with BUG allowed me to acquire invaluable experience for future jobs in the Human Rights field, while gaining a closer relationship with Berlin's residents and culture. Thanks to my participation in the internship program at BCB, I am able to return to Berlin for another three months in the summer and continue my internship, and further enjoy the city!
Christine Galloway (exchange student from Wellesley College, spring semester 2015):
My internship was most definitely the highlight of my time in Berlin. It provided a non-academic space to learn and question. I got the opportunity to see the inner workings of life as an artist while being able to contribute meaningful work to a project larger than myself. My internship also changed the way I traversed and interacted with the city and experienced urban life allowing me to have a more varied perspective.
Isabella Lee (exchange student from Simon's Rock, spring semester 2015):
My internship involved social work and social justice; I was lucky enough to get to work on one of the most urgent problems in Europe right now. Through the church in Berlin that has been sheltering refugees since the summer of 2014, I’ve been seeing the logistics of social work. My work has consisted in being someone that the refugees can trust and confide in.
Through my internship I’ve learned a lot about refugee law, about the crisis in all of Europe, mostly through individual stories, and also through the press. I learned how important it is not to have a prior vision or idea of what it is going to turn into, and instead be incredibly patient and honest about who you are, where you’re coming from and why do you care, and developing relationships in this way - by sharing stories that make our experiences relate to each other.
Sylvie Estes (exchange student from Bard Annandale, spring semester 2015; interned through the Presbitarian Church Organization that provides housing for refugees or migrant workers):
My internship was very eye-opening, because I didn't know much about the refugee crisis that happens here in Berlin. With news media and with the way people tend to view the world, the issue is over there, far away. The overall experience made me think a lot about human rights as something that has to start at home, where you are.
Through my work I learned about communication, about organization, to be proactive and get involved into communities, and to look deeper into where you're living and think that there is more than what meets the eye. That is a life lesson that will never be complete, that will continue to evolve, and that hopefully I can share with other people.
Jesse Weiss (exchange student from Bard Annandale, fall semester 2014):
While holding an internship as a student at Bard College Berlin, not only did I have the opportunity to make personal and professional acquaintances, gain work experience and be a part of the Berlin creative community, but I also had a chance to explore corners of the city that I never would have seen otherwise. My commute to work was along the Ringbahn route, to Friedrichshain, where I worked as a promotion intern with the label management and promotional agency Modern Matters. Between the office I worked in, and the many cafés and workspaces I went to do my work, I saw a side of the city unknown to some of my peers. I had the unique opportunity to work in one of the most exciting hubs of electronic music in the world, and through that, I was able to make invaluable connections in line with my professional ambitions. In the weekly internship seminar, I was able to contextualize my experience with broader social and professional trends both in Berlin and around the world.
David Luna Velasco (Bard College Berlin, Class of 2013):
As part of the internship, I've been working with a North American visual artist, doing research for him in several languages, translating and interpreting interviews. The project itself is quite a rewarding labour, one in which I can make good use of my skills through a most interesting undertaking. Besides, it is also a way of participating in the cultural life Berlin has to offer, of having access to well hidden Berlin locations and interacting with the city's cultural milieu at a level that could not be available otherwise.
