During my MSW internship time of 344 hours at ISC, I enhanced my knowledge and expanded my experience and expertise in immigration law and concepts. In addition,  I learned the different services that the ISC offers, such as immigration guidance, translation, and interpretation services, among social services programs for disadvantaged, unprivileged, and needy people. The Immigration Guidance training was also a huge focus as part of my internship, and attending the webinars, e-course, and virtual training were the highlights of my time at ISC. The peer-coaching program is an excellent idea because it allows interns to learn faster and know whom to talk to if they faced any challenge. Working, coaching and hands-on practice, I was able to help and support and coach peers with some computer literacy, practice English pronunciation, food pantry, and immigration guidance. Sometimes I helped staff with Hispanic clients with limited English proficiency by answering the phone, opening the door, and providing over-the-phone information will ultimately be able to perfect his/her communication, diplomatic, and multi-tasking skills. Most of all, that person would develop such desirable qualities as patience, compassion, humility, and understanding. In addition, I have learned several skills to provide immigration guidance and filling out certain immigration forms. It was a great experience, and I am happy to have spent this time here completing my internship and knowing each dedicated worker that makes things possible because of their hard work.

Since I started my internship on January 25th, 2021, I was able to perform many roles and activities as well helping and supporting the agency with different duties and responsibilities. For example, one day, I had the opportunity to perform the receptionist duties because the staff was unavailable. As part of my internship, I was exposed to many challenges, but those challenges were part of my learning process, and they help me become and gain appropriate tools to deal with and face those challenges successfully. For example, I had the opportunity to learn how to fill out and the requirements for the DACA (I-821D), Employment Authorization Document (EAD, I-765), Naturalization( N-400), and Fee Waiver (I-912) applications. One of the projects that I had during my internship was to work on the Latino outreach program, and I was able to translate the four brochures into Spanish. In addition, through webinars, readings, and different training, I could quickly familiarize myself with the various requirements and regulations about the agency and the services that the agency has available to help immigrant and needy populations. The internship experience enabled me to put into practice what I learn and teach other peers the skills learned. I got along very well with everybody and had the opportunity to support them as needed and completing teamwork tasks assigned by Dr. Phuong.

I have learned that to always succeed, I must commit to the 3 P’s (Passion, Perspiration, and Persistence). It was a pleasure meeting and working with people from different countries and cultures. I enjoyed and appreciated my internship experience at the ISC because everyone made my experience unique and wonderful. Please continue providing all the social services to all disadvantaged people working as a team to provide the best services and help people succeed. Thank you, Dr. Phoung, Sandra, Thahn, Tuan, Dao, Ahn, Thu, and Hang, for all your hard work and for making my experience unforgettable and enhancing my skills. I will be missing

Omayra A. Acevedo-Ruiz, MSW Student, Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU)