Winter – Spring 2024
Samantha Wiesner
Pronouns: She/Her
Major: Global Studies and Planning, Public Policy, and Management
Minor: Arabic
Year: Sophomore
Internship: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Intern, Willamalane Park and Recreation District
Sam is a second-year student from San Jose, California. In the future, Sam hopes to work in international policy. In addition to her involvement with the LEI program, Sam is also a Student Ambassador, an RA, and is connected with Jewish life on campus. Go ducks!
Keita Bacon
Pronouns: He/ Him
Major: Japanese and Political Science
Minor: Computer Information Technology, Global Engagement (PS)
Year: Senior
Internship: Continuous Improvement Intern, Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB)
Keita is a senior from Portland, OR. Keita is interested in information science/technology and is aspiring to be a web developer. He enjoys playing soccer and any other athletic activity you can think of.
Ivana Cachoua Cervello
Pronouns: She/Her
Major: Psychology
Minor: Art and Sociology
Year: Sophomore
Internship: Project Management Intern, Eugene Lodge and International Hostel
Ivana Cachoua is an international student from Mexico City. Her academic goals align with her aspiration to become a clinical psychologist while concurrently nurturing her artistic interests. From an early age, she has been an art enthusiast, engaging in diverse forms such as sketching, painting, ceramics, and more.
Lauren Kwasny
Pronouns: She/They
Major: Communication Disorders and Sciences
Minor: Spanish and Psychology
Year: Junior
Internship: Outreach & Communications Intern, Friends of Buford Park & Mt. Pisgah
Lauren is a junior at the University of Oregon with her hometown being Corvallis, OR. She aspires to be a child speech pathologist with an extensive past working with children through nannying positions and camp settings.
Desmond Acuay
Pronouns: He/ Him
Major: History
Minor: Law
Year: Senior
Internship: Community Engagement Intern for Diverse Business Directory, Lane County Government, Equity Department
Desmond is from Portland, Oregon. He majors in History and is interested in public policy, historiography, and law. His current goals are to graduate, move out of Oregon, and enter law school. Some fun facts would be he wants to travel, he likes to write, and his favorite food is pizza.
Reyna Blakeman
Pronouns: They/She
Major: Global Studies and Romance Languages
Year: Junior
Internship: Employee Resource Center Intern, City of Eugene
Using her Spanish language proficiency, Reyna plans to focus her career on supporting her community. She hopes to either work in Human Resources with a focus on supporting Spanish-speaking employees or in the Localization industry catering to Spanish-speaking consumers.
Seberiana Lopez
Pronouns: She/Her
Major: Art and Technology
Minor: Art History and Entrepreneurship
Year: Senior
Internship: Museum Education Program Assistant, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art
Seberiana is a fourth-year student from Bakersfield, California. Her career goals include working as a graphic designer with the aspirations of earning a career position as an Art Director. Something interesting about her is that she is always up to try something new!
Olivia Tong
Pronouns: She/Her
Major: Journalism
Minor: English
Year: Junior
Internship: Strategic Planning and Community Engagement Intern, Asian American Council of Oregon
Olivia is a junior majoring in journalism with a minor in English. She is from El Cerrito, California. In the future she hopes to write for an online magazine or do work with social media.
Gio Betancourt
Pronouns: They/Them
Major: Art and Technology
Minor: Psychology
Year: Junior
Internship: Museum Education Program Assistant, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art
Originally from Hillsboro, Oregon, Gio’s career aspirations include becoming a successor in the animation industry in the future. In their free time, Gio is passionate about dancing and devotes their time to hone their skills in this form of art.
Kikachi Akpakwu
Pronouns: She/Her
Major: Neuroscience
Minor: Chemistry and Computer Information Sciences
Year: Junior
Internship: Employee Resource Center, City of Eugene
Originating from Torrance, California, Kikachi thoroughly enjoys reading, spending time outdoors, and learning new languages. She is pursuing a career in healthcare and artificial intelligence.
Elainie Myers
Pronouns: They/Them
Major: Sociology and Planning, Public Policy, and Management
Year: Freshman
Internship: Prevention and Response Student Intern, UO Office of Dean of Students
Elainie hopes to work within the harm reduction field, specifically working with sex workers and sexual assault survivors. In their free time Elainie enjoys altering clothing, attending local shows, and collaging. They are an avid believer in trying things at least once, and constantly picking up a new hobby to try. Currently they are (attempting) to learn how to skateboard.
Nataly Ramirez
Pronouns: She/Her
Major: Political Science and Business Administration
Minor: Legal Studies and Economics
Year: Junior
Internship: Coordinator of Community Engagement, UO Athletics
Nataly is a junior at UO on a Pre-Law track. Being born and raised in Portland, Oregon, Nataly enjoys hiking, sightseeing and taking pictures of her dog & friends! Nataly’s next big step after graduation is attending law school where she will either go into corporate law and/or sports contracted law!
Winter – Spring 2022
Yessenia Rodriguez
Pronouns: She/her
Major: Planning, Public Policy, and Management
Year: Senior
Internship: Community Outreach and Research Intern, Beyond Toxics
Yessenia grew up in Umatilla, Oregon. She is currently a senior majoring in Planning, Public Policy & Management and aspires to go to graduate school after finishing her bachelor’s degree.
Isaiah Boyd
Pronouns: He/him
Major: Political Science
Minor: Legal Studies and Sociology
Year: Senior
Internship: Executive Assistant/Shadowee, NAACP
Isaiah is a fourth-year student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in political science as well as minors in legal studies and sociology. Isaiah is hoping to pursue a career in city management, focusing on affordable housing and social service issues. Isaiah plans on starting his career in his hometown of Los Angeles, California.
Teresa Tseng
Pronouns: She/her
Major: Operation Business Analytics
Minor: Computer Information Technology
Year: Junior
Internship: Space Planning Intern, Bigfoot Beverages
Teresa is an international student from Taiwan. Her educational goal and future career will be going to graduate school and becoming a business analyst.
Joie Littleton
Pronouns: She/her
Major: Cinema Studies and Journalism-Public Relations
Year: Junior
Internship: Museum Education Assistant, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art
Meet Joie, a third-year student at the University of Oregon. In 2019, she moved from her hometown of Los Angeles to Eugene in hopes of pursuing a career in independent filmmaking and archival work.
Samantha Kar
Pronouns: She/her
Major: Advertising
Minor: Business Administration, Entrepreneurship, and Sociology
Year: Junior
Internship: Oregon 2022 Community Engagement & Experience Coordinator, City of Eugene
Samantha is a third-year student from Portland, OR, majoring in Advertising and minoring in Business Administration, Sociology, and Entrepreneurship. She hopes to be a project manager at an advertising agency in the future.
Chandlor Henderson
Pronouns: He/him
Major: Journalism
Minor: African Studies and Comics and Cartoon Studies
Year: Sophomore
Internship: Museum Education Assistant, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art
Chandlor grew up in the Washington, DC suburb of Centreville, Virginia. He moved to Eugene in 2015 in order to try something new, eventually getting married and returning to school at the tender age of 36. He is unsure what his future plans are, but wishes that whatever he ends up doing will combine art and culture.
Nellie Sears
Pronouns: She/her/they/them
Major: Psychology and Native American Studies
Year: Junior
Internship: Course Development and Delivery Assistant, Northwest Indian Language Institute
Nellie is from Anchorage, Alaska. She is interested in developmental psychology and working with youth, but someday would like to better understand how to create a safe space to support and uplift Indigenous youth.
Po San
Pronouns: She/her
Major: Art
Minor: Creative writing and Entrepreneurship
Year: Junior
Internship: Women’s Innovation Network Intern, UO Innovation Partnership Services
Po is a second year student with junior class standing; she is majoring in art with focuses in textiles/fibers and photography with double minors in creative writing and entrepreneurship. She’s from Portland, OR and hopes to become an entrepreneur in the apparel industry one day. She’s looking into becoming a fashion designer for the bridal industry or do styling and communications. After she graduates, she hopes to get her Master of Arts at an international fashion design academy!
Hibah Hammad
Pronouns: She/her
Major: Sociology and Spanish
Year: Sophomore
Internship: OSPIRG Intern
Hibah is a sophomore with an interest in pursuing law in the future. Born in Atlanta, Georgia but raised in Tigard, Oregon, Hibah considers Oregon her home and aims to focus on issues prevalent in Oregonian communities including homelessness, especially here in Eugene, police reform, hunger, mental health issues, and more. While Hibah does not know what exactly in the law field she would like to pursue, she knows she wants to keep human rights, social justice, and political advocacy at the forefront of her work. Hibah started a baking fundraising organization called “Chew Matter” to raise money for political advocacy and human rights organizations.
Spring 2021
Isabella “Bella” Navarro
Pronouns: She/her
Major: Human Physiology
Minor: Global Health
Year: Senior
Internship site: Volunteers in Medicine
Bella grew up in a smaller city in the Bay Area and moved to Eugene in 2017. Her future career and educational goals are to attend medical school and become a physician in family medicine.
What is one challenge you had to overcome?
The internship was not what I originally expected but I found it useful that I saw a new side of medicine. I learned how to better communicate to my supervisor. I have never been good at doing that before so now I have the confidence and skills to do so in the future.
Cyrus Ranjbar
Pronouns: He/him
Major: Global Studies
Minor: Asian Studies
Year: Senior
Internship site: Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art
Cyrus is currently a Senior Majoring in Global Studies and minoring in Asian Studies. He is from and lives in Eugene Oregon, and hopes to work in museums in the future.
What are the positive and negative aspects of a virtual internship?
I can do work at my own time which is good, but also that makes it easier to procrastinate.
Ria Bhatt
Pronouns: She/her
Major: Indigenous, Race and Ethnic Studies
Minor: Leadership and Administrative Skills and Business Administration
Year: Junior
Internship site: Womenspace (now Hope and Safety Alliance)
Ria is a third year student at University of Oregon from San Jose, California and has been on the dean’s list since Spring 2020. Her career aspirations is to work with the ACLU in Human Resources or continue social justice advocacy work with more non-profits.
What did you take away from your experience?
I learned to always put hard work and do outside research.
Juanita Dominguez
Pronouns: She/her
Major: Global Studies and Spanish
Year: Junior
Internship site: City of Eugene
Meet Juanita Dominguez, a third-year student majoring in Global Studies and Spanish. Her hometown is Eugene, OR and she aspires to go to law school after she graduates from undergrad.
What did your supervisor do to help you feel comfortable?
Good communication and positive criticism.
Tina Chan
Pronouns: She/her
Major: Political Science and Chinese
Minor: Music
Year: Sophomore
Internship site: Mobility International USA
Tina is a dual citizen of Hong Kong and U.S, but spent most of her primary and secondary education life in Accra, Ghana and Guangzhou, China. She plans on becoming a part of the United Nations and strives to implement the empowerment of ethical rights.
What was most satisfying about your internship?
Learning how to navigate Excel was a big part of my internship and one hard skill that I would use in the future.
