This summer, I am interning in the Outreach Department of Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), a nonprofit based in Washington, DC. CMEP’s mission is to educate American Christians on the current human rights issues in the Middle East (particularly in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories), elevate diverse Middle East voices, and advocate for changing U.S. policies concerning the Middle East to work toward holistic peacebuilding. Through my internship, I hope to learn more about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and how to understand various perspectives while advocating for the human rights of all involved. I am inspired to grow in becoming an active peacemaker and compassionate advocate.
I am a Philosophy and Theology double major with a Peace and Justice concentration, currently plan to attend law school, and my time at CMEP will certainly help me in my future career path as a lawyer. Advocating for those in need is something I hope to do as a lawyer. More specifically, this internship provides an opportunity for me to explore whether I would ever want to work for a non-profit or even pursue a specific career in peacebuilding advocacy in the Middle East. On a practical level, I am gaining professional communication skills through my outreach work as well as organizational and planning skills through various cataloguing tasks. I’m incredibly thankful for this amazing opportunity to be working in DC for CMEP!
Kathleen Wallace ’23
Philosophy, Theology
Wow! That’s awesome that your internship is in DC! That must make your internship feel like the real deal! I find your future career goals very admirable, and I didn’t even know UoS had a concentration like Peace and Justice.
Thanks! It’s definitely been fun to be in DC 🙂
Hi Kathleen,
The work you’re doing sounds incredible! the Israeli-Palestinian crisis is something we hear a lot about lately, so it’s comforting to know that there are organizations and individuals such as yourself who are taking a peaceful initiative to help make change where it’s certainly due. We as the public either understand so little or choose what we want to believe, so spreading awareness and working establish peacemaking in one area will stand as an example for the world to follow. It’s so inspiring to hear about what you’re doing and your aspirations as a future lawyer in this field of work. Best of luck moving forward!
Thanks so much, Sam!
You’re doing great work in an area that is clearly very meaningful to you. I love that your office is across the street from the Supreme Court; I imagine it is probably a very inspiring location. Your efforts toward a very current and pressing issue in society are making a difference, and I commend your ability to advocate for peaceful resolutions. Keep up the good work!
Hi Kathleen!
It is so exciting that your internship is in DC, it must be extremely rewarding to receive such a real-world experience! I think it’s so important that you are interested in learning about the Israel-Palestine conflict, not many people are aware of it which is a large aspect of the problem.
I also love how you are interested in using your law degree to make such significant and important changes in the world. Your commitment to humanitarianism in the legal profession is so rare but so necessary!!