Since this is my first blog, I’ll introduce myself. Hello, I’m Alicia, and I want to be an advocate for human trafficking survivors. It’s always a little awkward for me when I tell people my career aspirations. Human trafficking it’s exactly a light dinner conversation people expect when they ask me, “what do you want to do after graduation?” It may seem like I’m being unnecessarily specific, but I’m actually expanding my options. In high school I wanted to be a psychologist that specializes in healing trauma caused by human trafficking; however, VU has helped me broaden my career horizon while still centering it around human trafficking survivors. I could work as a lawyer, a policy maker, a researcher, an FBI intelligence analyst, or a caseworker. This why I find myself interning under caseworkers at Heartland Alliance’s Refugee and Immigrant Community Services (RICS). While this internship has been interpersonally and emotionally challenging; it has helped me grow in self-awareness and awareness of refugees and asylees.

Through this internship, I’ve learned more about the refugee process, specifically the resettlement process. I’ve seen first hand some of the difficulties that immigrants and asylees encounter. I’ve often found myself thinking about how I would feel if I had to live in a country I can’t easily communicate. I know their journey can be dismal and hopelessness at times, and I wonder if they think the immigration is or will be worth it. When I encounter families, in particular, I’m reminded of my own family. They made me think of my grandfather and his immigration to the U.S. For the first time, I thought about the challenges that he went through. All that I have in the U.S.—my very existence—is because of his decision to move here despite not knowing much English or having any family here. Even though I can’t talk to him now, I feel so fortunate to be doing something that positively affects other people coming to the U. S.

Because of how RICS teams function, I am able to contribute to the workload as an intern in a measurable way that is not overwhelming. I’m surrounded by people that have the same goal of helping others in the most compassionate and effective way. The type of people these jobs attract and the way this workplace is structured gives me the opportunity to be apart of the most supportive, encouraging, understanding, and well-communicated group of people that I’ve ever worked with. I’m given space to learn how I can make a meaningful impact on participants* and improve my interactions with them.  

This is especially important for me not only because of my ancestry but because of my identity as a U. S. citizen. Recently, I heard someone say that the separation of families at the border is not a Trump administration problem. It’s a problem that all of the U. S. is responsible for. The lack of compassion in our actions (or lack of actions) toward refugees and asylees is and has been a tragedy. At our highest intake of refugees (when we accepted more refugees than any other county recorded), we still accepted less than 1% of refugees around the world. I feel so fortunate that I’m able to talk to people about my internship and incite compassion for these fellow human being. I feel fortunate that I’m able to share this with you, my reader, and people I have and will meet with.

There is, however, an obstacle I face that inhibits my capability of maximizing my efforts: anxiety. At Heartland Alliance it’s important to create a welcoming environment for the participants by knowing the participants by name, greeting them when you see them, and asking them how they are doing. It’s also important to create a friendly environment for fellow coworkers. This is a challenge for me because I get more anxiety than the average person during certain social interactions. For example, I get a great deal of anxiety from names; pronouncing someone’s name wrong, calling them the wrong name, or completely forgetting someone’s name genuinely bring me fear because I feel like I’m unintentionally insulting someone and/or making them feel insignificant. I can work on and manage anxieties like that, but it can be exhausting to manage from 9am to 5pm for 4-5 days a week. 

Based on this experience, being a case manager for human trafficking survivors might not be the career for me; however, I think it’s still too early to be sure. I have no doubt that being a case manager for human trafficking survivors would give me a more holistic understanding of human trafficking survivors. Long term, I might be more comfortable with a job that specializes in helping them with one thing (such as mental health) instead of managing their entire case. That way, I can focus on the participant for a prolonged amount of time and help with the specifics of their mental, legal, or ect case. However, my opinions on this may change. Only time and experience will tell.

*Participants are the refugee and immigrants coming to the office. Heartland Alliance uses this term as a reminder to the employees and the participants that the participants are not just passively receiving services; they are expected to actively be involved in attaining their goals.