My road to ADL has been one of many twists and turns. I first learned of the Anti-Defamation League when I was a freshman advisor in high school. Part of our training included a 2-3 day program with ADL on bias related bullying. After the training I went back to school and taught freshman in our advisee program what I had learned. Unlike other bullying prevention programs in which I had participated, I genuinely felt like I had been given the tools to fight bias-based hate in the school environment. However, it wasn’t until my junior year in college that I thought about working for ADL.

For the first two years of college, my schedule was filled with chemistry, biology, and math courses. Although I liked what I was studying, I felt unfulfilled. I was attending university in the middle of a global pandemic and immense civil unrest, yet I wasn’t doing anything to help. I was disgusted by what I saw in the media with regard to police brutality and poor public health policies. That fall I opted out of taking physics and instead, I took a two-credit law class that changed my life. The course was called “The Supreme Court and Your Life” in which we learned about momentous U.S. Supreme Court cases. I found myself in the middle of heated debates about human rights issues. Furthermore, I found myself leading these debates despite my deep-seated fear of public speaking. Speaking on these issues empowered me and made me feel as though I had a purpose. As a result, in the Spring of my sophomore year I changed my major to Sociology in hopes of pursuing civil rights advocacy and law. When I made that change, I never imagined I’d actually get the chance to make a difference in our world. Being chosen for an ADL internship seemed almost too good to be true. Going to work for ADL felt like being a kid in a candy store; however, unlike a kid I see endless possibilities for the betterment of our society in place of bubblegum and lollipops.

This position has made me the busiest but also the most fulfilled I’ve ever been. This summer I coordinated the Summer Associate Research Program, I researched and developed a short list of speakers for next year’s Governor’s Holocaust Remembrance Program (save the date for April 19, 2023), I wrote articles about the Supreme Court Review (link here) and Summer Associate Research Program closing reception and met many notable individuals such as ADL Regional Director Emeritus Sheldon Steinhauser, Representative Dafna Michaelson Jenet, and Colorado Supreme Court Justice Monica Marquez.

I thank ADL’s Mountain States Regional Office and especially Sue Parker Gerson for being a fantastic mentor and boss. Words can’t describe how meaningful this experience has been for me and I look forward to my future work with ADL.

 

Editor’s note: We thank Hali for her excellent work this summer and wish her well as she embarks on a semester abroad in South Korea in just a few weeks. We can’t wait to see you back at ADL soon! 

ADL is accepting internship applications for Fall 2022 and Spring 2023! If you or someone you know wants to have an experience like Hali’s, please share this article and click here for more information or to apply.