As previously mentioned, NYPIRG was not my intended internship choice and therefore, I went into it having little to no expectation. Furthermore, to my disappointment, I was mostly geared into doing work that was an anti-thesis to my academic discipline and career goals. Despite all this, I can still say that I enjoyed my experience and NYPIRG for many reasons. First, I got to meet and network with great individuals with whom I discovered I had quite some commonalities with. I truly enjoyed my time Jenna, whom I believe was a great supervisor and overall project coordinator. She was professional and made us always feel comfortable when working with her. It was also nice to converse with her about a diverse range of topics such as the NYPIRG related ones and beyond, such as pop culture.

Also, meeting and working with my colleagues, Teandra Adonis, Adrian McCurchin and Billy Shi was an experience from which I enjoyed several laughs. Second, working at NYPIRG, I learned quite a lot about social activism and what it ensues. I got to expand my knowledge on issues affecting our world such as the challenge of menstruation faced by girls, women and all who menstruate, climate change, public transportation issues, democracy and more. Third and lastly, my experience at NYPIRG was a learning opportunity at hand, because I got to elevate some skills and virtues needed to thrive in the professional field such as punctuality, teamwork, networking and public speaking.

In terms of my performance, I am very proud of the work I delivered. Even though this was not my desired internship, I still showed up and gave my best. I was punctual at all times in my presence and in delivering my work, provided my assistance to Jenna when needed and even went as far as proposed it when I thought she may need it. My only disappointment was that as a team, our work did not really yield great results as we would’ve hoped. The CityTech campus ranks the lowest student engaging campus among NYPIRG campus and despite our numerous strategies and efforts, we were not really able to incite the CityTech student body to participate and volunteer in our activities.

Moreover, I would like to acknowledge Jenna and how she conducted herself as our supervisor and project manager. She displayed professionalism at all times and one thing I would like point out is that, all her interns were non-white and never did her words or actions felt racially charged in any kind of way. She established a comfortable and safe working environment, which I am very thankful for.

Also, a quick note about another major event we held, which was a screening of “Pandora’s Box”, a feature-length documentary film presented by Diva, makers of the DivaCup. Produced and directed by a primarily female crew, it takes us on a global journey through India, Uganda, the UK, and North America to explore the cultural and social subjugation of people who menstruate. Pandora’s Box asks us to lift the lid on menstruation and truly consider how eliminating period stigma can help create gender equality.”

Before watching this documentary, which narrates the menstrual challenges faced by “girls, women and all who menstruate”, I was clueless about this issue, simply because I could not relate to it. However, after watching it, I have a new-found respect and sympathy for “girls, women and all who menstruate” because this is something that should not be issue, one should not have to suffer and fight to be provided with the adequate healthcare, just because they are women. Also, what I loved most about the documentary is that it was inclusive about transmen in the line “all those who menstruate”. At first confused by what that meant, I appreciate that the T in LGBTQ+ was in some capacity made apart of a conversation that often excludes them. Although, it would have been better if the documentary featured an actual transman to tell their story.