Name: Oceana Carter
Class Year: 2028
Major: Sociology
Minor: Education
Internship Organization: Disability Rights New Jersey
Internship Title: Communications and Outreach Intern
Location: Trenton, NJ
What’s happening at your internship? We would love to hear what kind of work you are doing!
I’m lucky enough to be doing a little bit of everything at my internship! Most of my work has involved helping design a funding campaign for Protection and Advocacy organizations like DRNJ across the country, but supervisors have given me a chance to experience every aspect of DRNJ’s work! So far, I’ve also gotten to accompany our investigation and monitoring team on visits to residential centers for adults with intellectual and developmental disorders (IDDs) to learn about their experiences and investigate allegations of abuse, and I’ve been learning about accessible technology and design from the technology team.
Why did you apply for this internship?
While looking for summer internships, I knew I wanted something in disability activism, because I’ve loved being part of the Students for Disability Justice SGA Committee at Bryn Mawr. I wanted to return to school in the fall with more knowledge of how to make our civil rights and how to make spaces more accessible, as well as a better understanding of what a future career in disability advocacy could look like for me.
Working with DRNJ in particular has been great for me, because they are a governmental organization that does everything from litigation and campaigning for disability rights on capitol hill, to investigating residential health and wellness facilities to prevent abuse. I entered this internship wanting to understand what a career in disability rights law could look like, and it has taught me that there are countless ways to contribute to the cause.
Can you talk about the skills you are learning and why they are important to you?
From taking actual courses offered to DRNJ employees to learning from experience working in an incredibly accessible office with a variety of (dis)abilities represented, I’ve gained a lot of knowledge about how to ensure both online and physical spaces are accessible, and developed skills like website auditing for accessibility, which has unexpectedly taught me coding skills too. This experience was exactly what I hoped to gain over the summer. I’m excited to bring this knowledge back to my leadership roles on campus and anywhere else I go! My time at DRNJ has also helped widen my focus within disability issues. Because my personal experience and knowledge have been more centered in chronic illness and physical disability spaces, I’ve loved working with people who are so educated on subjects I know less about, like IDDs and the issues that face elderly patients in particular. This internship definitely opened my eyes to how much I have to learn about the experiences of people with IDDs, and I can’t imagine a better place to begin that journey!
Personally, professionally, and academically, the policy and campaign work that I’ve been doing has probably had the largest impact on me. Contributing to a campaign to stop government funding cuts to advocacy organizations has taught me so much about communication, tenacity, budgeting, data analysis, and most of all, strategy. Communicating with politicians is definitely a different skillset than what I’m used to, so I’m grateful to be learning such an empowering skill!
What is most rewarding about your internship?
It’s incredible to see the numbers and statistics of the hundreds of thousands of people who have been positively impacted by DRNJ’s work, but it’s even better to experience the impact that this work can have firsthand. One of my favorite parts of my experience has been visiting residential centers around New Jersey and getting to see the decades-old friendships that have formed between DRNJ staff and residents. Seeing how a room full of residents would light up when they saw that we were visiting was really inspiring.