Student Global Education Opportunities/Internships
Worldwide Organization of Women (WOW) has hosted students and interns since 2004. They have enjoyed a variety of opportunities at the U.N. in Geneva, and gained understanding and experience on an international level. We’d like to introduce a few of our delightful students, list some of their activities and share their responses about this Global Education Opportunity. (GEO). E-mail us at wow@wowinfo.org for information on Summer and Fall opportunities.
Carl Brinton – Honors Program, Asian Studies/Economics (Brigham Young University) Summer, 2007 USA
Carl completed a significant study on ‘Women and the Value of their Unpaid Work’ working with a mentor, Conchita Poncini, retired from the Gender Unit of the International Labor Organization (ILO). He wanted to understand how economics could be applied in the workplace, especially in international organizations and NGOs. In doing the project he gained an understanding of both the methodology and worth of quantitative and qualitative data. He presented his findings on several panels at the U.N., in both NY and Geneva. He was involved in the Status of Women and gained the knowledge that women’s rights are a fundamental and often overlooked part of human rights. The year Carl graduated, he was awarded a USA Today scholarship for his work in Geneva. Carl is now married and lives in China attending a graduate program.
Carl wrote…” This experience gave me an opportunity to work and lobby with those who have power to change policy. Being in Geneva and working with people of many different cultures, gave opportunity to interact with people of those cultures and create meaningful working relationships and friendship with them.
The experience in Geneva was not only was instrumental in being appointed to the First Team USA Today College Academic All-star Team (top 25 undergraduate students nationwide), but it also helped me be a Truman Scholarship and Rhodes Scholarship finalist and be admitted into the Harvard Business School MBA program, which I will start in 2011. It became an experience both that built my ability and skill, as well as being a key portion of my resume.
I really think that if I hadn’t had that experience in research and advocacy that I would not be where I am right now and would not have the wonderful opportunities that I have in my future. Thank you so much for being a part of that experience, Afton, I look back on that experience with great fondness and am still so grateful for how much it taught me!
Gabriella Castiel-Folch – Political Science/Business (Villanova University) Summer, 2006 Costa Rica
Gabriella did a tremendous amount of organizational work for the Worldwide Organization for Women, such as writing a comprehensive a history of the organization. She also worked on a Bioethics report to support a panel on Bioethics with an expert from CERN, as well as preparations for a statement by WOW on Bioethics for the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. She attended the Human Rights Council and followed such issues as Palestine. She made a report on the First Special Session on the Occupied Palestinian Territory. She also attended the Social Forum at the U.N. and helped to create a bibliography on Religion and Women’s Human Rights. Gabriella comes from Costa Rica.
Gabriella wrote… “I told my friends about the wonderful experience that I had in Geneva. You and Manjit were great mentors.”
Amy Choo — Political Science (BYU) 
Winter, 2008 Korea
Amy truly exemplified an ambassador in her work on behalf of women at the U.N. as an intern for WOW. She participated in New York at the Committee on the Status of Women assisting at a U.N. panel on the ‘Value of Women and their Unwaged Work’ ,and at the International Women’s Day at the ILO in Geneva. She attended an evening to Celebrate Eleanor Roosevelt and the Writers of the International Declaration for Human Rights. She also attended the Human Rights Council and followed issues such as Iraq, Palestine, Sudan, Tibet and Trafficking. During the HRC, Amy helped to organize a panel on Forced Marriages, and helped with the Girl Child working group. She was able to meet her own foreign minister from Korea. She attended the Conference of the World Movement of Mothers in the UK, and EU meetings in Brussels as well as travel to Ireland for pleasure. As one of her last official responsibilities, she helped organize the special evening honouring the outgoing Bureau of the Geneva NGO Committee of the Status of Women.
Amy wrote… “I treasure the time we spent in Geneva. It was an amazing experience for me to broaden my perspective and knowledge.
I am still working for a Council member for City of Irvine, California. I had helped him with his campaign right after I got back from Europe, since his election was in November 2008. Helping him with city work and managing his campaign was really a lot of work. He got re-elected for 4 yrs term and now he is running for State Assembly 2010, so it’s been really hectic and busy. Life has been really insanely busy but I am happy since I like my job. I came back from Europe few months ago – had great and growing experiences in Geneva.”
Brian Eborn — Political Science/European Studies (Weber State University) Summer, 2007 USA
Brian attended two Human Rights Councils and was fascinated to witness the dynamics between certain member states and the discussions which always go on during the Human Rights Council. He saw that often the Human Rights violations in certain countries are ignored. Brian coordinated intern activities, projects and schedules, and even wrote “What I wish I had known coming to Geneva.” He also attended the World Family Congress in Poland and researched and summarized certain of the issues presented. His background working in Rwanda doing a water project guided his focus in Geneva of talking with NGO’s about the types of projects with which they are involved. Brian also assisted several of the refugees in Geneva. Brian now works with Fidelity Financial.
Brian wrote…” My time in Geneva is one of my fondest memories. Not only did I learn about the influence that WOW has but the good that it can do. There are so many people who need their voice to be heard. WOW stands up and speaks for those who can’t. I learned about how the United Nations works and how different nations interact. I learned about how the everyday lives of Americans and Europeans differ. I never knew how beautiful Switzerland is. In all of my travels it is easily one of my favorite places. I would love to have the chance to live there someday. Thank you so for the opportunity that you gave me. It was a life altering experience that taught me so much about the world and ultimately, myself. “
Emma Figures – Medical School candidate and Science graduate (Cambridge) Fall, Winter, Spring 2006/2007 UK/Wales
Emma was involved with the Human Rights Council and helped assist with Panels. She was part of the Girl Child Working Group, the Right to Health WG and assisted the Geneva Committee on the Status of Women (CSW). She was able to attend the Women’s Deliver Conference in the UK which was of personal interest. Emma is attending the Cambridge Medical School preparing to become a physician with an interest in women’s health. Emma participated in one of the Lake Geneva triathlons and WON!! She was able to attend some meetings at the World Health Organization and was part of the NGO Health Promotion meetings. At another gathering she was able to present her research on “Post-tsunami: Changes to society and gender dimensions in relief….. SriLanka and India..
Emma said…” I had the most amazing experience in Geneva and would whole-heartedly recommend it to anyone considering spending some time there with WOW. Afton was a wonderful role model – she works tirelessly and with great passion to make a difference to the lives of women globally through her work with WOW. She also goes to great lengths to make sure that all interns feel welcome, happy and can get involved – whether that be at the UN, WHO, various working groups and projects, or simply getting to know other people and making friends.
I certainly had some incredible opportunities through my experiences with WOW – attending the World Health Assembly and Human Rights Council were a couple of ‘professional’ highlights, while meeting truly inspirational people and making lifelong friends along the way were ’social’ highlights. Through an internship with WOW, you can explore areas of individual interest, develop new skills (like taking part in panel discussions, minute-keeping, website design, etc), grow in confidence and gain knowledge that will help you not only with your current studies, but throughout your life. Geneva itself is a beautiful city and a place that everyone should spend at least a little time – the snow-capped mountain views, the lake, jet d’eau, culinary delights, incredible transport system, and the opportunity to learn/practice your French. I loved my time with WOW in Geneva and would go back NOW if I could. Although medical studies keep me busy in Cambridge at the moment, I’ll certainly be back to visit again as soon as time and money allow!” 
Samuel Fife – International Business (BYU-Kennedy Center) Fall, 2008 USA
Samuel brought many business ideas to help the poor with him to Geneva. After meeting mentors, he took the opportunity to ask questions since Geneva provided an international opportunity for networking . He attended conferences and researched links in a variety of Geneva based international organizations such as the Human Rights Council, ILO and UNCTAD and was able to attend some sessions and meet professors at the Geneva Graduate Institute. He attended the 60th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights at UNESCO in Paris. Samuel helped to organize panels and was a speaker for the WOW panel on ‘The Role of Women in Agriculture and Sustainable Development’. He assisted WOW in the Eleanor Roosevelt project, Women’s Health Working Group, interfaced with the Camp Ashraff Iraq protesters in Geneva and helped with local humanitarian endeavors. He did research and read literature in the U.N. Library and online, and helped to propose necessary elements for the future WOW Villa project for students.
Samuel reflected…”Geneva was an excellent spring and springboard for innovative new ideas as well as deconstructing existing ones.”
Kristen Fry – Arts, Home and Family Living (BYU-Kennedy Center) Spring and Summer, 2006 USA
When Kristi arrived in Geneva during the preliminary sessions of the Human Rights Council, she showed great ability to evaluate reports and write summary statements which is essential yet difficult to do during long U.N. meetings. Kristi attended meetings for the Geneva NGO Committee on the Status of Women assisting the CSW President, the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the World Health Assembly. She did research on FGM, assisted the President of the CSW with her work, and completed a WHO multi-country study on “Women’s Health and Domestic Violence against Women.” She researched issues on Violence against Women, HIV/AIDS, Nutrition and Improving Women’s Maternal Health, and Family and Heath. She attended the Day of Child Abuse at the U.N. and other conferences.
Kristi said: “ The goals and objectives accomplished included learning more about the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC), the UN and WOW as well as the World Health Organization AND I was able to practise using French! “
Matt Godfrey – Business/Spanish (BYU)
Summer, 2005 ; May, 2008 USA
Matt came to Geneva and assisted WOW to prepare statements for the 57th Session of the U.N. Sub-Commission on Human Rights which dealt with human rights impacting human rights in Africa. He attended a variety of meetings of the UN and at the ILO following his interests. Because he was in Geneva, he was able to take a short term assignment with the ILO in the Accounts Payable Organization. Matt is now the Human Resources Manger at Cisco Systems. Matt took advantage of travel opportunities while in Geneva and after graduation went to Russia, Ukraine, Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Austria.
Matt said… “ My experience in Geneva was altogether life-changing. The opportunity to walk the halls of the Palais des Nations and rub shoulders with diplomats had a real impact on me. I have no doubt that my time with WOW and the ILO helped propel my career. I feel the experience significantly bolstered my resume which consequently allowed me to gain admittance into an MBA program.”
Stephanie Johnson — Political Science/Italian ( BYU-Kennedy Center ) Fall, 2007 USA
Mutua Kobia Pre-Med and Science Research (Hope College) Fall, 2007 Kenya
Mutua attended the Human Rights Council, and also helped the Task Force on Peace Mapping with the development of data analysis. This involved studying a variety of models, giving information about gathering data, and identifying best practices through an open matrix system. Initially WOW presented a paper on Peace Mapping on behalf of the Working Group on Peace at Berkeley. After meeting Tim Foresman at this International Symposium on Digital Earth, Mutua helped WOW to host a meeting with members of the Working Group to discuss possibilities and ramifications of this project.
Mutua said… “For such a big project such as Peace Mapping, I felt we made significant headway in getting it started, especially with Tim’s expertise and insight. From this experience I learnt quite a bit on how creative ideas are formed into reality through an NGO; it’s undertakings, as well as how it is key to get people of various backgrounds on board (e.g. Mr. DeGuzman of WMO, Geneva, Mr. Foresman of GoogleEarth). It was also noteworthy how similar interests, concerning the project, overlapped between the different organizations and people. Working with WOW gave me further knowledge of the interactions between NGO’s and other third parties.”
Morgan Kronk – Political Science (BYU-Kennedy Center) Fall, 2007 USA
Morgan had strong advocacy skills and attended the Women Deliver Conference and then went on to attend the University of Pittsburg Law sShool to further her advocacy work. Her internship project was centered on projects within the framework of the Human Rights Council, the Committee on the Status of Women, the Rights of the Child and CONGO. Morgan was able to work on peace mapping issues, maternal health, gender equality and human rights education. She helped to organize panels on such issues on the Human Right to Peace, Forced Marriages and Human Rights education. Her research reports were based on deliberations on the Rights of the Child, the CSW gender equity issues and she attended the Women’s Deliver Conference in the USA. Morgan was one of the writers for the Pre-natal Sex Selection Report and summarized the Gender Integration Panel and recommendations for the NGO Geneva CSW. She was very clear about the challenges faced by NGO’s to promote gender equality and took the opportunity to associate with NGO’s who were very involved.
Jessica Picture by Christy Cunningham
Jessica Lazaro – International Relations (BYU-Kennedy Center) Summer, 2009 Brazil
Amber LeBaron – Honors Student Summer, 2009 USA
Aubrey LeBaron – Honor Student Summer, 2009 USA
Ashley Linford – International Studies/Presidential Scholar (Utah State University) USA
Ashley was instrumental in developing the WOW website.
Anthony Mongello – International School Geneva Pre-Dental Program (BYU) Summer, 2007
Nick Musso — Peace and Conflict Studies (University of Utah) Fall, 2009
Nick spent time in Kenya, Geneva U.N. and the U.N. in New York
Carrie Norton – Arts, Home & Family Living/Program (BYU) Spring 2005 USA
Carrie helped with the planning and execution of a Family Conference which evaluated the Family in Europe, and attended a parenting fair to see how the Swiss promoted parenting. She also met two professors at BYU who encouraged her to complete her Masters Degree at BYU. She has worked in several SS agencies.
Courtney Peacock – MA degree in Art History/Gender Studies (BYU) Fall, 2007-2008 USA
Courtney worked with the Geneva NGO Committee on the Status of Women and assisted the President Krishan Abdu Patel to complete research papers and reports. Since leaving Geneva, Courtney is working on her Doctorate Degree in Canada.
Andrea Peterson – International Relations (BYU, Webster UniversitySwitzerland) Fall 2008 USA
Tyler Reisdahl – Peace & Conflict Studies & Human Rights, B.S. (University of Utah) Fall, 2008 USA
Adam Ricks – (BYU-Kennedy Center) Summer, 2009 USA
Martha Rigby – New Hampshire Fall, 2008 USA
Tara Salgado – International Relations (BYU-Kennedy Center)
Kate Sonne and Clare in Geneva WOW Office
Kate Sonne – Journalism (BYU -Kennedy Center); Masters Program/Education (New York University) Fall 2006
Nathalie Staffler – Arts, Sociology and Counseling Masters Program (BYU), Summer, 2007 SWISS