The goals of this internship are as follows:

• Establish academic, financial, and  social support for typically marginalized students
• Maintain spaces for collective healing and understanding
• Mediate institutional decision-making with an equity lens
•  Become the regional leader in anti-racist education and advocacy for traditionally marginalized communities.

During the internship the intern will:

• Gain experience in J.E.D.I. programming and communications. 
• Develop leadership skills by designing, recruiting, and sustaining identity-affirming spaces and programming. 
• Learn to navigate institutional barriers with the support of the J.E.D.I. coordinator as we apply for funds, advertising programs, and market plans to the college community.

Meet the current intern: Fowzia Abdi

Fowzia Abdi is a junior at Western majoring in Business with a concentration in Management. After she obtains her bachelor’s degree she plans to get her MBA and pursue a career in Digital Marketing. 

The mission of the J.E.D.I internship is to advocate for communities that face discrimination in schools, workplaces, and society. Fowzia Abdi works to reinforce J.E.D.I framework on campus by focusing on community engagement. The purpose of the internship is to help educate the WOU community and bring social justice issues on campus to light.

Fowzia Abdi explains, “I applied for this internship because I wanted to advocate for the minority students here at WOU. I felt that our school was big on promoting diversity, but wasn’t doing enough. I’ve enjoyed going to Western, but I feel like there are still areas of improvement the school needs. I am looking forward to being a part of a team making these changes.”

She also mentioned in an interview that she is someone that students who are in need of support can reach out to. She is an advocate for diverse students. 

Recently Fowzia held a Read Woke event for WOU students. The event took place over zoom and any student that wanted to attend could attend the event. During the event, a librarian spoke about the importance of keeping banned books in schools. 

Currently, Fowzia is working on two projects. The first project is having local Black artist Latoya Lovely paint a mural in the RWEC. The second project focuses on supporting DACA students. Fowzia is working on creating a FAQ document that supports students in reaching their goals after college. A major focus of the document is helping DACA students earn a teaching license. However, the document is available for all students.