Photo of Sofia taken on a work trip at Harper’s Ferry, WV for DOI & NPS.
Throughout my past four years at American University and as a member of the School of Public Affairs Leadership Program, I have had a diverse array of robust leadership and professional opportunities.
Communications Associate, Coalition for the National Museum of the American People (January 2022-April 2022):
I served as a Communications Associate for the Coalition for the National Museum of the American People, a proposed museum that will tell all histories of immigration and migration in the United States. As a Communications Associate, I drafted a wide range of communication materials including blog posts, news releases, fact sheets, digital and social media content, talking points, media, and influencer target lists, and more to support my client’s efforts in encouraging President Biden to release an executive order for the feasibility of a museum on the history of immigration in the U.S. I also built upon my web design experience from Interior and supported design efforts for the Coalition’s website. In addition, I provided research and monitored the media for news-related clients and relevant issues daily while designing relevant long-lasting strategic communications initiatives and programs. My proudest accomplishment was coordinating all technical and content logistics as the moderator of a scholarly panel on the impact of immigration in the U.S. with 95 attendees. I enjoyed facilitating a thoughtful dialogue on an important topic in American history.
Sine Associate for Julián Castro, School of Public Affairs, American University (January 2022-April 2022):
I was selected to serve as a Sine Associate for the Sine Institute of Policy and Politics for Julián Castro in the Spring 2022 semester. I thoroughly enjoyed working with the former HUD Secretary on developing a seminar series on combating economic inequities through the policy process at all levels of government. Secretary Castro brought a diverse array of speakers to campus from current HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge to Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley and more members of Congress and local government officials. To support Secretary Castro’s efforts, I served as a liaison between American University’s Sine Institute of Policy & Politics, student media, guest lecturers, and Julián Castro himself, while coordinating logistics, presentations, and producing promotional materials for seminars for public release.
Digital Media Fellow at the Department of the Interior (June 2021-present):
In the last year, I have had the incredible opportunity to serve as a Digital Media Fellow at the Department of the Interior, working with the National Park Service. As a member of the Equity and Inclusion team within my role as a Digital Media Fellow, I am creating strategic messaging campaigns promoting nationwide equity and inclusion and public health training opportunities for park rangers in English and Spanish. I am utilizing Microsoft Office and InDesign to design accessible web content for approximately 14,000 NPS employees on the internal platform “Inside NPS” to raise awareness of the Interior’s equity and inclusion initiatives. I am also crafting policy and budget proposals for Congress to acquire federal funding for equity and inclusion programming for the National Park Service. In addition, I am also designing public NPS.gov websites and news content using a WordPress content management system. My most recent project was an interpretive awards campaign. This has been my most rewarding professional experience yet. Serving as a federal contractor for Interior through the Hispanic Access Foundation has been the honor of a lifetime. I am grateful to continue serving as a contractor s after I graduate and begin my full-time job.
Legal Intern at a Washington, D.C.-based firm (August 2020-January 2021): During the fall of 202, I completed a virtual internship at a non-governmental organization, Advocates Public Adjusting Firm, LLC. Public Adjusting Firm, LLC. The chief aim of Advocates Public Adjusting Firm, LLC. is to adjust insurance claims to accurately convey the damages to clients’ properties on behalf of contractors to receive the most coverage possible from insurance carriers. I was a Public Adjusting Intern for my supervisor, a lawyer who negotiates with insurance companies to get better deals for clients. In this position, I introduced insurance companies’ cases, scheduled inspections, maintained close contact with contractors, homeowners, and insurance companies, drafted correspondence in all stages of the case, assessed what actions need to be taken, and maintained the firm’s programming system. Additionally, I conducted a marketing project for the firm to recruit new clients. For this project, I am designing a Facebook Business Page for the firm and cold calling different contractors.
Interning for Advocates Public Adjusting Firm, LLC. was never boring. There were always new updates coming in, and people who needed assistance. I am always on tight deadlines that I needed to meet to move the cases forward properly. It is essential to have organizational skills to succeed in this internship. Before starting this internship, I became a more organized person, and I would say that I have been successful in this regard.
Shift Supervisor, American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center (August 2019-April 2022):
While juggling a full course load as a double major in Public Relations and Political Science, along with internships and extracurriculars, I worked as a Shift Supervisor at a political art museum. As a shift supervisor, I led Gallery Attendants through day-to-day museum operations to ensure visitor compliance, safety, and smooth implementation of museum events, such as Accepted Students Day, and gallery openings. I also greeted visitors, checked their proof of vaccination, and informed them about the museum’s exhibits while promoting art for sale in person and via telephone. I was able to sell 100+ catalogs total. In addition, I was also able to build upon my social media skills. I wrote captions and took photographs for the AU Museum’s Instagram with 3,000+ followers.
Legislative Intern for Congressman Frank Pallone Jr. (NJ-06) (May 2019-August 2019):
During the summer of 2019, I had the opportunity to work as a legislative intern for Congressman Frank Pallone Jr. in his district office in Long Branch, NJ. In this role, I conducted policy research for district-based projects including constituent cases, and created memos highlighting why specific issues applied to constituents and the greater community. I also monitored the media for news related to Congressman Pallone, NJ-06, the Congressman’s work as Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Community. In addition, I did administrative projects including documenting phone calls, organizing office space, and maintaining constituents’ files; I got to work on one exciting project in this realm with the National Archives to ensure that case files were properly updated and maintained. I enjoyed interning for Congressman Pallone and I learned a lot about the legislative process along with the importance of supporting constituents in the district.
First and Second Year Teaching Assistant for the School of Public Affairs Leadership Program (March 2019-May 2022):
I served as both a First Year and Second Year Teaching Assistant for SPA Leadership from March 2019-May 2022. Over the past three years, I have worked with 12 students on numerous social justice projects. I guided these first and second-year students through their respective projects, supporting them through weekly advisory meetings, editing content, and liaising with program staff weekly about their progress. My favorite part of these roles was event planning. I organized on-campus and off-campus events to provide first-year and second-year students at American University access to networking opportunities and build camaraderie between the SPA Leadership Program and the American University community. Mentorship is an essential component of leadership, and I am incredibly proud of each of my students.