Brenda Marichalar

Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services – Virtual

How did you get your job?  

I’ve always been inspired by the important work RAICES does for the immigrant community. I knew I wanted an internship at an organization like RAICES for the summer, so I checked their website and saw that they were hiring. I applied through their website in January, went through their interview process, and was thrilled when I received the news that I was hired.

What do you like most about your job?

Interacting with the attorneys, legal assistants, and interns was my favorite part. We had meetings almost every day via Zoom and started each one with an ice breaker to get to know each other better. Leaving these meetings, it truly felt that we were all working towards one common goal of defending the human rights of immigrants.

What is the most valuable thing you’ve learned at this job?

I learned not be afraid to reach out to ask questions. With the internship being completely remote, I could not just swing by another’s office to ask a question. I had to actively send messages to legal assistants and attorneys. While this was intimidating at first, I would remind myself that it was all for the clients who depended on our work. It became easier with this mindset.