August 10, 2012

Apply for EMPOWER YOU(TH): API Equality-LA’s Student Civic Engagement Internship

Want to make a difference in this year’s election while earning a scholarship?
Want to learn how to engage in the political process?
Want to work with your communities, campus, and peers to create change?
Here’s your chance.

API Equality-LA’s EMPOWER YOU(TH)! Student Civic Engagement Internship serves to provide Asian and Pacific Islander students (ages 18 – 25) the opportunity to do on-the-ground civic engagement and political power-building work with their peers.  2012 is a crucial election year, and it’s vital that API youth are out in numbers and force to vote for progressive causes.  This internship will provide interns the knowledge and skills to mobilize their communities for the upcoming election.  From student fees and loans to minorities’ civil rights, 2012 is a year that can (re)define our movements and work, and this internship will train student leaders to make a difference.

About this Internship
API Equality-LA is a Los Angeles based civil rights organization that organizes in the API community for LGBT equality. API Equality-LA’s EMPOWER YOU(TH) Internship:

  • Is open to any undergraduate student (18 – 25) who is passionate about engaging, educating, and organizing API students around voting and building electoral power for progressive issues
  • Lasts 10 weeks from Friday, September 7, 2012 to Thursday, November 15, 2012
  • Requires a commitment of at least 15 hours/week
  • Will be based at the intern’s academic institution and/or API Equality-LA’s office in the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, located at 1137 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90017
  • Can possibly earn academic credit, depending on the institution
  • Awards a $500 scholarship

Responsibilities*

  1. Attend trainings including but not limited to: voter education, voter outreach, phone banking, and more.
  2. Work with API Equality-LA’s staff and leaders to:
    1. Craft campus specific strategies that includes voter identification and registration of API students at organizations/events/classes and campus events
    2. Organize and lead on-campus phone banks and phone bank trainings for students
    3. Engage, recruit, and train peers to do voter identification and registration work
  1. Participate in weekly calls with staff and other student interns

*Please note that these responsibilities may change.

Qualifications

  1. Be a currently enrolled college student
  2. Commitment to a broad and inclusive social justice movement
  3. Desire to work with diverse communities and organizations
  4. Strong organizational skills
  5. Good oral and written communication skills
  6. Good people skills
  7. Demonstrated interest in advocacy and public policy
  8. Ability to work independently as well as collaboratively with coalitions/allies

Preferences

  1. Knowledge of and experience in API and LGBT history, community, and culture
  2. Demonstrated leadership experience
  3. Knowledge of or contacts in API and LGBT on-campus organizations as well as API and LGBT off-campus youth organizations

Questions or to Apply

Please email a resume and cover letter that includes availability and two references to Brian Nguyen at brian@apiequalityla.org.  Application is due by 5 PM, Monday, August 27, 2012.

Click here to download the .pdf of the application!