Through her internship with Americares, Tara Bailey '20 had the ability to help respond to the need of the Fairfield community in the midst of the Covid-19 outbreak.
It's been so rewarding and exciting to work on something where I see the impact my work has on a pressing and current issue.
— Tara Bailey '20, Politics & International Studies Major Humanitarian Action Minor
As an intern with Americares, a nonprofit disaster relief and global health organization, I have had the opportunity to work remotely while also helping respond to the need of the community amid the coronavirus outbreak. Americares is partnered with over 4,000 health clinics worldwide, and since I am in the Emergency Preparedness Team, we have been compiling information on how to best respond to the pandemic at our clinics.
We created a checklist, template, and multiple PowerPoint presentations for didactic and interactive webinars via Zoom for all clinics in the U.S. During the webinars, I helped answer any questions that were sent into the chat box. We also offered one-on-one consultations to provide strategic planning specific to health clinics. It has been an amazing experience. I've learned so much about how clinics operate to provide disaster or pandemic relief. It's been so rewarding and exciting to work on something where I see the impact my work has on a pressing and current issue.
My advisor at Fairfield, Julie Mughal, associate director for humanitarian action in the Center for Social Impact, has been so willing to support me through this by answering any questions. We have had check-ins where I presented what I was doing at the internship, and she has provided great advice and explained how I can use what I am learning at Americares for career development. This internship experience greatly relates to my coursework as a politics and international studies major because I am learning how government plays a role in society with allocation of funding and how these decisions affect health clinics with the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) like masks and gloves. And, as a complement to my humanitarian action minor, I have also learned the importance of relief aid on the local, national, and international level.
