Posts Tagged ‘Careers’
Breaking Down Barriers: How Autism Has Helped Me Serve My Refugee Neighbors
I’ve lived in the same place my whole life. I have never had to leave everything I know out of fear for my life. In many ways, my life and the lives of my refugee and immigrant neighbors couldn’t be more different.
Yet, I do know what it feels like to be on the outside looking in. For as long as I can remember, I have felt somewhat out of place, like I wasn’t meant for this world in some way. I didn’t know the reason for this — it was just the way I was.
It wasn’t until I was 20 years old that I finally realized why I felt so out of place. That’s when I first heard, “You have autism.”
On one hand, I was relieved. I finally had an answer for why I felt like a person who was told to play the game without being given the rules. On the other hand, it expanded my understanding of just how much our society is not built to accommodate people like me.
Fighting the battles that come along with having autism has been difficult, but it’s also afforded me a unique love for learning from those whom society often relegates to the margins. Over the years, this has meant seeking to be mentored by African American pastors, working with the imprisoned and searching out opportunities to see how my Christian faith intersects with building up my local community.
In college, I was introduced to this type of ministry when I had the opportunity to work with refugees as an ESL tutor. For me, this felt like a natural extension of my passion for reflecting God’s love to those on the margins. Years later, through God’s providence, I was given the opportunity to continue serving refugees when I joined the World Relief Upstate SC team right here in my own community in South Carolina.
Now, in my role as the Upstate SC Mobilization and Development Coordinator (and formerly as the Church and Volunteer Engagement Coordinator), my life is full of paradoxes. I am a person who struggles with social interactions, but I must frequently speak to volunteers, churches and other community partners about how we are called to love and serve refugees. Accepting unpredictability and ambiguity does not come naturally to me, yet refugee resettlement is anything but predictable.Â
While these are paradoxes, they show that God uses every single person to advance his cause and that his kingdom breaks down barriers of gender, race, ethnicity and even disability. In fact, because of my disability, I believe it can sometimes be easier for me to put myself in the shoes of refugees and immigrants who are feeling out of place and lost in a culture and society that wasn’t built for them.
For many refugees and immigrants, navigating new communities, grocery stores, school systems, workplaces and more can feel like trying to put a puzzle together without knowing what the finished product should look like. That’s a feeling I can certainly relate to.
My experience with autism spectrum disorder also gives me compassion for the fear and uncertainty that many of our refugee and immigrant neighbors face in their daily lives. I understand what it means to cling to Matthew 6:34, which says “do not worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself.”
While I do not discount the many challenges people like me face or the differences between my experience and that of refugees, I do believe wholeheartedly that the good news of God transforms even the most difficult of situations for our good and his glory.
At World Relief, I’ve found a place where I can work within my strengths and limitations as someone who has autism and experience God’s transformation in my life and in the lives of those around me.
World Relief is committed to building welcoming communities that value and accept refugees and immigrants. That same culture has helped me feel valued and accepted. Our Office Director, Brandon Baughn, has been an especially faithful example of this culture of welcome, giving me the blessing of trust in my work and in my perspective not only as someone with autism, but more importantly, as a follower of Christ who is passionate about serving “the least of these.”
This trust has allowed me to run headlong into serving churches and volunteers so that they, too, can create communities of welcome. I am able to do my work knowing that World Relief welcomes my unique perspective and does not see my disability as a hindrance.
Together, we are moving towards creating spaces where people of all nations, backgrounds and abilities can embrace their God-given purpose and live out their full potential.
At World Relief, we are grateful for faithful staff like Austin. We rely on the time, talents and treasure of people like you to continue moving forward together. You can join us by giving today or by checking out our careers page to see if working at World Relief is a good fit for you.
Austin Donahoo is the Mobilization Development Coordinator at World Relief Upstate SC, where he previously served as the Church and Volunteer Engagement Coordinator. He loves integrating his passions for Christian ministry and theology with community engagement, believing that the call of the gospel is to be shown in both word and deed. At World Relief, he works to do this by equipping churches and volunteers to love their refugee and immigrant neighbors.
Work at World Relief
For many of us, the last few years have been characterized by a deep sense of chaos, uncertainty and injustice. As suffering across the globe appears to be worsening, you’ve likely asked yourself, how can I respond in a meaningful way?
You’ve likely thought about your career path and wondered how you can make an impact in the face of the increasing suffering and injustice we see in this world every day.
Perhaps you’re wondering whether what you do really matters, or if your work is contributing to this world in a positive way.
Maybe you love what you do, but a new, or renewed, sense of purpose is calling you to a different space — one in which you can grow your talents while also standing up for the rights of the vulnerable and speaking out with the marginalized, exploited and forgotten.
Or perhaps you’re at a crossroads, challenging yourself to take a leap into the unknown, uncertain but driven above all else by a missional heart and desire to put your faith into action.
If this sounds like you, World Relief, and millions of people around the globe, need you.
World Relief is a global Christian humanitarian organization that is fighting for change that lasts, right here in the U.S. and across the globe. We bring sustainable solutions to the world’s greatest problems — from disasters to extreme poverty, violence, oppression, mass displacement and immigration.
For over 75 years, we’ve partnered with churches and communities in more than 100 countries to bring hope, healing and transformation to the most vulnerable. At this pivotal moment in time, World Relief is rapidly expanding and growing our team to meet the increasing needs of our world, and we want you to join us!
When you work at World Relief, you can expect:
- A strong sense of everyday purpose and impact as you witness lives transformed daily and hear incredible stories of hope from around the world.
- We’ve been living in a season where the problems in the news have caused many people I know to become discouraged, even despondent. But in our work, we get to witness good-news stories every day. We get to witness the ways that churches and communities are working together to bring hope and healing in places all around this country and across the globe.
Even in the bleakest circumstances, there are stories of God’s love in action through the staff, volunteers and financial partners of World Relief. I love the feeling that I work at a place where what I do truly matters; my work truly makes a positive change in the lives of hurting people. – Kimberly Hurst, Strategic Partnerships Director, Northwest.
- We’ve been living in a season where the problems in the news have caused many people I know to become discouraged, even despondent. But in our work, we get to witness good-news stories every day. We get to witness the ways that churches and communities are working together to bring hope and healing in places all around this country and across the globe.
- A highly relational and collaborative environment, surrounded by colleagues to learn from, be inspired by and foster friendships with.
- “This organization is just packed full of goodness. Each day I am surrounded by women and men with huge hearts, deep integrity and a deep thoughtfulness and intentionality that makes working alongside them a true joy. World Relief is very much a people-first environment and I have been incredibly blessed by that stance both personally and professionally.” – Francesca Albano, Sr. Dr. of Brand & Marketing
- A commitment to best practices and excellence in our work, as well as the ability to think creatively and bring new solutions to complex problems.
- I’ve found that World Relief’s collective passion extends beyond the local church and vulnerable newcomers whom we serve in the U.S. We’re passionate about who we are becoming, individually and as an organization. As we’re beginning to operationalize that passion, I think now is an excellent time and opportunity to step into this journey and behold God’s steady hand in shaping and revealing, with authentic diversity, this branch of his beloved family. – Travis Barnwell, MSW, Director of Case Management Services
- A thoughtful, faithful commitment to God’s leading through work grounded in prayer, spiritual discussion and obedient improvisation, as well as opportunities to develop and grow your individual faith.
- “Since working at World Relief, my relationships with God, with myself, with my family and others have been transformed beyond belief. Areas of my life which I struggled with in the past have been restored… I know who I am… all the assets in the world cannot compensate for such newly built confidence in myself and in Our Loving Father.” – Esther Pyram, Integral Mission and Church Empowerment Zone Manager, Haiti
If you’re one of the many people feeling like you need to do more for our broken world, here’s your chance. In the midst of the chaos, there is still hope — God has a plan and you can be a part of it. We are looking for people just like you who want to use their gifts and talents to make a real and tangible difference in our world and the lives of the suffering.
Will you apply to work at World Relief today?
What Is It Like to Intern with World Relief?
Real Responsibilities, Meaningful Experience
Are you looking for an internship where you can gain practical experience? Do you have a passion for justice or a desire to learn about issues faced by refugee and immigrants?
From the start, as a World Relief Chicagoland intern, you have real responsibilities. With that comes the opportunity to engage directly with the immigrants and refugees that the organization serves. Alongside World Relief’s full-time staff, interns get to build relationships and play an active role in meaningful work. We think that makes World Relief internships pretty special.
World Relief’s interns play an important role in executing tasks and facilitating activities throughout each department. Some interns support a program area like Education or Immigration Legal Services. Others learn about community engagement and marketing or use their data and research skills.
And when the internship is over, interns move forward with valuable skills and practical knowledge about immigrant and refugee services.
To help you imagine what your experience interning with World Relief could be like, we talked to Kaitlin Liebling. Kaitlin is a senior at Wheaton College who talked with us about what she learned through her internship with the Employment Services team and why she recommends that other students apply to intern with World Relief.
Meet Kaitlin, Former Intern
Hi Kaitlin! Could you start by telling me a little about yourself?
I’m currently a student at Wheaton College and I’m a double major in International Relations and Spanish. I’m currently in my fourth year and from West Chicago, Illinois originally.
When I came into Wheaton, I was unsure about what I wanted to study. I had no idea what International Relations was, but then I took one intro class in International Relations, and I loved it. I had always read the news a lot, been interested in what was going on outside of the U.S., so I landed on International Relations very quickly.
How did you get connected to World Relief and what interested you about interning with us?
I have known about World Relief my whole life from growing up in the area, but didn’t know much aside from that the organization helps refugees. Initially, I got an email that World Relief was looking for interns for the fall, and I needed an internship for my International Relations major requirements. I read over the intern responsibilities online, and I thought, “It sounds like a really cool opportunity, I need an internship, I like the mission of World Relief, it sounds really interesting to help refugees.” I applied and got the internship!
How did you end up on the Employment Services team?
On the application, you can put your top two department choices. I believe I put Employment Services and Immigration Legal Services, and Courtney [Internship coordinator at World Relief Chicagoland] and I talked in the interview [about the requirements for each team]. I thought, “Let’s do Employment Services. It sounds interesting. I’m not quite sure what that means, but let’s try that.” Then Courtney had me interview with Dan, my supervisor on the Employment team.
How would you describe the work of Employment Services?
The job of Employment Services is to get newly arrived refugees a job within their first three months in the country. It’s super important that they get a “survival” job right away. Luckily, the department has a lot of connections with employers in the area. We help them with preparing for their interview and for the American workplace, which often has different standards for everything from hygiene to preparing a resume. And then, in the future, Employment Services helps people who have been here for six months or a year to start down a career path with the ultimate goal that they make even more money beyond their “survival” job.
What are a few things you learned in your internship?
I have a better understanding of what it means to be a refugee now than I had before. I honestly don’t know if I had met a refugee before my internship. Obviously, I’m not a refugee and I haven’t experienced that for myself, but I have now talked with dozens of people from Afghanistan, Sudan, Myanmar, and all these other countries. I have gotten to know a lot of them on driving trips to the doctor, the food pantry, to get a permit at the DMV…
I feel like I understand better now how difficult a decision it was to leave their home country, and how much they miss their old lives. While they’re grateful to be in America, they also really miss their home countries. It wasn’t necessarily their choice to come to America, it was really for safety reasons a lot of the time. I understand now how difficult it is to adapt to a country that is so different from your home country. There are so many different customs and cultural things.
I really think it increased my understanding of their situation, my empathy for refugees, and my support for them… from having the one-on-one interaction.
What were your favorite things about interning? Why should other students consider joining World Relief as an intern?
The variety of the intern work I did was really cool and engaging. I did a lot of different things during my internship. I did office work, I helped manage and compile documents, and I created new documents for Career Pathways, but I also drove people places and helped with the job club as well. Every day, I came in for my internship not knowing what the day was going to look like and what I was going to do. I liked that!
I loved working with the Employment Services team. Everyone there was so nice and so supportive. I felt like I could ask anyone any question and they would be happy to help me out. We were really a team. It’s a good group of people that you would want to work with.
Where there any ways that you came to understand your faith and role in the world as a Christian differently as a result of this internship?
It put into practice the call from Christ and the Gospels to love the foreigner and welcome the stranger. You can see that throughout the Old Testament. That God exhibits special care for the foreigner because they can often be forgotten or left behind. And they often need extra resources to help them in their new country. World Relief does this practically. I think it’s been very rewarding work. And a way for me to see my faith lived out in practical ways to help people and welcome them to my country.
And through practical means! On the Employment Services team, I did lots of resume reviews. I got resumes that were 7, 8, 9 pages long from refugees. That’s what’s normal in their countries, but a way of loving them and welcoming them to America is to say, “This needs to be one page and one page only for most jobs.” That’s a way to serve them where I could see my faith lived out through my work.
Is there anything else you would like to share?
I would encourage students who are interested in World Relief or need an internship to really consider doing it with World Relief. It’s very rewarding work. You learn a lot about other cultures. You meet a wide variety of people. And I think especially with all of the Afghan refugees coming in, more help from other interns would be appreciated. If you have a heart for refugees, I hope that you would consider an internship with World Relief.
Apply to Intern Today
Find out how you can contribute your knowledge, talent, and passion for creating welcoming communities. Apply to be a World Relief intern today!
Not looking for more than an internship? Consider one of our open positions!
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