To experience the inner workings of a well-established organization in the capital of non-profits was an experience that I will never forget. I want to start of first by expressing my sincere gratitude to LoYAC for providing me with this experience and the opportunity to learn in one of the most dynamic cities. My role at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, ADC, was multi-faceted to say the least. I was given the chance to participate in the practice and execution of a non-profit in its maturity with a proud history of achieving its goals of preserving Arab culture and promoting the human rights.

As part of the media team, I was tasked with writing several press releases which can be found on adc.org. This necessitated an objective use of words and phrases, as a simple misconstruction of a sentence could potentially attract the disapproval of certain facets of the dynamic American-Arab community. I also served the task that fell within the prevue of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee Research Institution. Under that, I was responsible for keeping track with congressional happenings on Capitol Hill and senate hearings. I was asked to produce reports summarizing events that would affect both Arab-Americans and Arabs through American foreign policy.

All in all the internship provided me with skills necessary in the development and growth of a non-profit that has fallen from its prime but with all the intention of revitalizing itself and growing to what is used to be. It is well-known that the non-profit sector “inside the beltway” is one of the most vigorous and dynamic in the world. As such, I was acquainted with connections from some of the big institutions there including, Susan G Komen for the Cure, the National Geographic, Teach for America, the Foundation Center, NEA and others. I also got the opportunity to meet with staff from Congress, the Senate,Institute for Peace, the White House and the CIA. Overall, it was an extremely valuable learning experience one that cannot be understated for its importance in the development of my professional career.