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2021 | 2020 | 2019

Summer 2021

Sofia Fasullo

Sofia Fasullo is a junior from Albany, NY double-majoring in Statistics and Geography and minoring in Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention. She has worked the past 3 years in Dr. Tim DeSmet and Dr. Alex Nikulin's Geophysics and Remote Sensing Lab, studying how landmines and other subsurface unexploded ordnances (UXOs) can be detected by magnetic sensors. This summer she will be working in collaboration with Villanova University and the Golden West Humanitarian Foundation and Institute of Technology in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on a robot which can carry a magnetic sensor to survey rural regions for UXOs. Sofia is honored and thrilled to be a recipient of the 2020 Bloom Family Scholarship.  After graduating ��ñ�� in Spring 2022 she aspires to become a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Analyst within the field of urban planning and development. She wants to incorporate her interest in genocide prevention to urban planning by focusing on building community resilience through projects such as affordable housing initiatives that help lessen economic inequality.

Sofia is also involved on campus as a director for TEDx��ñ��University, organizing speaker events, as well as a member of the ��ñ�� Running Club and the ��ñ�� chapter for the Association of Women in Mathematics (BingAWM).

Areas of Study:

Majors: Geography; Statistics
Minors: Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention

Location:

Cambodia

Host Organization:

Villanova University and the Golden West Humanitarian Foundation

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Isabella Cognata

"For my internship this summer, I will be working for the United States Youth Group as a
policy intern. I will be specifically working with their foregin policy advocacy team and do
research on genocide prevention policies. Throughout this internship I will study genocide
prevention policies, present my ideas, write legistlation, and lobby lawmakers to enact change. With this opportunity, I hope that I will be able to start making a difference."

Areas of Study:

Major: Philosophy, Politics, and Law
Minors: Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention

Location:

United States

Host Organization:

United States Youth Group

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Cole Parker

"This summer I will be interning with the Auschwitz Institute for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities. In doing so, I will be assisting with the Mechanisms of Atrocity Prevention (MAP) project that has been formulated by ��ñ��'s own Institute for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention. I'm excited to explore, compare and contrast the methodologies that nations across the world have developed in working towards atrocity prevention. As I hold an overlying interest in education reform - relating to the teaching of identity-based violence, I hope to further my understanding of what creates an engaging and effective learning experience when dealing with such a difficult subject matter.

Areas of Study:

Major: Political Science
Minors: Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention

Location:

United States

Host Organization:

Auschwitz Institute for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities

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Summer 2020

Madeleine Maclean

"This summer I will be interning at the Refugee Family Reunification Law Clinic at Sheffield-Hallam University in the UK. At the clinic, I'll be working with refugees to help reunite their families. Alongside the clinic's attorneys and staff, I'll be helping refugees build their cases for applying for family reunion so that the family members they had to leave behind will be able to join them in the UK. Through this internship, I hope to use the knowledge and skills I've gained through the GMAP program to help those whose lives have been upended by conflict and atrocity."

Areas of Study:

Major: Political Science
Minors: Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention and Spanish

Location:

United Kingdom

Host Organization:

Refugee Family Reunification Law Clinic at Sheffield-Hallam University

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Benjamin Peterfreund

"This summer, I will be interning at Together We Remember. Together We Remember is a nonprofit dedicated to transforming remembrance of past genocides, atrocities, and other acts of identity-based violence into meaningful action to achieve the promise of 'Never Again.' One of the main themes from my GMAP classes has been the memory of mass atrocities: the politics of memory, the different memory practices of mass atrocities, and what memory even means, have been core questions of my studies. One of my main takeaways from my time with I-GMAP has been the way in which past atrocities are remembered, and the way in which past atrocities impact the present. From my internship with Together We Remember, I would love to use what I have learned in class into practice, to learn more about the ways in which memory organizations preserve memory, and to be a part of preserving memory of past mass atrocities."

Areas of Study:

Majors: Philosophy Politics and Law / Philosophy
Minor: Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention

Location:

United States

Host Organization:

Together We Remember

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Matthew Rozansky

"The Simon Wiesenthal Government Advocacy Internship Program teaches interns how to use public policy and advocacy to stop anti-Semitism, bigotry, and stereotyping and ensure the proper treatment of minority communities. I will be placed with local and state legislators to gain hands on experience about policymaking. I will also be paired with a mentor who helps shape frontline policy decisions. There will also be weekly workshops and meetings with elected officials, lobbyists, coalition builders, and high-level community leaders. in order to teach interns how to be effective activists. This internship will allow me to understand how my local and state governments handle and address prejudice and discriminatory practices which if left unchecked can lead to genocides. Education about strategies and protocols used by a government to prevent atrocities was a very important aspect for me while looking for an internship. My goal is to gain a practical understanding of how warning signs are discovered and handled and how plans of action are formulated and implemented."

Areas of Study:

Major: Philosophy, Politics and Law

Minor: Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention

Location:

New York City

Host Organization:

Simon Wiesenthal’s Centers Government Advocacy Internship Program

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Summer 2019

Linda Zheng

Linda Zheng is currently a junior double majoring in Philosophy, Politics, and Law (PPL) and Environmental Studies, and minoring in Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention. This upcoming summer she will be participating in two programs which will collaboratively forward transitional justice and commemorative activities for the Armenian Genocide.

As part of her summer research, she will be creating a podcast, “Stone, Wood, and Fire: Remembering the Armenian Genocide in Yerevan and ��ñ��,” to collect oral histories and research the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute in Yerevan and the memorial at St. Gregory’s Church in ��ñ��. To facilitate this research, she will also be working abroad this summer in Armenia at the Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC), through American Council’s Overseas Professional and Intercultural Training Program (OPIT).

This internship will be invaluable in exposing her to the transitions that are occurring as the country builds up its economic sector and will help to reveal the relationship between environmental protection and cultural preservation in Armenia. As a Buddhist, genocide prevention and transitional justice has always intrigued her because of the important steps they take to reduce widespread suffering. Linda hopes that by conducting her research abroad in Armenia, she will begin to understand the diverse ways in which commemoration has been realized in the past and present, and how it can
continue to improve in the future.

Areas of Study:

Majors: Philosophy Politics and Law; Environmental Studies
Minors: Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention; Russian

Location:

��ñ��, New York & Yerevan, Armenia

Host Organization:

(FPWC) -

Linda Zheng received this award in honor of Dr. Harold Richter '78.

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Mauricio Montes

"From May 20 - July 27, 2019, I will be conducting research on the mental health of individuals in Ukraine. I will be examining the practices Ukrainians engage in to cope with the stressors of living in political and social upheaval and how they adjust to these stressors and respond to pervasive trauma in their day-to-day life. Ukraine has a diverse population which has experienced political unrest and general upheaval since it became in independent country; as a part of my research I will be visiting Kiev, Odessa, Mukachevo, and Chernivtsi.

I hope to be able to produce work that can be used to give back to the Ukrainian community as well as contribute to communities that have also experienced trauma at large."

Areas of Study:

Majors: Human Development; Psychology
Minors: Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention; Forensic Health; Scholars

Location:

Kiev, Odessa, Mukachevo, and Chernivtsi in Ukraine

Host Organization:

NSF funded project through Dordt University -

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Julia Donnelly

"I am very grateful to be interning with Senator Maire Devine of Ireland’s National Parliament on behalf of the Bloom Family Summer Internship in Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention. Senator Devine is a member of the Sinn Fein Party, which was heavily involved in the Northern Irish Peace Process and continues to advocate for a peaceful Ireland in the wake of the Brexit border crisis. By interning with Senator Devine’s office, I will contribute to Irish efforts to confront their history of religious strife and gain invaluable insight into how similar atrocities may be prevented in the future."

Areas of Study:

Major: Political Science
Minors: Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention; Human Rights; Global Studies

Location:

Dublin, Ireland

Host Organization:

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Gavin VanHorn

"This summer I'll be interning in Russia with the GULAG History Museum, an organization trying to preserve the memory of political and societal oppression in the U.S.S.R. in order to avoid such horrors going forward. I'm by no means an expert on the subject, but all I've ever wanted to do is get out in the world and learn about what it has to offer, good or bad. 'The bad' seems to be the focus for now, but learning about it isn't a negative thing in itself. The Museum has a noble goal to make a better future, and I want to take part in that.

While I enjoy a number of different subjects, history is one of my favorites. Pessimists might see the study of history as the study of things long gone, worthless essentially. But I know this isn't the case. The trouble and beauty of history is that it repeats itself, for better or for worse. When it comes to genocide and mass atrocity - the epitomes of moral failure in human society - new iterations will occur unless we step up. In learning about and participating in international human rights advocacy, that's exactly what I am going to do. Step up."

Areas of Study:

Majors: Political Science; Philosophy Politics and Law; Spanish Language and Literature
Minors: Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention; Human Rights; Global Studies

Location:

Moscow, Russia

Host Organization: