My name is Miriam Ellis and I am entering my second year in an International Development and Service master’s program. While my undergraduate career focused mostly on Eastern Africa, it was my internship opportunities that sparked my curiosity in international development, especially education.

After graduating college with a global studies major coupled with my communication arts & sciences degree I decided to get more experience in the ‘real world’. This decision lead me to work at various organizations in Washington, DC. While gaining enriching experience, I found that I was more passionate about working as an advocate. Specifically, working with people to improve their own communities and personal welfare. Therefore the idea of graduate school became a reality for the next step in my career.

The research for the first year of my program focused on the MENA region, social activism, and non-profits/non-governmental organizations. While, I have always been interested in the culture of the MENA region, there was a lot that I did not know about the people, governments, and way of life. The last year of school has been a crash course and reignited my passion to learn more about the people and countries within the MENA region. It was with that desire that I found EPIC and this summer internship. During this internship I hope to learn more about the structure and functioning of a nonprofit organization and how social media can be used as a tool for success.