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Becoming a part of the CDF-NY Family

Justin Mercado, Education Justice Policy Intern

April 16, 2020

Children’s Defense Fund-NY has been one of the best learning experiences I could have ever had. It is an organization advocating for people like me every single day. It is an office filled with influential individuals. I was shocked at the overall work environment and how supportive everyone was of each other. Meeting my supervisor Melissa was interesting as over time we became co-workers and friends. In addition, I was thankful that the rest of CDF’s staff welcomed me into the CDF family as well.

Through interning at this organization and working with Melissa I was exposed to the inner workings of New York City politics and education justice and policy. I created elected official profiles to help guide our advocacy, I wrote testimony on restorative justice and the over policing in New York City public schools, and I attended elected official meetings to advocate for the causes we believed in.

More importantly, CDF-NY took the time to highlight my passions and what made me happy.  I was able to write poetry in honor of International Women’s Day and share my love of writing with everyone in the office. Though my time at CDF-NY was cut short, I will forever cherish the memories and things that I learned and gained. I feel like the time I spent at CDF-NY was not only immensely beneficial to my growth as a person and a student, but as an advocate as well. I am thankful to have worked alongside such great people. I cannot wait to see what my future holds.

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