Advocating for Global Change

Hi! My name is Tayva Anderson and I am majoring in Rhetoric, Writing & Public Discourse and minoring in Gender Studies and Politics. I am a rising junior and I am interning for The Borgen Project as a member of the PR/Marketing team in New York City. As a member of this team, my main responsibilities include creating and utilizing fundraising strategies, researching policies and targeting specific demographics through promotional materials, and collaborating with my team to formulate a larger marketing campaign.

The Borgen Project is a non-profit organization dedicated to addressing extreme global poverty by making it more of a priority within U.S. policy. The Borgen Project works to mobilize voters, garner congressional support for poverty reduction pieces of legislation, and educate constituents on the domestic benefits of providing global relief. One of The Borgen Project’s legislative priorities is protecting and growing the international affairs budget. As it stands, the international affairs budget comprises less than 1% of the overall budget while our country’s wealth only continues to grow exponentially. One of the fundamental principles of The Borgen Project is that providing relief to poorer communities across the globe is not only a moral responsibility of one of the largest global superpowers but is an investment that will return a stronger U.S. economy and a greater sense of national security. One of my favorite parts of this internship is working with an organization whose values align so closely with mine. The Borgen Project’s method of addressing extreme global poverty centers around compassion and collaboration which is something I greatly admire about this organization.

One of my favorite tasks is to research a specific policy, condense this information, and then translate this information into a digestible piece of media geared towards a specific audience. I really like this part of my internship because I think it’s one of the most important and universal processes in the marketing industry. For example, I’ve recently been working on the visuals for an informational presentation for some of our donors. Being a Rhetoric, Writing, & Public Discourse Major, I really like to explore the messages and narratives associated with different forms of communication and, in this position, I have been able to do so in a professional capacity. Ultimately, I really enjoy having the opportunity to employ my academic interests in a professional setting.

This internship has already been so informative and, because of the Whitman Internship Grant, I have also had the opportunity to live in New York for the summer which has been such a memorable and fun experience. I am incredibly grateful for everything I’ve been able to experience so far and I am so excited to continue pursuing a career in the nonprofit sector.