Sara Snyder of Saint Francis Speaks on Her Time Interning with RAINN (Rape Abuse Incest National Network)

Where did you intern this fall and what were some of your favorite projects?

I interned at RAINN (Rape Abuse Incest National Network) on the National Sexual Assault Hotline. My favorite thing I do is being on the online hotline. The online hotline is a crisis hotline for people who have been impacted by sexual assault; rape, assault, sexual harassment, abuse, etc. The hotline reached an exponential amount of visitors during my time because of the Kavanaugh hearings and our wait times increased to nearly 8 hours with all of the visitors (on average the wait time is 1-2 hours). I loved being on the hotline and playing a role in a visitor’s healing process, it really made me feel like I made an impact on someone’s life. My other project I loved was being the point of contact for our volunteer program. It really made my heart warm to see all of the people that wanted to volunteer on the hotline and also make an impact.

What did you learn in your classes?

I learned a lot in the Internship Seminar class. I honestly never knew how much networking meant for finding a job or anything really. I barely even knew what networking meant, and now I am going to network events a few times a month to meet new people.

What did you do in your free time?

One of my favorite things I did was I got to go to the Kavanaugh hearings during the Opening Statements! I also made a bucket list of everything I wanted to do while I was here. It ranged from going to events at the Kennedy Center, to street festivals, to fun clubs, to seeing monuments and museums. I was even able to get a White House tour while I was here. There’s so much history here, oh and good food!

Recommendations for future interns

Do everything and anything, and never say no to opportunities. Eventbrite (an app) will be your best friend to finding free events all over the city.

How did your internship lead you to being employed?

Almost everyone at my office started off on the Online Hotline and have moved up from there. Whether they were an intern, staffer or volunteer; they all started on the hotline helping visitors. I have been offered to come back at anytime and possibly join the team because of the hard-work I have put in this semester. I also was able to network in my office and one of the supervisors knows a connection in my hometown to get me a foot in the door. I also believe that working with the type of community I want to practice law in will benefit me a lot when it comes to applying for jobs in the legal field in the future.