Leo Zhu /
Housing Justice for All /
New York, NY, USA /
My internship with Housing Justice for All (HJ4A) has started to operate in full swing. As a legal research and communications intern, I had expectations about the type of work I would be doing. Put simply, I thought I’d be looking at historic and existing housing policy while helping to manage the organization’s internal and external communications, and I’m extremely happy to say that my expectations have not only been met but have been far exceeded.
Working with Cea and Sumathy, the coalition campaign coordinator and organizer, respectively, has been a great privilege and honor. They are both very driven and devoted leaders, and I’ve derived a great deal of inspiration from my work with them. Another intern named Nick is working with us and he is a graduate from NYU Law, making our team of four past and present students of NYU!
I’ve found myself in an environment that fits perfectly. The brunt of my research and communications work has been independent. I conduct data analysis of surveys such as the American Community Survey and read various articles and briefs on statewide housing policy. I have also created social media “toolkits,” which required getting familiar with graphic design using Canva for the first time.
There seems to be the perfect balance of teamwork and cooperation involved in the process as well. While I notice myself building a more focused and independent work ethic, I’m seeing improvements in my teamwork and communication as well, which is great!
I’m super excited to continue working with Cea, Sumathy, and Nick this summer. We’re currently working on fundraising for a summer leadership development program that the coalition is organizing as a base-building initiative, and we’re gearing up to draft a major housing report that we plan to release by the end of summer–which, to my excitement, will involve a great deal of research.