Name: Han Le
Major/Minor: Sociology with minors in Global Studies, Human Rights & Humanitarian Affairs, and Economics,
Hometown: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Year at UNL: Senior
Favorite book and why: Behind the Beautiful Forevers. It shows the nuances and complexities of the “third-world” or “developing countries”. Everyone who is pursuing a career in global development or something similar should read this book in order to disabuse themselves of naïve and oversimplified notions of the benevolent first-world charity mentality.
Favorite movie and why: The Help – social change comes in many different shapes, sizes, and forms. Sometimes, revolutions come from the most unexpected source and in the least anticipated places.
Why Global Studies? As an international student who has had the opportunity to experience many different forms of education – from big public school in a developing nation, to small private Episcopal boarding school in small Southern town, to a very large-non traditional community college in one of the most urban areas in the US, and finally to public research institution in medium-size middle-American city, I have always been drawn and exposed to people from diverse backgrounds and many walks of life. My Global Studies minor accompanies my Sociology major very well, as it helps add depth and insight into human relations and dynamics on a global scale. POLS160 was definitely a great intro class to global politics/international relations because it gave me the foundation and language to talk about some of the most fundamental theories and behavior between political actors.
Internship experience: This past spring I interned with Lutheran Family Services in Lincoln as a Community Engagement & Outreach Coordinator. I worked in their refugee resettlement program which was essentially a continuation of my career in immigration services and especially in outreach. I was able to build on my event planning, coordinating, communication, and networking skills from my previous work in a very similar position at Catholic Charities in Virginia. During my time at LFS, I provided help to my supervisor with the One Journey Festival event, took charge of volunteer onboarding, communicated with sponsors and donors, maintained working relationships with community partners and service providers for our clients, and coordinated the monthly cultural orientation series for our new arrival clients.
This fall semester I got to opportunity to work with the Asian Community and Cultural Center also in Lincoln as a grant writing intern. This is kind of new territory for me so I expect and am excited to learn a lot of new things and crucial skills in the nonprofit-development world. I am also hoping to maybe intern with NE Appleseed in the spring so that I can further explore the legal side of immigration and refugee advocacy. At this point I am trying to branch out as much as I can to decide what I like the most and where I will end up doing the most good for others while utilizing the best of my skillsets.
Post-Graduation Plans: I am going to shoot for grad school, internships, and jobs. I have learned over the years to never limit my options and with a GLST mindset, who knows where I will be this time next year! I would love to work in advocacy, nonprofit management, global development and education, consulting, etc. But as many SOCI and GLST pupils know, nothing is certain our field and we just need to embrace everything and anything that comes our way.