The Donia Human Rights Center (DHRC) is pleased to announce its summer 2022 fellows who will participate in internships with organizations focusing on human rights. The Director of the Donia Human Rights Center, Professor of Law Steven Ratner notes, “Experiential learning beyond the classroom augments and helps students apply what they’re learning. It’s especially useful in a vast field like human rights. Through our fellowships, students learn about human rights career paths and how human rights work looks in practice.”
This year DHRC is awarding the DHRC Belgrade Centre for Human Rights Fellowship, the DHRC Social Change Initiative Fellowship, DHRC Syria Justice and Accountability Centre Fellowship, the DHRC Student-Initiated Summer Internship Fellowship, and the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims Summer Internship to support internship experiences for LSA undergraduate students with a demonstrated interest in pursuing a career in human rights. These awards will support students working at leading non-governmental organizations abroad and in the United States that address a range of human rights issues, from ethnic conflict to the abolition of torture.
Along with these fellowship opportunities, DHRC continues to foster its established partnerships with the U-M President’s Advisory Committee on Labor Standards and Human Rights (PACLSHR) for the Fair Labor Association Fellowship and the Program in International and Comparative Studies (PICS) to support the DHRC/PICS/Perseus Strategies International Human Rights Fellowship. The DHRC continues its partnership with the Social Science Korea Human Rights Forum to award the Korea-Michigan Human Rights Research Fellowship to support summer research on human rights in South Korea.
The fellowships help cover the students’ living expenses for the duration of their internships.
Read more about the selected 2022 DHRC student fellows below. DHRC wishes all our fellows a productive and insightful summer as they learn and explore interdisciplinary career possibilities within human rights through their research and internship experiences!
2022 DHRC Belgrade Centre for Human Rights Fellowship
Awarded to U-M LSA undergraduate students to intern with the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights in Belgrade, Serbia.
Isabella Preissle
AB International Studies (International Security, Norms and Cooperation); A.B. Political Science ‘23
Isabella Preissle is an Ann Arbor, MI native. She is excited about the opportunity to be able to work in Serbia with the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights this summer as a fellow. She is a rising senior at the university, dual majoring in Political Science and International Studies with a focus on International Security, Cooperation, and Norms. On-campus, she is a student participant in the Donia Human Rights Center Fellowship program and is hoping to use her human rights education to pursue Human Rights Law or work at a non-profit organization such as the Belgrade Center. Outside of class, she is a sprinter for the club track team, an LSA representative in the CSG, a sister in the Pre-Law sorority Delta Gamma Phi, and works part-time at a local business in town. She is thrilled to be working with the Centre this summer at such a pivotal time in the field of human rights.
2022 DHRC Social Change Initiative Fellowship
Awarded to U-M LSA undergraduate students, recent graduates, or graduate students to intern with the Social Change Initiative in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Ciara Nolan
AB Political Science, International Studies ‘22
Ciara Nolan is a graduating senior from Lake Orion, Michigan, double majoring in Political Science and International Studies. Throughout her time at the University of Michigan, she focused on European politics, particularly the European Union. These studies along with familial ties to the region inspired the subject of her senior honors thesis, which examined how the UK and Ireland integrated into the EU using a game-theoretic analysis. She hopes to build a career in US-EU relations and policy, and is excited to begin work with EU policy through the Social Change Initiative Fellowship!
On campus, Ciara is involved with MUNUM, which hosts a Model UN conference for high school students, and WeListen, a bipartisan discussion group.
2022 DHRC Student-Initiated Summer Internship Fellowship
Awarded to U-M LSA undergraduate students with a demonstrated interest in pursuing a career in human rights to work with an international human rights institution or organization identified by the student.
Ayla Kaufman
AB Public Policy ‘24
Internship with U.S. Department of State, Libya External Office (Embassy) housed at the U.S. Embassy to Tunisia
Ayla Kaufman is thrilled to receive the Donia Human Rights Student-Initiated Summer Internship Fellowship to support her upcoming internship with the U.S. Department of State. She is very excited to be a Public Affairs Intern with the Libya External Office (Embassy) housed at the U.S. Embassy to Tunisia. Ayla is from the Chicago suburbs and is a rising junior majoring in public policy with minors in the environment and modern Middle Eastern and North African studies. In summer 2021, she virtually studied Arabic language and culture in Ibri, Oman as a Department of State Critical Language Scholar. At Michigan, she is the VP of Policy for the Michigan Foreign Policy Council and Managing Editor for the Michigan Journal of International Affairs. In the future, Ayla hopes to pursue a career in humanitarian crisis management, conflict resolution, and diplomacy.
2022 DHRC/PACLSHR/Fair Labor Association Fellowship
Awarded to U-M undergraduate or graduate students to intern with the Fair Labor Association in Washington, D.C..
Fair Compensation Summer Manufacturing Internship
Nina Naffziger
AB International Studies ‘24
Nina Naffziger is a rising junior at the University of Michigan majoring in International Studies, focusing on International Norms, Security, and Cooperation, and minoring in Middle East Studies, focusing on history and geopolitics of archaeology. Outside of the classroom at U-M, she is a tour guide with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, part of the Sigma Iota Pho International Studies Honor Society, the Phi Delta Phi Pre-Law Fraternity, and Co-President of the University of Michigan History Club. She is very interested in global women’s rights law and broader human rights law and intends to pursue a career in the legal field after graduation from the University of Michigan.
2022 DHRC/PACLSHR/Fair Labor Association Fellowship
Awarded to U-M undergraduate or graduate students to intern with the Fair Labor Association in Washington, D.C..
Fair Compensation Summer Agriculture Internship
Hungyu Yu
MA in International and Regional Studies (MIRS)
Hungyu Yu received her BA in communications from China Agricultural University and finished her first MA in communications and Journalism from Beijing Foreign Studies University. She is currently a graduate student in regional studies at the University of Michigan. She has a passionate interest in solving societal issues by using computational methods—and wants to focus her academic studies in the area of human rights, inequality, and public opinions.
Syria Justice and Accountability Centre Fellowship
Awarded to LSA undergraduate students to intern with the SJAC in Washington, D.C., and including executive director Mohammad Al Abdallah.
Sumayah Basal, Political Science ‘24
Sumayah Basal is a current Junior studying political science and minoring in Middle East studies. On-campus she is involved in the Michigan Foreign Policy Council as editor of National Security, Social Chair for Roosevelt at Michigan where she also works on Human Rights Policy, and a writer for the Middle East department for the Michigan Journal of International Affairs. She is extremely excited to advance her interests in Middle Eastern Politics and International law during her time at the SJAC this summer. After graduation, she hopes to work in international politics or law with a focus on the Middle East.
International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims Summer Internship
Awarded to LSA undergraduate students to intern with the IRCT in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Zeynep Koseoglu, AB History of Art, International Studies
Zeynep Koseoglu is a sophomore in the Honors Program at the University of Michigan, majoring in History of Art and International Studies with a sub-plan in Comparative Culture and Identity. She is involved in the Michigan Journal of International Affairs and Helicon History of Art Undergraduate Society. Zeynep is from Turkey and has research interests in nationalism, memory studies, and post-conflict societies. She studied abroad in Bilbao, Spain during the summer of 2021 and executed research on the relationship between mobilization to violence in the Basque Country and the collective memory of suffering. She plans to conduct her senior thesis on a similar subject and is looking forward to gaining further hands-on experience through her work with the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims.
2022 Korea-Michigan Human Rights Research Fellowship
Award advanced LSA undergraduates take a seminar course on human rights (taught in English) at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul and conduct research on human rights in Korea
Fatima Lagunas
AB International Studies ‘24
Fatima Lagunas (she/her/hers) is currently a junior majoring in International Studies with a focus in Global Environment and Health (GEH). Fatima proudly identifies as a first-generation Latina from Chicago! She hopes to be an example for her Latinx community through her journey in higher education. Outside of her academics, Fatima enjoys reading, listening to music, spending time with family and friends, and exploring the best places to eat!
2022 DHRC/PICS/Perseus Strategies International Human Rights Fellowship
Awarded to LSA undergraduate students to intern with Perseus Strategies, LLC in Washington, D.C., and its managing director, the renowned international human rights lawyer, Jared Genser (U-M Law '01).
Lauren Doyle, A.B. International Studies ‘23
Lauren Doyle is a rising senior from Milford, Michigan studying International Studies on the International Security, Norms, and Cooperation track. She has a particular interest in international human rights, law, and gender violence issues. During her time at the University of Michigan, she has been involved with SAPAC, Delta Gamma Phi, the Prison Creative Arts Project, and Camp Kesem. She has been grateful to gain experience interning with Samaritas' New Americans Program and volunteering on the SafeHouse Shelter's Crisis Helpline in the past. She looks forward to gaining experience from the experts at Perseus Strategies this summer and working towards a career of helping others.
Emmanuel Orozco Castellanos, A.B. International Studies Fall ‘22
Emmanuel Orozco Castellanos is from Jalisco, Mexico. He has been a delegate at the 61st and 63rd United Nations Commissions on the Status of Women (CSW), and more recently, at the 10th UN Youth Forum. He is a volunteer translator at Freedom House Detroit and has worked as a bilingual paraprofessional for EDUstaff. Last summer, he interned at AsylumConnect and at the Alliance for Citizen Engagement. He has also worked as a research assistant at the U-M English Language Institute, and the U-M Department of Comparative Literature.
Emmanuel transferred to the University of Michigan from Henry Ford College in Dearborn. On campus, he is involved in the Global Scholars Program, the Comprehensive Studies Program, and the Michigan Journal of International Affairs. Emmanuel is currently studying abroad in Geneva, Switzerland, working on a project about the Convention Against Torture. In the future, he hopes to pursue a career in human rights. In his free time, he enjoys painting, cooking new recipes, and stargazing.
