The Donia Human Rights Center (DHRC) announces its summer 2021 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, for the first time, DHRC is awarding the DHRC Belgrade Centre for Human Rights Fellowship, the DHRC Social Change Initiative Fellowship, and the DHRC Student-Initiated Summer Internship Fellowship to support internship experiences for LSA undergraduate students with a demonstrated interest in pursuing a career in human rights. These three new 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 new 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 fellowships help cover the students’ living expenses for the duration of their internships.
Read more about the selected 2021 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!
2021 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.
Glennie Webster
A.B. International Studies (International Security, Norms and Cooperation); A.B. French & Francophone Studies ‘21
Glennie Webster is a junior at the University of Michigan majoring in International Studies in the sub-plan of International Security, Norms, and Cooperation, and minoring in French and Francophone Studies. On campus, Glennie is involved in AIESEC, Freedom House Detroit, and the Michigan Journal of International Affairs. Glennie studied abroad for an entire academic year at the University of St. Andrews School of International Relations focusing on international relations theory. Glennie is passionate about advocacy work for the underrepresented and international humanitarian law. She is excited and thankful to be awarded this fellowship with the BCHR this summer, and looks forward to learning and developing herself through this highly respected organization.
2021 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.
Scarlett Aylsworth
A.B. International Studies (International Security, Norms and Cooperation) ‘20
Scarlett Aylsworth is a Fall 2020 graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies. She will be attending Harvard Law School in Fall 2021 with an eye toward international human rights law. Scarlett has a demonstrated interest in human rights, as evidenced by her previous work at the New York State Division of Human Rights Office of Sexual Harassment Issues and the Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs. As an undergraduate student, she participated in Sweetland’s Peer Writing Consultant Program, Michigan Foreign Policy Council, and Michigan Refugee Assistance Program. In her free time, she loves to travel, hike, swim, and practice Pilates.
2021 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.
Chloe Hale
A.B. Political Science; A.B. Social Theory and Practice ‘22
Internship with Torture Abolition Survivors Support Coalition (TASSC)
Chloe Hale is an undergraduate at the University of Michigan, double majoring in Political Science and Social Theory and Practice with a focus in human rights. She is a student in the Residential College and in the LSA Honors Program. Chloe worked as a research fellow for the Detroit Community-Engaged Research Program, as a research assistant in the Political Science Department, and as a volunteer at Freedom House Detroit. Chloe plans on writing a political science honors thesis her senior year that will look at the relationship between economic power and the standard with which states are held accountable for their human rights abuses. After graduation, she plans on attending graduate school and pursuing a PhD in political science. Currently, Chloe works as an intern at Torture Abolition Survivors Support Coalition (TASSC) International and will continue to work at TASSC during summer 2021 creating a country conditions database and conducting interviews with survivors.
2021 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..
Sustainable Food Procurement Internship
Lena Hoppe
A.B. Public Policy; minor, German ‘22
Lena Hoppe is a junior majoring in Public Policy with a focus in justice policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. She is passionate about environmental and social justice, along with human and labor rights. On campus, Lena has been involved with the Prison Creative Arts Project as a Workshop Facilitator and served as Philanthropy Chair for Beta Alpha Rho Pre-Law and Public Service Fraternity. She has previously interned for the Motown Museum, the Michigan Urban Farming Initiative, and the U.S. Department of State. In the future, Lena intends to pursue justice-oriented work through a career in public policy.
Fair Compensation Program FLA Internship
Allison Kelly
Master of Social Work ‘22
Allison Kelly is pursuing her Master’s Degree in Social Work at the University of Michigan, following the Program Evaluation and Applied Research pathway concentration. She has a BS in Sociology from Michigan State University, where she studied social science research methods and worked on an environmental justice research project related to the Flint Water Crisis. She is a proud AmeriCorps alum and has worked in various roles at a refugee resettlement agency in West Michigan, providing direct service to newly arrived refugees and developing programs to assist with cultural adjustment. Her experiences in both academic research and direct-service nonprofit work have inspired her to pursue an MSW and study how research can be applied to combat social injustice. Her research interests include socially just welfare policy, fair labor practices, and social stratification.
2021 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).
Hannah Martin
A.B. Sociology; minor, International Studies ‘22
Hannah Martin is a junior majoring in Sociology: Law, Justice and Social Change, and minoring in International Studies. Hannah has previously interned with the Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation which helps vulnerable populations in Costa Rica. She currently works as a field organizer and creative project lead for Beyond the Bomb which is a grassroots organization fighting to prevent nuclear war. Hannah also volunteers for Rank MI Vote fighting for election reform in Michigan. Driven by hope for a better world, she plans lifetime work in activism and human rights law, specifically focused on the rights of migrant workers, undocumented immigrants, and refugees. She is incredibly excited for her summer internship at Perseus Strategies, LLC.
