Broadening Horizons
By Ming Hu, Graduate Assistant/Manager of the Burmese Project
I manage a Burmese refugee project with Ms. Long’s (VP of Strategic Initiatives) supervision and am given enough space to try my ideas. For example, Ms. Long, knowing my interest in refugee issues and in research, encouraged me to start a survey research project to learn the need gap among Burmese refugees. With her assistance at the beginning of the project, I was able to connect with many people in the community. I visited service providers, community leaders, and researchers to ask for advice and collaboration. I met many interesting and respectable people and received support for my project. These interactions with the community also broadened my personal network. Before I joined the International Center, most of my friends were from the IUPUI community. Knowing many nonprofit professionals in Indianapolis would seem unimaginable for an international student like me one year ago. But now it is happening.