UWA student, Nozomi Suzaki, was looking for an opportunity to contribute to the local community when she applied for a McCusker Centre for Citizen internship.
She was matched with host organisation the Street Law Centre, a free legal service for people affected by homelessness, and completed a 100-hour summer internship where she supported the Identity Document App Review project.
“I wanted to contribute locally and reciprocate what I have received from the UWA community, and the larger community to which it belongs, since I first came to Australia,” said Nozomi, who is studying at UWA as an international student.
“Taking initiative in community service and assisting those in need are things I've been passionate about and involved in since before I started my studies here,”
In her internship, Nozomi reviewed and analysed existing information available through the Street Law Centre, including on their website, created resources for external support workers, and came up with potential actions to increase accessibility of information for the people the Centre serves.
She also created new video resources and assisted with social media content to promote the Centre’s resources.
“This work allowed me to improve my organisational skills while learning about the social and legal issues that the Street Law Centre's clients face,” Nozomi said.
“I came to recognise the importance of having basic identification documents, and learned how difficult it is to obtain basic identification if you don't have a birth certificate or citizenship, which is often the case for SLC clients,” she said.
“I am studying to attain a Master of Professional Accounting; as an intern who is not experienced in law, I hope I was able to bring new perspectives to this task,”
Anna Hitomi, Supervising Solicitor at the Street Law Centre, and Nozomi’s internship supervisor, said she had been a valued addition to the team.
“Nozomi is bright, hard-working and has produced some great resources for us,
“We are grateful for her contribution and her commitment to Street Law’s values,” Anna said.
Nozomi is grateful for the supportive environment that enabled her to learn while she served the community in the internship.
“Because of the language barrier, I was initially concerned about communicating with the lawyers I worked with, and I felt intimidated,
“They were, however, extremely nice and supportive; they double-checked that I understood instructions and suggestions, and they invited me to a Christmas party,
“Those encounters boosted my confidence in communicating in English and networking with professionals,” she said.
Nozomi said she would highly recommend the McCusker Centre for Citizenship internship program to other students, particularly fellow international students.
“Overall, this program provided me with a fantastic opportunity to gain work experience in Australia, deepen my understanding of social issues in the community to which I belong, and develop interpersonal skills that I can apply to my studies and future career opportunities,
“The McCusker Centre for Citizenship helped me find an opportunity to get involved in community service in this new country,
“Rather than applying to individual organisations on their own, this program provides students with an internship application process which, in my opinion, makes internships more accessible, especially to international students for whom English is a second language,”