Student Internship Spotlight: Lili Szobácsi

Class of 2024

Major:

Political Science and International Relations

Internship:

Hungarian Human Rights Foundation (HHRF)

Location:

Budapest, Hungary and Washington

Duration:

12 months

What were your major duties and responsibilities?

I helped document and report on the human rights conditions of Hungarian minority communities across Eastern Europe in Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine, Serbia, Slovenia and Croatia. I also met with leaders from Hungary and Romania to create bills focused around human rights advocacy that we shared with members of Congress here in the U.S. Our goal was to forge relationships between Hungarian minority politicians and American politicians with similar goals. As a Hungarian citizen in the U.S., it was amazing to see some of the inner workings of international collaboration and bridge the gap between my Hungarian roots and my interest in international politics.

What was the highlight of your internship experience?

While working in Hungary, I had the opportunity to meet with a group from the Foundation’s Reconnect program, which is essentially a birthright trip for those with Hungarian heritage to visit Hungary and reconnect with their roots. I spoke with one of the Reconnect groups from North America, and it was really interesting meeting people who are third and fourth-generation Hungarians and hearing how the Foundation had a direct impact on their lives. The work can get tedious and feel very small in the grand scheme, but coming face-to-face with some of the people we are impacting was incredible and put the work into a new perspective for me.

What has been the most helpful resource for you at Marymount?

The Center for Career Development has been a great resource for résumé preparation. Before I worked with them, I thought I had such an awesome résumé. I researched, put a résumé together and asked them to review it. Turns out, it was not as awesome as I thought! They provided me with templates and software to help me format it correctly and catch errors and mistakes that would make it look unprofessional. They even gave me a PDF to help me update my résumé as I get more experience. Thanks to the Center for Career Development, my résumé has become very competitive and I’m confident it will help me as I search for jobs.

What is your advice for students looking for internships?

Whether you don’t know where to apply or if you haven’t had the best luck getting an internship, reach out to your professors. No one will judge you — they are here to help! A lot of programs have a list of internships that people have done in the past or companies that are looking to take on students. Ensure you are utilizing all your resources and keeping up those connections.