Where Are They Now? Pt. III

Interning with ODW

ODW interns play a crucial role in supporting and partnering with our Operations Team to do the work we do.  We love that they embody the passion for global development that’s at the heart of this movement, and bring their own skills and experiences to the table. Our internships are set up to be mutually beneficial, reciprocating the investment of time, energy, and resources that our volunteers so generously give.

This being said, we love checking in our past interns to see what they’re up to, and how they’ve transferred their experiences into contexts outside of ODW. Continuing our “Where Are They Now?” series, today we’re sharing an interview with past-intern, Haebin.

Meet Haebin

Tell us a little bit about yourself (where you’re from, what you do, fun fact about yourself, etc.)

My name is Haebin, and I’m from the greater Seattle area. I’m currently living in South Korea as an English teacher for a year! I’m laughing as I’m writing this because in my introduction for ODW I wrote, “I’m a recent UW grad with a degree in English— and no, I do not want to be an English teacher.”

Never say never.

A fun fact about me is that I love puns, but donut love vegetables. Get it?

What makes you passionate about global development?

It’s really easy to write off the term “global development” as a “someone-else-can-help” thing, because it sounds impersonal. That’s why I think grassroots movements like ODW are so important. They help you realize that you are the “someone else” that needs to put in work. I’m passionate about global development because I now understand how deep our disparities run. Not through numbers, but through people and their stories.

What did you do as an ODW intern?

As an Impact Editor intern, my main tasks were reviewing impact reports and creating/updating web pages. Other things included campaign pages, blog posts, and various social media platform posts. But I think my favorite thing was updating our letter board (as seen on ODW’s Instagram) for events and posts. It’s really therapeutic!

How did your experience as an ODW intern impact the work you do now?

Right now, I work at an English academy in South Korea as a native teacher. (I do a lot of lesson planning, and appreciate my past teachers for all the work I didn’t know they did.) Because I mainly teach kindergarteners, my job requires a lot of patience and empathy. I don’t know if I can say I use all the skills I learned at ODW, but my internship did help me decide to be here.

I grew up in the greater Seattle area, went to university there, and was planning to stay there for the rest of my life. I was blinded by comfort and familiarity. After interning for ODW I realized how dangerous ignorance is, especially with issues that depend on change. So when I teach my students, I teach them to look beyond themselves.They’re only six years old, so of course nothing profound, but just little things. Right now my ultimate goal for my students is that they grow up to be citizens of society with a heart to help others.

What was your biggest takeaway from your time interning with ODW? 

When I happened to come across the internship, it looked awesome, but I didn’t really know much about global development before working at ODW. In addition to everything I learned about global development, it was amazing to see how a grassroots movement really works. Before, when I heard “global development,” I would think of the big picture first, and feel overwhelmed and assume it’s someone else’s business to help. But ODW isn’t about other people. It’s about you and I, and what we can do now.

What’s your favorite memory/story from your time in the office? 

Each day in the office had its own fun story so it’s difficult to call one my favorite, and I’m not just saying this because they fed me cupcakes on my birthday! Oddly though, the one off the top of my head is so small and random. I would help Michelle with our Instagram stories, so we would airdrop a lot of things to each other. Every now and then, she would accidentally send random memes or motivational photos, and we’d have a good laugh about it. Oh! That, and Eugene’s “old man jokes” were always fun!

What would you say to anyone who is considering interning with One Day’s Wages?

Stop considering. You need to take this internship now. Everyone is willing to help and teach you, as long as you’re willing to learn. It’s amazing how much work this little team accomplishes with such a great attitude. Being able to see that and be a part of it close-up is surreal.