A day in the life of a Scripps College Intern at the IRC

Hey guys! It’s Lily here to give you a little taste of what an average day at the IRC looks like as a Development and Legal intern. Today I arrived at the office with my pastry and coffee ready to work. I first visited with the legal team and then received assignments from different members according to what was needed from me today. Everytime I get the opportunity to fill out a new type of application, waiver, or benefit, I get to learn something new! Today the learning curve was how to file an N-400 for a client that has gone by multiple different names on their various legal documents. 

After working on that case, I began to help Stephanie Perlat with another form, when suddenly we learned from Rosa Ramirez that a client at the IRC needed help! He had made it all the way to his immigration interview, studied hard and passed all of the questions, when he was told that he needed to set up an IRS payment plan. Unfortunately this meant that the legal staff needed to all start over. After the failed interview, he had been unsuccessfully trying to set up the plan. Rosa told me that he would be coming in 5 minutes, and asked me to help him create an IRS payment plan! No one in the office had ever set one up before but luckily the APU  social work  intern Mayrely was able to find some information to help me out. 

After figuring out how to navigate the website and create an account, we then waited on hold with the IRS. Almost 2.5 hours later he was finally able to get a payment plan in place! After a quick high-five, he left the office and we continued to work on his naturalization paperwork. 

My favorite thing about the amazing staff at the Immigration Resource Center is the way in which each staff member truly cares for each person who walks through the door. The IRC is not a legal clinic, but truly a resource center! When I first started interning here I was told that here at the IRC “it’s all about love”. It might sound cliche but, week after week, I have found that love permeates every aspect of the work here. Whether it be sitting with someone on the phone with someone for an hour, buying diapers, helping people feed or house their families or, of course, helping clients receive legal counsel, the IRC strives to meet the needs of the whole person. I am so grateful to have been able to learn from Jean, Jonathan, Rosa, Stephanie, Bree, Gabby, and Samantha: people who really, truly care.