Rosa Sanchez '04
Intern in Action, February 2003

Sometimes the fourth time’s the charm. In her career exploration, Barnard student Rosa Sanchez worked at three different internships—at a music marketing company, at a law office and finally at a research center—before finding the perfect fit with her fourth. A Latin American Studies major who moved to New York from the Dominican Republic in 1992, Sanchez assumed that she would find work not in her major, but in one of her other areas of interest: business or public relations. But in the beginning of 2002, she found a listing at the Career Development Office for an internship that married all her interests: a position at the Americas Society, an organization in New York that works to promote an understanding of the political, economic, and social issues that define and challenge the Americas today. She began an internship there that spring.

"It was the only job I’ve ever seen that was open just to Latin American majors," she said. "While the [previous internship] experiences taught me a lot about what I would and would not like to do in a career, interning at the Americas Society I have found my passion - public relations with a cultural flair!" Sanchez said.

Working under alumna Charlotte Rogers ’01, who was, at the time, the assistant to the director of literature at the Americas Society, Sanchez contributed to their Central American Writer Series, focused on poetry and fiction readings by famed Central American writers. She conducted research on various writers, including Nicaraguan poets Ernesto Cardenal and Gioconda Belli, translated publicity materials from English to Spanish and maintained a database of key advertising opportunities for Society events.

Sanchez found that both her background and her studies prepared her for the responsibilities of the position. "It really all goes together. You interact with a bunch of writers and you have to have a sense of who is known, who is important," Sanchez said.

When Sanchez’s internship ended at the end of that summer, Rogers recommended to the director that Sanchez stay on as a part-time, paid publicity coordinator/intern for the writer series, which took place in the fall. In that position, Sanchez gained even more experience and interest in the field. Working six hours a week, she was responsible for inviting members of the press to attend events, writing and distributing press releases, arranging for book sales at various events and working to promote awareness for the Americas Society. Comfortable in her role as the organization’s main publicity representative, Sanchez has now increased her hours to ten a week in order to handle the publicity for their upcoming spring symposium on the Caribbean.

"I love my job!" says Sanchez, "I enjoy working with people and am constantly meeting and interacting with new people." After graduating from Barnard, Sanchez plans to continue working in public relations on a larger scale and hopes to attend business school.