Senior Tara Silberg says she can chalk up her successful season of two professional experiences to being “in the right place at the right time.”

The human services major and Jewish studies minor intended on doing service work in Israel this summer, but COVID-19 put her travel plans to rest. When campus closed this spring, she decided to begin searching for online opportunities instead.

“As someone on the Executive Board of the Gesher student organization at the Hillel of UD, I have been highly active in Facebook groups for Jewish students, in particular one that focuses on student leaders within the Jewish community,” Silberg says. “For that reason, I stumbled upon a post advertising for students to apply for the Government Advocacy Internship Program with the Simon Wiesenthal Center in New York City.”

Silberg read the program description, which promoted “advocacy to combat antisemitism and ensure proper legal and de-facto treatment of minority communities.”

“I decided at that sole moment that it was the calling for me,” says Silberg. “I am someone that is constantly studying how to prevent mistreatment of people. What better position could I find than interning with those that work to do that every day in their job?”

Interning for NYC Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez, her remote tasks keep her busy from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. She maintains a daily newsletter of four things to be sent out to the office: the morning headlines in NYC, the latest news on Council Member Rodriguez on social media, transportation updates and any other must-read information. She also is included on Zoom conference calls with her co-intern and office members, as well as virtual calls with the NYC Council to write a briefing for her office by the end of the day.

“These calls could be hearing about COVID-19 requests from constituents in NYC, the Department of Social Services explaining data on food benefits and struggles, the NYC Department of Education telling the councilmembers about school reopenings and so on,” says Silberg.

Additionally, she meets each Wednesday night with elected officials, top lobbyists, coalition builders and high-level Jewish communal leaders to build skills for working with constituents.

Silberg says the virtual internship has its advantages, especially when it comes to health and safety concerns. “Back in April, they told me that I would be working within the office,” she says. “To be honest, I was kind of nervous about the idea of working in New York City—the worst place to be mid-pandemic at the time—so I can’t say I was upset about having to work remotely in the end.”

But working remotely isn’t always ideal for a high achiever. “The greatest challenge of this particular internship being remote would be not having enough work to do,” Silberg says. “As an honors student, I have always been taught to use my abilities to their greatest potential; unfortunately, that wasn’t always possible with only online meetings. Working with the NYC Council could have provided me with so many in-person experiences and interactions with constituents. But I know this is only the beginning of such work.”

In addition to having inside information on work being done on the front lines to combat problems, Silberg cherished the opportunity to join an organization advocating for Jewish people.

“I feel that it’s important to teach others about Judaism in order to show them what is so often discriminated against,” she says. “According to the New York Times, Jewish people were the victims in more than half of the 428 hate crimes in New York City last year; that’s a crazy number if you ask me. The discrimination isn’t anything new though. It’s been less than 80 years since the horrors of the Holocaust. I find that teaching others with high positions in New York City can help them spread the knowledge that learning is key in making change, no matter the cause.”

Silberg urges other UD students to consider expanding their education by pursuing courses outside their comfort zone. “My favorite class throughout my almost four years is Comparative Genocide,” she says. “It took me beyond my studies in the Holocaust and shed light on other genocides that took place over the years in Rwanda, Cambodia and so on,” she says. “There are so many people throughout history that have been targeted for their religious sect or political views. Learning about Judaism and other religions is important to prevent future genocides and ethnic cleansing. If we can educate others on why people are just people like everyone else, would there be such great hate throughout the world?”

If you’d think that a full-time internship would be enough for Silberg this summer, you’d be wrong. After participating in the Program Development and Education course with Dr. Allison Karpyn, she and another honors student created a survey for clients of Lori’s Hands to gather feedback on the program. (The Newark nonprofit organization matches students with individuals living with chronic illness to offer in-home support.) Silberg and her partner were then asked to become part of the Center for Research in Education and Social Policy (CRESP) team over the summer to continue their work.

Silberg conducts interviews with seniors over the phone, entering data from the conversations into a folder where the team can access and analyze using a coding program called Dedoose. At the end of the project, Silberg and others will be summarizing the information to be published in a scholarly source to help Lori’s Hands and other similar organizations around the country make improvement to their work. “In my opinion, it’s very important when working directly with people that there are always changes being made for the benefit of those in the program,” she says. “A project like this will do just that.”

As she nears the end of her time at UD, Silberg hopes she can one day be a mentor for young students like her that need guidance. She puts those counseling skills into practice now by advising current students who are struggling to find work in their industry of interest to leave no stone unturned in their pursuits. “Try everything you can while you have the chance,” she says. “Not to say that you should overwhelm yourself—been there, done that—but if you are given an opportunity to get a taste of what you think you like now, take it. Try different areas within what you know as your passion and try even more if you’re not clear on a passion yet. Watch a seminar on something you wouldn’t normally have the time for, talk to a professional connection… the possibilities are endless.”