Introducing the 2018 Ethnic Young Adult interns

Joyce Choi

My name is Joyce Choi, and I attend the Korean Church of Atlanta UMC which is part of the North Georgia Annual Conference. I’m studying political science at the University of Georgia. My internship placement for the summer is with the NAACP, and I’ve been told that I’ll be taking part in researching, planning, and completing a project on an issue about their legislative agenda. I want to go into social justice law and think this will be an excellent opportunity to learn about this aspect of social justice, especially with the state our nation is in right now. I believe that social justice and my faith go hand in hand which makes the internship valuable in furthering my walk with Christ along with pursuing my passions. I hope to get close and bond with my community here and experience the city where the change takes action! I’m eager to attend the seminar and be a part of my placement site. I believe that God has placed me there for a reason and am looking forward to all that He has planned.

Lucas Toledo

My name is Lucas Toledo, I’m 22 years old, and I was born in the small town of Cunha in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Since August 2007, I have been a member of the Central Methodist Church in Cunha that is part of the third ecclesiastical region of the Methodist Church in Brazil. By the grace and mercy of God, I am studying at the Summit International School of Ministry, a Bible school connected to Times Square Church in New York City. My workplace is Creation Justice Ministries, a ministry affiliated with hundreds of Christian churches in the U.S. that seeks to fight for the environment and bring environmental awareness to communities in general.

The experience that most certainly developed my vision of social justice was to be one of the founders of the Association Promoting Knowledge. This institution was born out of the desire of people committed to the social issue of bringing quality education to poor children to the most violent and impoverished neighborhood in my hometown. We were able to start a series of free classes like music, English, math classes and so on. For this summer, I hope to grow and learn more about the concepts of social justice, human rights, mercy, grace and love. Church and Society is one of the most respected and serious Christian institutions struggling for social justice in the United States. I hope to learn at every moment how to make the Kingdom of Christ become effective and present in the life of every human being on this earth. 

Roy Koech

Hi! My name is Roy Koech, and I’m a member of Russell Trinity United Methodist Church, which is located in Russell, Kansas, and is a part of the Great Plains Annual Conference! I currently attend Fort Hays State University, a small school located in Hays, Kansas, where I am working toward a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with a minor in political science. The ultimate goal for myself is to work in immigration, but whether that means starting off at a nonprofit organization immediately after graduation or entering law school is yet to be decided (haha).

I’ll be spending my summer working under the guidance of the Rev. Jeania Ree Moore, the director for civil and human rights advocacy at Church and Society. I’ll be working on advocating for public policies that reflect the values of the United Methodist Church concerning immigration and criminal justice reform.

Several past experiences have shaped me for this work, but the one that stands out in my mind is my time with Micah Corps, a 10-week long social justice internship in the Great Plains Conference. Based on the scripture Micah 6:8, “Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God,” it was a great way to learn about our United Methodist values, social justice issues, and the connection between the two. I hope to continue that progression throughout the remainder of my summer and into my future career, putting the experiences I have earned to good use. I fully believe that social justice is a part of my calling, and I am very grateful to be in a position where I can fulfill that calling with the church

Litany Esguerra

My name is Litany Esguerra. I technically have two “home” churches: I was the piano accompanist and organist at St. John’s United Methodist Church in Oak Park, Illinois (a church I grew up in, while my dad was a pastor there), and Our Redeemer’s United Methodist Church in Schaumburg, Illinois (where my dad is currently the pastor). I am a recent graduate from the University of Illinois at Chicago where I majored in rehabilitation sciences with a minor in disability and human development.

As a policy intern with the National Disability Rights Network, I will be focusing on employment for people with disabilities, particularly on increasing competitive opportunities for people with disabilities within the community. My internship at NDRN is particularly exciting because it puts my academic curriculum into practice on a topic I enjoy learning about and engaging with. I have also conducted research related to people with disabilities and prosthetics in India, where I found a tremendous need to continue the research related to policy, which is where my exposure at NDRN is also mutually beneficial. 

I chose to take part in the EYA internship, a faith-based program, because I wanted to challenge myself to learn more about social justice. I also saw this as an opportunity to challenge myself spiritually, with the added benefit of living in a community, professional development and further learning. I hope that this program can help me learn about my roots with the UMC, one that I grew up in my whole life as a pastor’s kid. I look forward to the learning in and outside of the program with my cohort for this summer. 

Nica Sy

My name is Nica Sy, and I am a member of Beacon United Methodist Church in Seattle, Washington, part of the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference. I attend the University of Washington, where I am studying business administration with a minor in gender, women and sexuality studies.

This summer, I will be working for Church World Service as a media intern for their immigrant and refugee advocacy program. I have a history of social justice work through my local church and community, as well as on the district and conference levels. I have been a member of the United Methodist Women since childhood. I attend the PNW’s Mission U retreat annually, where we learn together about social issues impacting lives across the globe. At Beacon UMC, I am a member of the planning team for our Crossroads ministry, a monthly vespers service which seeks ways for the church to engage local community issues through intimate discussion on social holiness. Through my membership at Beacon, I have also been able to participate in many community events that uplift issues of immigration and the path to citizenship, affordable health care and environmental justice. I chose to take part in the EYA internship not only due to my love of social justice and advocacy, but because my faith and church community were what sparked that passion to begin with. Through my time in D.C., I hope to learn more about doing advocacy work on a global level and find ways to use those experiences to make an impact in my community. 

Estefany Sanabria

My name is Estefany Sanabria, and I am 19 years old. I was born in Guatemala and raised in Chicago since I was a 1-year-old. In Chicago, I attend Humboldt Park UMC (Northern Illinois Annual Conference), a church full of wonderful people that have helped me be where I am today. I attend Harold Washington Community College, where I will be earning an Associate’s Degree in Business in a year; I plan on then transferring to a 4-year college in Chicago in order to get my Bachelor’s Degree in business. My final goal is to become a lawyer someday, and I hope that my internship placement at RESULTS can help me figure out what kind of lawyer I want to be. 

RESULTS is a group filled with people whose goal it is to influence political decisions made here in Washington, D.C., that will bring an end to poverty. All of my life, I have been doing acts of mercy with my church, I have helped feed the hungry, and I have fought for the rights of those that can’t do it for themselves. Everywhere I have gone, I have seen young adults, like me, who have a passion for social justice while lacking faith. I love the EYA internship program because I have the opportunity to meet and live with other people who share the same love I share for God and his word while having a passion for social justice in our world. I hope to be able to go home and continue my work of pushing my local state officials to help end poverty while I continue to make these acts of kindness and mercy.

Sydney Alexander

My name Sydney Alexander, I also go by my middle name Gabrielle. My I belong to a few communities. My home church is Muir’s Chapel United Methodist. I’m also a United Methodist Woman of the Western North Carolina Annual Conference, Northern Piedmont District. Other communities would be my family and close friends. I’m in my last year of attending Guilford Technical Community College and plan to transfer soon to the University of North Carolina, Greensboro to complete a degree in technical arts and writing.

My internship placement is with Interfaith Power and Light where I will be helping them in the areas of researching and writing. I felt like I would be a good fit for this organization because I’m very passionate and aware of environmental issues, and know the importance, especially in today’s climate, that the environment plays in our everyday lives and our communities. Some past experiences that I’ve had that helped to shape me for this internship would be my, fairly recent, experience as a United Methodist Woman, as we just held our climate justice workshop on how the Methodist church in our district can be more eco-friendly and learn why we should value and encourage this behavior as Christians.

I chose a faith-based internship because I feel like this will help me not only to learn and grow in my activism but in my faith as well. Through this, the church as a whole can strive to do better. And hope my work with Interfaith Power and Light will help to expand my knowledge on these issues and how to, with the help of the United Methodist church, combat them.

Raquel Resendiz

My name is Raquel Resendiz, I was born in El Paso, Texas, but was raised and lived 18 years of my life in Ciudad Juarez in Mexico. I was born in a Christian family, so my faith, family and culture are essential to me. God has taken me to key places like Lydia Patterson Institute where I received a great education that helped me get into college. This coming December, I will be graduating with a degree in business administration with a minor in leadership from Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas. During my three years of college so far, I have been attending Grace United Methodist Church Great Plains and have become part of their community, which has shaped my perception of the world. Lately, I have been part of a group that is involved in social justice, where we read books related to social justice and formed discussions based off of them. It sparked curiosity and interest for the society around me, its systems, how it works and what doesn’t work.

This summer I will be a grassroots mobilizing and communications intern in the Democracy Initiative Organization doing a mix of research, graphic design, social media, website updates, and relationship building with the partner organizations. I am excited for the experiences to come, the people that I will meet and what I will learn from the capitol.