Aimee Cupelli

Washington D.C. Summer Internship Program Summer 2003

Aimee interned at the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Office of Civil Rights Evaluation (OCRE) located at 624 Ninth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20425

The basic mission of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is to research and study discrimination complaints, analyze current laws with respect to discrimination, provide information on discrimination to the President and Congress, and the public. The mission of the Office of Civil Rights Evaluation is to present "the subject-matter, critical, and analytical expertise required to research and write evaluations of civil rights issues."

During Aimee's first day at OCRE she was assigned to work on the fiscal year 2004 report on language barriers.  Her first task was to assess the available knowledge on populations with limited English proficiency (LEP), or people who cannot adequately communicate in English.

Aimee spent time researching on the internet for foreign language television stations, newspapers, phone services and radio stations.  The information gathered was then compiled into spreadsheets for data comparison and may possibly be included as an appendix in the final report that is produced.

Aimee also spent a lot of her time conducting literature reviews and searching for information on the internet.  Aimee then prepared written reports on language barriers in health care, education and voting. 

Here is what Aimee had to say about her internship experience:  One thing I have learned is that if you work hard for something that you believe in, even in a city like DC, someone will recognize what you have done.  I was extremely pleased with the experience I had with the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.  I was able to use and improve several skills that I already possessed, such as researching and writing.  I met wonderful, dedicated staff members, who made my workdays even more enjoyable.  And perhaps more importantly I learned more about myself, and much, much more about civil rights work.