Zak Rogoff, CCT 1st-year

Headshot of CCT student Zak Rogoff Name of Internship organization: Access Now

Length of internship: One semester

Number of credits: 3

What was the mission of the organization and what was your role?
Access Now defends and extends the digital rights of users at risk around the world. My internship focused on #KeepItOn, a global, coalition-based advocacy campaign against internet shutdowns ordered by governments. I helped amplify the voices of people affected by shutdowns, which violate human rights and harm economies.

How did your CCT studies inform your experience of this internship?
During the internship, I took Crisis Communications and Interdisciplinary Problems and Methods. My learning about strategic communication informed how I framed and disseminated stories of human rights violations, and my learning about social science research methods helped me approach the task of collecting the stories through multiple internet-based methods.

How do you think the internship will inform your CCT student experience?
It convinced me that I would benefit from taking more classes about international relations and comparative politics. I’m able to do this, thanks to the flexibility of CCT’s program and the amazingly comprehensive support from its staff in designing my degree.

How did you find out about this internship?
I made a list of the most inspiring organizations I had encountered in my work before graduate school and checked their jobs pages every few weeks. I applied and then followed up assiduously.

Final thoughts?
This internship confirmed my interest in doing similar work when I finish my degree, and introduced me to a global civil society network defending human rights online.

Check out more student internships at the Internship Spotlight.