My Experience as a Communications Intern for the MNJRC (2025)
- MN Justice Research Center
- Aug 20
- 3 min read
By Ilene Park, Communications Intern
My name is Ilene Park and I am a rising undergraduate senior at the University of California, Berkeley. Currently majoring in Media Studies with a concentration in Law & Policy as well as minoring in Political Economy with a concentration in Science, Technology, & Economic Development, I was searching for a summer internship in Minnesota that would allow me to work on something other than my passion for reading, skincare, tennis, piano, speaking French, and simply being with my friends. Making this my official “last” true summer as a student before entering the adult workforce, I was aiming to find something meaningful yet technical. Thankfully, I found the MNJRC.
I first came upon the MNJRC in a typical, ordinary manner: through Linkedin. Having no prior experience with nonprofits nor direct involvement with transforming any sort of system in Minnesota, I was immediately intrigued by the upfront and vital work that the MNJRC advertised. Although I have been interested and generally well-versed in politics and social activism for the majority of my life, I had the hopes of gaining further insight about what the MNJRC does, as well as improving my own skills within the Communications department. Therefore, I applied to be their Summer Communications Intern for 2025. Luckily, after submitting my application and interviewing with them, I was accepted into the role. As someone who is half-Thai, I have mostly worked within Southeast Asian communities (particularly in Berkeley) when it came to transformative and justice-related work, and at the ripe age of 21, I have (thankfully) not had any “real” involvement with the criminal legal system.
The MNJRC gave me the space, time, and experience to change this. Despite being the sole Communications intern this summer, I had no overload of work nor was I tasked with tedious or frivolous duties. Instead, I was presented with multiple opportunities to work on creating press releases for MNJRC’s events, interviewing members of the community for storytelling purposes, web design, graphic design, crafting key informational social media posts, networking with other Communications leaders, meeting with consulting teams to improve my own knowledge on media, journalism, and Communications in general, as well as aiding in meaningful community-wide events discussing the transformation of our criminal legal system. I spent hours researching other nonprofits both in Minnesota and around the nation, wrote proposals on how to change our own website and internal systematic workings, and simply spent time each week getting to know the Research Interns and the full-time staff one-on-one who have been in charge of making sure the MNJRC functions smoothly for many years before me.
Through all this work, not only have I been able to further my own technical and soft skills and knowledge (alongside the insightful post-graduation advice I have received from the staff at MNJRC, which I am very grateful for), but I have also educated myself on the incredibly vital and key work that the MNJRC and other nonprofits do. I feel I have gained a sense of involvement with my community in Minneapolis, have had my eyes opened (even moreso) to the true systematic failures and workings of our criminal legal system, and have gained a vast array of experience through simply attending meetings and connecting with my colleagues. I have truly learned a multitude of information on the policy and research aspects of our state’s system, as well as the tireless and transformative work that the MNJRC continues to do each and every day, with little-to-no complaints nor gripes. This past summer, I have been nothing but in awe of the hard work and selfless dedication the MNJRC has strived to achieve, no matter the hardships and complications in the way. Each and every miniscule or grand action has been, and will continue to be, a branch towards the rays of justice within the twisted and dark jungle of our current criminal legal system.
On that concluding note, I hope that everyone who comes across the MNJRC takes the time to read our work and efforts towards helping the Minnesotan community and its system to be more equitable and accountable with no desire for profit nor selfish expansion. I hope everyone also takes the time to see where they themselves can help their own community, either in Minnesota or elsewhere, and if possible, donate their time, money, or effort to transforming the world around them in pursuit of life, liberty, and justice. I am certain that my own mindset, experiences, and perspectives have also been changed for the good, and I will always remember my time and work at the MNJRC fondly, with a new sense of determination to change any system of injustice, one step at a time.
If you are interested in an internship with the MNJRC email us at info@mnjrc.org.
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