EMBARC is excited to welcome a new group of interns for spring 2021. With diverse life experiences, educations, and professional skills, these interns will bring valuable perspectives and insights to our work. EMBARC is proud to host such a diverse and impressive group of young people, and we know they will make significant contributions to the refugee and immigrant communities in Iowa.

Adriana Aranda

I am starting with EMBARC as a legal intern. I was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. I attended the University of Texas at El Paso where I got my BA in Political Science with a minor in Legal Reasoning. I then went on to attend the University of Iowa College of Law, where I graduated from in May 2020. I recently took, and passed, the Texas Bar Exam. During law school, most of my work focused on immigration law, and I have a deep passion for helping this community. I hope that my experience, both personal and professional, can be an asset to EMBARC. During my free time, I enjoy spending time with friends and family, reading classic literature, and hiking!

Phales Milano

I am an international student at the University of Northern Iowa pursuing my master’s degree in Women’s and Gender Studies under the Fulbright Scholarship. I have experience in the non-profit sector, ranging from monitoring and evaluation to project management, while continually working towards creating a more equitable health system and embodying the values of social justice for all. I earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education from the University of Zambia. I have a passion for public health and was awarded the Global Health Corps Fellowship to broaden my knowledge and experience working in the public health field. With this background, I am currently working on my master’s research, titled “Exploring the barriers that refugee women face in access to healthcare services during COVID19.” EMBARC was a good fit for me as it provides me the opportunity to work with minority populations. As a Global Health Corps alum, I am part of the next generation of emerging global health leaders. I have gained and refined my leadership and public speaking abilities while helping to build the movement for global health equality.

I have worked for World Vision as a monitoring and evaluation officer and spent most of my time working with the rural communities to strengthen programs and projects that benefit vulnerable children with access to education, good health care, and clean water. I led the Sinazongwe area development program in conducting the end of cycle evaluation in which all the projects’ impacts were assessed against the baseline and designed monitoring and evaluation frameworks and databases for easy monitoring of projects. I have also gained experience in programming a sexual reproductive health project that is targeting adolescents and young people access sexual reproductive health information and services. During my free time, I enjoy biking when the weather is favorable, watching series, and trying out new recipes.

Chris Weber

I am a new intern from the University of Northern Iowa's master’s in Social Work program! I have lived in Iowa my whole life, though I have been all over the state. I attended Iowa State University and then graduated from Clarke University with my bachelor’s in Psychology. I then had various jobs in human services, living in Cedar Rapids, Charles City, Mason City, and now Jesup near Waterloo. I enjoy working with kids, most likely because I have 3 younger siblings. My youngest brother is 11 years younger than me and still in high school! I also enjoy working with people who are going through various challenges in life. I myself have a visual disability that I have received many accommodations for over the years. I'm working with EMBARC and in human services fields to help others that might be at a disadvantage also achieve their fullest potential.

Za Aung

I am a social work student at Grand View University. This is my last semester to get my bachelor’s degree, so I am doing my internship at EMBARC for 450 hours. My professional long-term goal is to become a public health worker and continue on to a master’s degree in public health. I got my bachelor’s degree in public health when I was living in the Thailand refugee camp. I desire to study public health to help my community, especially who come as immigrants or refugees from Burma.

Mu Paw

I was born in Burma, but because of the civil war my parents moved to Thailand refugee camp. I lived there for nine years with my siblings and my mother. I came to the United States in 2010 in Arizona. I moved to Des Moines in 2013. I am married and have two kids. I went to North High School. At DMACC, I majored in Human Services (AAS). After DMACC, I transferred to the Grand View University to pursue a degree in Social Work (BSW). This is my last semester at Grand View. I chose to do an internship at EMBARC because I want to work with my community and refugees across Iowa. The five things that I hope to learn through the internship at EMBARC are communication skills, problem-solving skills, teamwork, direct-services skills, and technical skills.

Destiny Luong

I will be interning with the IT department at EMBARC. I am currently finishing up my associate degree at DMACC, studying cybersecurity. I was born and raised here in Des Moines, Iowa. While I am not busy with work or school, I like to spend my free time creating art, watching movies, and spending time with friends and family. I enjoy learning new things, whether it be educational or just for fun. I hope to expand my knowledge and acquire skills that will benefit me in my future education. I look forward to working with and learning from all these people who will enrich my professional development.

Merrie Awm

I am originally from Burma but did most of my growing up in India. I moved to the United States 6 years ago and spent a year in Vermont before moving to Iowa. I have two older sisters, one younger sister, and two younger brothers. I am in my final semester at Iowa State University, and I am pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. As an immigrant myself, it is an honor to be able to work with an organization that advocates for the Burmese community and to be able to help people. I have experience as an interpreter and college freshmen mentor and have worked for a little while at the Department of Psychology as an advisor assistant. I can’t wait to get to know everyone better and learn from EMBARC.

Anna Liska

I'm thrilled to be finishing up my last semester of my bachelor's with an internship at EMBARC. I'm majoring in social work and would like to pursue my master's degree in a few years. My interests are reading, anything outdoors (especially hiking), and I'm nerdy about yoga! I'm especially excited to be working at EMBARC because I'm passionate about every person receiving equal access to resources.

Jaiden Ackerson

Currently, I am in my final semester at Central College. This May, I will graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Exercise Science, with a minor in Spanish. My plan after college is to get involved in a career that is at the junction of personal, community, and environmental health. My passions include being outdoors, advocating for the protection of the environment and for frontline and vulnerable communities, and encouraging others to take a stand for what they believe in! I am excited to work with EMBARC and to begin my journey with this new community.

New interns bring diverse experiences and skills to EMBARC