Barry Fellowship Alum Spotlight
Catherine Cheney, 2008 Barry Fellow
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Catherine Cheney, TC '10, is a Political Science BA/MA candidate at Yale. She is the online editor of the Yale Daily News, a writer and editor for The Yale Globalist, and a Yale Tour Guide. Her summer on the Barry Fellowship: The organization headquarters assigned me to the Puebla office, one of three regional WOCCU offices in Mexico, where the WOCCU staff briefed me on the testimonies I would be gathering for the week. Although I was based in Puebla, I spent most of my time in Veracruz, where I gathered testimonies from people who had benefited from the $24.8 million dollar PATMIR project developed by WOCCU and funded by the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fishing and Food. This project assisted 72 Mexican credit unions to open 240 rural locations offering financial services. I traveled briefly to the Madison, Wisconsin headquarters of the World Council of Credit Unions to meet with the management staff about the work I would be doing in Mexico. |
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There, I learned that the testimonies I gathered would constitute the advertising campaign for a new WOCCU initiative. That realization made it evident that this internship would not only be a wonderful experience for me, but also that my participation was a crucial component of a major and revolutionary financial initiative.
My deliverables for the internship include a professional quality video demonstrating the impact of credit union and WOCCUs work on the rural poor in Mexico, short video clips and articles detailing the stories of community members who benefit from the financial services, a short “from the field” piece, and a feature article for the Fall/Winter edition of the Credit Union World Magazine. I am confident that these deliverables will be very useful to the organization based on the quality of the testimonies I gathered. The film I produced will be screened in the summer of 2009 at a development conference in Barcelona, Spain and will be introduced by Vicente Fox, former President of Mexico.
I met with the rural poor every day, with savers ranging from eleven months to 88 years old, and each day was filled with surprises and unforgettable moments. This internship surpassed my expectations and fulfilled each goal that had led me the organization in the first place.
My expectations as an intern were surpassed in a number of ways. First, I connected more than I had expected with my colleagues. I belted Mexican ballads with them on our long drives through the Veracruz mountains, met their families, and ate long lunches with them everyday. I was also exceedingly impressed with the impact of the organization in rural Mexico, owed in part to their emphasis on savings rather than a sole focus on loans. Lastly, I benefited from traveling to other parts of Mexico to better understand the country as a whole through social, cultural, economic, and political lenses.
Mexico is a country I have always felt a connection with, but in reality I had never been across the border until this summer. I grew up in San Antonio, where many of my friends were from Mexico and some of my most fond memories call to mind the flavors of Mexican food and sounds of mariachi bands. I felt at home in Mexico from the moment I first drove across the border, and I tried to spend time in other parts of the country outside of my work with the World Council so that I could better understand many aspects of daily life there.
Prior to my work with the World Council of Credit Unions, I was working on an article about how border violence is leading to a decrease in volunteers traveling from Southern California to Northern Mexico. This article led to my first entry into Mexico, through the San Diego-Tijuana border. I witnessed the double reinforced steel fence and stadium lights separating my home state from my host country.
In Mexico City, I met with Manuel Nungaray, the head of North American relations for the Mexican Department of Foreign Affairs, who said, “Immigration is a bilateral theme that should be solved with agreements and cooperation rather than a wall.” He reached his hand across the table and shook mine. “Vecinos y amigos,” he said with a smile. “Neighbors and friends.”
On the Texas-Mexico border, I interviewed residents and leaders of Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras, two border towns on either side of the Rio Grande, about the Secure Fence Act and resulting fence construction, which will divide these cities that have long operated as one community.
I even traveled to the Mexican state of Quintana Roo where I explored Mayan ruins, went diving in the famous cenotes, and wrote a travel-writing piece for a publication in Mexico City.
I connected most with the people of rural Mexico whom I met through my experience with the World Council of Credit Unions. I was touched every day by how much they offered me even when they had so little to give.
Throughout my experience there, they welcomed me into their homes, prepared meals for me, sat with earnest curiosity about my background and even my blonde hair, and proudly displayed their livestock, introduced their children, and of course shared their stories of how savings and loans had improved their standards of living.
My experience in Mexico strengthened my ability to adapt to new environments. It refined my eye for strong photos and videos and increased my appreciation for the power of storytelling. I learned a great deal about a number of other economic and societal factors in Mexico, such as the motivations that lead to emigration, the impact crossing the border has on the family members who stay behind, and the power of economic opportunity to encourage persistence even when times get rough.
This was my first time producing journalistic work for an organization rather than a standard publication, and the positive experience I had convinced me that there are many outlets for my passion for storytelling outside of traditional media.
And while the storytelling element of this work drew me to the internship, I am now inspired by the impact of economic development and want to focus more of my coursework and research in that area.
Lastly, this summer experience confirmed my connection with Mexico. I now aspire to work in the country in the future, and at Yale I plan to explore human rights law, international development, foreign policy and foreign correspondence as potential avenues. I feel so fortunate to have had this opportunity to explore Mexico and ended the summer with a comprehensive understanding of the country that I want to continue to develop and enhance for the rest of my life.
How she chose her project:
After considering how I might best take advantage of the summer before my junior year, I decided that I wanted to use and improve my Spanish speaking skills, have work experience related to my academic field of study in political science, and produce journalistic pieces for a cause that helps others.
Online searches in pursuit of these objectives led me to the website of the World Council of Credit Unions. After reading about their objectives and programs, I was inspired by the mission of this organization and convinced that an internship with this group in a Spanish speaking country would meet all of my goals.
Looking into what I might contribute to the organization, I noticed that WOCCU lacked human-interest stories that might draw donations for their development programs. The huge number of people they help immediately impressed me, but I had a hard time locating the success stories, the faces behind the numbers.
I sent an email to WOCCU outlining my background in journalism and my academic interests and proposing to intern abroad for one of their development programs, gathering testimonies of the people they help.
After multiple phone conversations and interviews with the organization, we worked together to determine the location, the job description, and the deliverables. While WOCCU had never worked with a student intern, we agreed that this internship would be mutually beneficial and I was offered an internship with the international development program in Mexico.
Recommendations for students applying to the Barry Fellowship:
Think of a project that interests you, that will allow you to learn and grow and perhaps even shape the direction of your Yale career. Also consider what skills or passions you might have that would uniquely contribute to the area or organization you devote your summer to. Be prepared that your plans may shift throughout the summer. Be flexible to change, and be open to learn!
Why the Barry Fellowship is unique:
The Barry Fellowship is more than just a fellowship. Mr. Barry has designed a model that allows fellows to learn from the other accomplished and passionate students around them, and from Mr. Barry himself. I cannot thank the Barry family enough for this opportunity and I hope that freshmen and sophomores at Yale do not miss the opportunity to apply for this fantastic opportunity!
Do you have any advice for future Barry fellows?
In the summer of 2007, I reported on media oppression in Venezuela before interning at National Geographic Films. In the summer of 2008, I worked as a reporter with the Los Angeles Newspaper Group in addition to my work in Mexico. In the summer of 2009, I will report in Tanzania before beginning work as a metro reporter for the Washington Post.
