The Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice at the University of Texas School of Law has named three undergraduate students as interns for the Fall 2015 semester. Gabi Inhofe, Sarah Qureshy, and Gabby Torres were selected on the basis of their academic credentials, leadership skills, and dedication to human rights work.
The interns work with Rapoport Center faculty and staff as well as Human Rights Scholars to assist with research and advocacy projects, promote events, participate in interdisciplinary working groups, expand the Center’s social media presence, and serve as liaisons to the undergraduate community.
Gabi Inhofe is a senior double-majoring in Plan II Honors and International Relations and Global Studies, with a minor in European Studies. She is currently working on her IRG Honors Thesis, which explores representations of the army in Israeli film and the construction of national identity. Her passion for human rights began with an interest in Honduras and Guatemala, particularly with regard to corruption, political murder, and socioeconomic stratification. She has done translating and writing for the Guatemala Human Rights Commission. She also interns at Texas Hillel as a development intern, mentors with the Plan II-KIPP partnership, and is a staff writer for Feminist Weekly. After graduation, Gabi plans to take a gap year to work and travel.
Sarah Qureshy is a senior Biochemistry major pursuing a certificate in Human Rights and Social Justice through the Bridging Disciplines Program, having previously completed a Business Foundations Program certificate. She has conducted independent research on the human rights of prisoners in the U.K. and also holds a research assistant position at Dell Pediatric Research Institute studying the genetic and environmental factors that lead to birth defects. She has cultivated a passion for working with non-profit and charity organizations throughout her undergraduate education. This includes being a 2016 rider for Texas 4000 for Cancer, volunteering for medical brigades to Honduras and Panama, and helping coordinate an annual campus-wide fundraiser for medical care in Guatemala through her officer position with Alpha Epsilon Delta. Her interdisciplinary interests in healthcare, human rights, business, and medical research are leading her down a path towards medical school and graduate school.
Gabby Torres is a junior studying Plan II, Government, and Spanish language. On campus she is active within the Senate of College Councils, where she writes academic policy concerning resources for international students. She is involved with other organizations such as The Nocturnal, an honors literary journal, PlanTutoring, and KUT Public Radio. Gabby’s interest in human rights were first sparked after visiting the Guatemalan National Police Historical Archive, housed in Guatemala City. She is currently completing her thesis on the nature between human rights and archives, which examines how historical archives from the Guatemalan Civil War have served as forms of retribution in human rights litigation. She also serves as an undergraduate research affiliate with Innovations for Peace and Development, where she works on increasing the transparency of natural resource manipulation within civil war conflicts. Gabby’s professional interests include conflict resolution and political theory; she looks forward to graduate studies in global policy.