Five months ago, I packed my whole life into two suitcases and boarded a flight to London to take part in a year-long exchange program at the London School of Economics. I had chosen the program because I wanted to really immerse myself in a new school system, and I was excited to take part in all that London had to offer. But when I first landed in London, I first realized what a big commitment I had made: the metro was the “Tube”, I could barely understand the accents, and why did everyone keep asking “You OK?” (turns out, that’s British for “how are you?”).
But I quickly fell in love with London through far too many afternoon teas, lots of palaces, and walks along the Thames River. It was an interesting time to be in London – in the wake of Brexit, much of London seemed to be confused as to how Britain could have voted to leave the EU. A lot of my coursework focused on European governments and EU politics, and I learned that free migration was the biggest threat for many who voted to leave. I was dismayed by the fearful rhetoric towards minorities, not just in Britain, but also in the lead-up to the U.S. election and across the European continent.
As a first-generation American woman, my most rewarding experiences have been working to support immigrant and minority communities to highlight how diversity makes communities stronger. For this reason, I started looking into opportunities to change the narrative regarding refugees and migrants in the UK. In November, I started volunteering at The Entrepreneurial Refugee Network (TERN), a new social entrepreneurial start-up dedicated to providing mentorship and aid to aspiring refugee entrepreneurs.
The organization focuses on the positive contributions that refugees can have in society, and works directly to ensure that refugees to the UK have support in their professional aspirations. The advocacy projects I have worked on in the past few months have taught me about the refugee crisis and driving change through civic organizations beyond what I could ever learn in a classroom.
Check back soon to see all the great work TERN is doing and how exciting it is to be a part of it!