Career Services Spotlight – Deborah D’Orazi, MPA ’18, Vera Institute of Justice

As an MPA student focusing on policy analysis, social justice/human rights, and trauma, I am interested in learning how organizations and agencies can best focus on serving populations, involving populations within the policy process, and how to implement policies that create positive results. During the spring 2017 semester, I interned with the Vera Institute of Justice’s Policing Program as a Graduate Research Intern. Vera was founded in the 1960s and policing reform is something that continues to be a central aspect of its work. One of my projects is researching and writing a paper on Vera’s policing work. This included the first project involving policing, the Manhattan Summons Project during the 1960s. The pilot program was so successful that it was eventually adopted and expanded to all police precincts in New York City. It also revolutionized how summonses were used and how police in New York City interacted with communities. I am also learning a lot about police performance assessment and community policing since I research and catalog current news stories and events involving these topics. The internship as a whole has increased my interest in police and community policing.

My advice to any student seeking an internship is to research and be consistent. I started the MPA program in spring 2017 and was determined to gain experience with organizations I believed I could help and could help me learn about myself. So, I sent out applications to as many relevant organizations as I could and utilized Marxe Career Services when I secured interviews. Now that I am looking for an internship for the summer I find myself utilizing the MPA job board and Center more for help and suggestions. It is always good to remember that you never know what is out there unless you look and ask for help!