Past Interns
Religions for Peace Fall 2024 & Spring 2025 Intern
Rida Ejaz (Pakistan) holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering & Management Sciences, where she graduated with the Presidential Gold Medal. Rida previously served as a research intern at an institute affiliated with Pakistan’s Strategic Plans Division, where she contributed articles on religious tolerance, meritocracy, and related topics published in notable outlets such as Pakistan Today, Modern Diplomacy, and The Express Tribune. She also completed an internship with an organization affiliated with UNHCR, during which she organized career counseling sessions, conducted field research in refugee camps, and contributed to a policy brief aimed at increasing educational enrollment and reducing dropout rates among Afghan refugees in Balochistan. From 2018 to 2023, Rida volunteered as the Chief Executive Officer of the Balochistan chapter of a leading non-profit organization in Pakistan and she served as a Monitoring & Evaluation Officer for the Balochistan Human Capital Investment Project.
Her research interests include countering violent extremism both offline and online, and addressing ethical concerns in artificial intelligence (AI). Under the Kroc Institute, Rida is working on building ethical frameworks for an AI chatbot developed to counter hate speech and hate crimes online. She contributes her peacebuilding expertise to communication strategies aimed at enhancing the large language model (LLM) used in the Civic Health Project.
Religions for Peace Fall 2023 Intern
Muhammed Saad Kamil is from Pakistan and is a Master of Global Affairs student at the Keough School of Global Affairs. Saad has worked as a consultant in the health, public finance, and education sectors of Pakistan. He aims to utilize this internship experience to learn more about the role of religious and interfaith harmony in making public programs more effective. Coming from a country where religion stands as a monolith of society's structure, his goal is to be able to craft interventions targeted towards positive public sector outcomes whilst keeping the nuance of religion in play.
His experiences in Pakistan have bolstered the notion that human development is based on the ideology of joint societal upheaval for the greater good. And for that it is important to be inclusive, just and equal. Consequently, uphold standards of equity especially in the realm of religion, race, gender and culture. He is excited to explore these themes further whilst working with Religions for Peace, and triangulate his experience with his past work and his degree at Notre Dame. Read about his internship experience here.
Religions for Peace Spring 2023 Intern
When she participated in this internship, Kelly Shinnick was a senior at the University of Notre Dame majoring in Sociology and Psychology with a minor in Science, Technology, and Values. During her time at Notre Dame, Kelly worked as an intern for Indiana Legal, a nonprofit providing free civil legal assistance to low income residents of Indiana, as well as a mentor for a child within the foster care system through the St. Joseph Department of Child Services. She also had the opportunity to work with Forge Evolution, a restorative justice-based nonprofit organization, in addition to working as a research assistant for the Notre Dame Chicago Congregations Project, which strives to analyze the effects of religious congregations on local communities. She was thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Religions for Peace to assist in their mission of striving towards sustainable, international peace. Read about her internship experience here.
Religions for Peace Fall 2022 & Spring 2023 Intern
Mariama S. Dampha is a public health professional who worked for The Gambia’s Ministry of Health in West Africa. Driven by her strong desire to improve health conditions in the developing world, she has interned at the Medical Research Council Unit, The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, served as a public health officer at Bafrow Medical Centre, and as a gender consultant for the Health Star Association in The Gambia.
Mariama graduated cum laude from the University of The Gambia with a bachelor of science in public and environmental health. At the Keough School, she pursued her Master of Global Affairs while specializing in global health. As a Master of Global Affairs student Mariama was the recipient of a Riberas Orjales Family Fellowship. She plans to research connections between life-threatening health issues and health policies in the developing world.
Interfaith Action 2022-2023 Intern
Mia Moran was a junior studying Political Science and Global Affairs with a Gender Studies minor, originally from Tokyo, Japan. Mia was also a senator in Student Government, associate news editor for Scholastic, Notre Dame's monthly student news magazine, and skated for the Notre Dame Figure Skating Club. Her internship with Interfaith Action enabled her to work on Native American, immigration, and poverty issues. You may read her reflection on her internship here.
Religions for Peace Summer 2021 Intern
Tinaishe Maramba was a Master of Global Affairs student. He graduated with honors from the University of Zimbabwe with a degree in political science. Before coming to the Keough School, he worked for the International Organization for Migration, a UN-related organization, as a project field assistant, working with returnees affected by economic challenges related to the global pandemic. Previously, he worked with National AIDS Council Zimbabwe as a district youth facilitator. He also served as a junior member of parliament in the city of Murewa, advocating for children’s rights policy.
Tinaishe was awarded the US government’s global UGRAD scholarship to study in the United States and is a graduate of the YALI Regional Leadership Center in Southern Africa, a US Department of State initiative to train the next generation of young African leaders. While at the Keough School he was the recipient of a Kroc Institute Fellowship.
Religions for Peace Spring 2021 Intern
Oneile Gorata Baitlotli was a University of Notre Dame senior from Molepolole, Botswana, who is passionate about finding sustainable solutions for access to quality education in Southern Africa. Her major in political science, as well as minors in international development and peace studies, enabled her to deepen her knowledge on the subject.
Baitlotli interned for Afrika Tikkun in South Africa in the summer of her sophomore year and worked with The Rusalia Foundation in Kenya after her junior year. Both organizations are committed to improving access to education in underprivileged communities. She was attracted to peace studies because of her interest in peace-centered development that recognizes and prioritizes human dignity.