LEGAL AND PARALEGAL INTERNS

Year-round, VAAP seeks highly motivated students to join us for customizable internship experiences focused on administrative assistance, case management and support, communications, and event coordination. Positions are hybrid-remote with access to coworking space in Burlington's Old North End and designated in-office days for value-added team meetings, supervision, and events. Preference is given to individuals who can commit to multi-semester partnerships and who bring language access skills. We support interns to access compensation and/or academic credit. Learn more.

UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT SERVICE LEARNING

Each fall and spring, VAAP teaches the Social Work Department’s Working with Refugees, which leverages the strengths of about 30 students working 8–10 hours weekly on collaborative projects addressing the micro- and marco-level needs of VAAP’s client communities.

VAAP also partners with the History Department’s Country Conditions Research Seminar, which leverages the talents of about 15 students who compiled annotated indeces of pertinent country conditions which VAAP files with USCIS and the Immigration Court as corroborating evidence of clients’ asylum claims.

Finally, VAAP subcontracts as the legal services provider for Connecting Cultures, an interdisciplinary program of the Psychology Department. In turn, Connecting Cultures supervises graduate students to forensically evaluate VAAP’s asylum seeking clients to substantiate their applications and build witness credibility.

PEGGY BROWNING FUND FELLOW-LEGAL INTERN 

Andrea (she/her, ella) is a student at the University of Michigan Law School and is pursuing a Master’s in Public Policy at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. She chose to intern with VAAP to learn how to become an immigration lawyer from a dedicated and inspiring team, and to gain experience with one of the few organizations providing legal services to immigrants in Vermont. A fun fact about Andrea is that she collects water bottles, which she decorates with stickers representing different periods of her life. 

PARALEGAL INTERN

Bio coming soon…

PARALEGAL INTERN

Amanda (she/her, ella) from Middlebury, VT and will be a Senior at Syracuse University in the fall. She is passionate about all things community, loves music and performing, and likes to cook in her free time. Amanda chose VAAP as a way to connect and learn more about Vermont's community, while also getting experience before she becomes a paralegal. 

PARALEGAL INTERN

Camila Blanco (she/her, ella), from Vermont is a rising Junior at Tufts University majoring in Political Science and Spanish. She is greatly interested in advocacy and the advancement of human rights. Camila chose to intern with VAAP because she aspires to become an immigration lawyer and wanted to gain a hands-on experience in the field. She also truly admires VAAP’s mission and is committed to supporting their work in expanding access to vital legal services in Vermont. A fun fact about Camila is she does Baile folklórico which is a traditional Mexican folk dance that showcases the vibrant culture, history, and regional diversity of Mexico through colorful costumes, music, and choreography. 

PARALEGAL INTERN

Leila (she/her, ella) is a student at the University of Vermont majoring in Sociology and Global Studies. She chose to intern with VAAP because after taking an Asylum Case Research class at UVM in which she worked with VAAP and other community partners, she realized how she could help her community through her career as an immigration lawyer. She wants to continue learning from and supporting the amazing, dedicated, and vastly knowledgeable VAAP team. A fun fact about Leila is she’s studying abroad this fall in Ireland—for many reasons including loving the show Derry Girls and finding comfort in how similar the Mexican and Irish cultures are, often being quoted as saying “Ireland is the Mexico of Europe.”