|
Presidential Internship with the Red Cross: A Dream Come True
By Sharon J. Alfred
Wednesday, November 09, 2005 — Working for the American Red Cross is a dream come true for Ukraine-native and American Red Cross presidential intern Yaroslava Tytarenko, or as she's known to friends and colleagues, "Yasa." Yasa remembers being excited whenever Red Cross employees made presentations at her school in Shostka. Very early on she came to respect the Red Cross mission for saving lives as "a wonderful movement with a noble mission."
Yaroslava Tytarenko at her desk at American Red Cross headquarters |
When Yasa applied for the presidential intern program she did so with great background skills and high hopes. Many applied, but she was among the few chosen at the Red Cross national headquarters in Washington, DC. She was overjoyed when she learned about her selection. She says "I think I'm very fortunate because I feel I can contribute to the wonderful work of saving lives and making the world a better place for us all."
As a Red Cross presidential intern, Yasa takes an active role in volunteer review projects, particularly those that originate from the Office of the National Chair of Volunteers. She is also active in programs that involve teaching the rationales of international humanitarian law, and those programs that provide training in First Aid/CPR classes.
Yasa was instrumental in writing and reviewing the volunteer recruitment toolkit for the "Give Hope Now" campaign. This campaign responded to the need that Hurricane Katrina created throughout the Gulf area; its goal is to recruit 40,000 volunteers to assist the recovery and relief efforts needed in the hurricane’s aftermath.
Aside from working on USAID-funded projects in Kiev, Ukraine, Yasa interned at the United Nations and is a past recipient of the Edmund S. Muskie and Freedom Support Act Graduate Fellowship. Most recently, she graduated from New York City's Milano Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy. Yasa's impressive breadth of experience, has led to her national headquarters (NHQ) assignment to monitor the return on investment in volunteers. One of her main tasks is to develop a model that will allow the accurate value assessment of volunteer contributions. She says that her work on developing an accurate model to assess the value of volunteers has been one of her most enjoyable experiences at NHQ. "It has been wonderful to meet and work with so many experts in the field."
Yasa speaks English and Russian, and has a basic knowledge of Spanish and German. Her internship with the American Red Cross ends on November 30, 2005. She speculates that she may then work for a USAID contractor or perhaps in the United Nations office in Ukraine.
|
