Interning with CIPR and LaFASA

Hi all!

My name is Riley Moran. I’m a rising junior, majoring in Latin American Studies, Political Science, and Social Policy and Practice. This summer, I’m doubling up on research opportunities. My first is with the Center for Inter-American Policy and Research (CIPR). Similar to Tulane’s Stone Center, CIPR conducts research on issues relevant to Latin America, however, they are more specifically devoted to the study of inter-hemispheric exchanges of resources and knowledge, especially those related to critical social and economic policies.

CIPR facilitates contact between scholars across the region with the hopes of creating real academic solidarity and inter-American policies reflective of multiple perspectives. My second internship position will be with LaFASA—the Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault. LaFASA is a coalition agency that oversees, coordinates, and serves sexual assault crisis centers throughout the state. LaFASA mostly creates the curriculum for trainings, provides legal services for survivors, lobbies the state legislator for anti-sexual violence policies, and conducts research on sexual assault on college campuses.

As a Latin American Studies major, my internship with CIPR will prove an invaluable experience. CIPR has a breadth of material resources I will take advantage of, from primary source documents to connections with prominent NGOs across the western hemisphere. The resource I am most excited about, however, is the staff.

CIPR employs some of the most innovative scholars in the realm of inter-American affairs today. I will work under fellows with unparalleled expertise and first-hand experience with social inequalities and policies in Latin America. To prepare for this research, I’ll need to brush up on my Spanish (and Portuguese!) skills.

In our increasingly interconnected world, I think an important part of my education not only as a student, but as a person, is to learn to be a global citizen. It is essential for women to have a place in academia and in research positions in the global community, as it will be women who bring attention and visibility to the ways in which gender exacerbates existing inequalities and women who will devise solutions to these unfair systems.

I’m super excited for the freedom I will be offered in the LaFASA workspace. I’m able to conduct research on any subject I choose, and I hope to focus on LGBTQ+ populations affected by sexual assault in universities in Louisiana, or even extending across the Deep South. The LGBTQ+ community reported a higher rate of sexual assault than any other population on Tulane’s campus. I hope that I will be able to draw on my own experiences and the experiences of my peers who are willing and able to discuss this research with me. I have considered narrowing this topic in a number of ways, potentially focusing on bathroom policies in academic buildings and dorms or the Title IX reporting process.

So that’s me and my summer plans! Thank you for reading up on my experiences!

Riley