Jarrod’s role within our team
We have partnered up with The Robertson Trust to welcome a group of interns into our JustRight Scotland team.
Some of them have been working alongside our legal teams and others have worked with JustRight For All staff members to produce content in areas such as policy and communication.
Jarrod Grant joined us last May on a placement funded by The Robertson Trust Internship Scheme – Summer 2022. Here’s what Jarrod had to say about it!
My experience at JustRight Scotland
My name’s Jarrod and I was the policy and communications intern at JustRight Scotland during the summer of 2022.
My experiences interning at JustRight Scotland (JRS) were varied and unexpected, yet not once did I feel overwhelmed or without support. Going into the internship, I was unsure about what kind of working environment I would be faced with, but JRS fostered an inclusive and welcoming space where I could build my skill set without anxiety. Support was always available and offered; conversations and questions were never dismissed or unwelcome. This environment allowed me to feel sure in what projects I was given. Seemingly daunting tasks like a thorough and lengthy competitive analysis were made less stressful by knowing my supervisor was only a message away. People were trusting and encouraging in the work I was doing, I never once felt undervalued. For me, working with the JustRight for All team helped build on my confidence just as much as my skills.
What I learned
Seeing the results of what I was doing was another highlight of my internship. Near the beginning of my job, I helped organise and run the Roots of Refuge event during Refugee Week in the Glasgow Southside. Helping facilitate multiple organisations come together in a celebration of the refugees in a city they call home. This made me feel the work I have done had an importance and allowed me to understand the impact of the good work that is happening at JRS.
That good work continued past this event planning. I worked to research, correspond with other organisations and attend meetings regarding the Bill of Rights and the ways to best combat its more harmful provisions. As someone that loves research and studies politics, both in my own time and at university, researching and understanding the process through which charities like JRS react and act regarding proposed legislation has broadened my knowledge of the British political landscape and gave me a perspective I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise. Even though elements were less than cheerful, I was still able to find hope in seeing the amount of movement there is in the human rights sector. From grassroots organisations to international institution, key-stakeholders across Scotland stand up for the most vulnerable and help ensure that everyone is treated fairly.
My internship at JustRight Scotland has both aided my development, gave me skills I would not have otherwise engaged with and shown me that there are a lot of people out there doing right. I would recommend to anyone looking to build on themselves whilst helping people to come intern with JRS.
We’d like to thank The Robertson Trust for their initiative, and of course a huge thanks to Jarrod for his outstanding work, his innovative approach and his input – we wish Jarrod all the best for his next chapter!
