Our two CUNY Career Launch interns, Izzy Taveras and Alesia Martinez, began their Social Services Access Team positions the week of July 14 at Cafewal, a space run by our partners EV Loves NYC and East Village Neighbors Who Care. Izzy and Alesia have each worked over 75 hours helping community members navigate immigration issues, apply for work authorization, resumes, find employment, and obtain social services and benefits.

Izzy and Alesia use their Spanish language skills to make the space more inclusive to Spanish-speaking community members while working with volunteer interpreters to assist French, Pulaar, and Wolof speaking community members who make up the majority of Cafewal’s community base.

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Izzy Taveras majors in Criminal Justice at John Jay where she is working towards her certificate in legal translation and interpretation and volunteers as a researcher for language access policies in the United States. Izzy plans to apply for the BS/MA program at John Jay to earn her JD and PhD and possibly go into immigration law.

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Alesia Martinez is a rising senior at Kingsborough Community College where she expects to graduate with an Associated in Science degree in Mental Health and Human Services, ultimately earning her master’s degree to become a licensed social worker. Growing up as a daughter of immigrants, she has  translated documents and helped family members navigate different application processes.