Intern Spotlight: Hafsa Faruqi
What is it like to be an intern at the Humanities Research Institute (HRI)? We spoke with Hafsa Faruqi (Spanish & Psychology), HRI's David F. Prindable undergraduate intern for 2023-2024.
What made you interested in the David F Prindable internship at HRI?
I found out about the David F. Prindable internship through my Spanish advisor’s weekly emails. I was interested because I wanted more experience with the humanities, since I'm more focused on my psych-related things, and that is the career path that I do want to take. But I wanted to be more rooted in the humanities. I wanted to be on the communication side of things because it was just something different than I had done before, and I really like it.
For undergrad students, what do you think are the benefits of being involved with and connected with HRI?
The benefits include being in a space where you can connect more with humanities events or topics. What I've learned is that with the humanities, there's so much behind it. It’s not just what people generally think about. Undergrads can hopefully feel connected with HRI because anyone can be part of it. You can be any major really, or from any college, at the university, and still learn and participate.
What has been your favorite project to work on?
I really liked attending the International Women's Day event. Writing about it was super cool because I really liked hearing about trailblazing women and hearing from different people, whether that's faculty, or students, or people in the community, across disciplines. I liked reflecting on that and writing about it. I also liked workshopping social media stuff, too. I think it's interesting working on the back end of that.
What have you learned from working in the humanities? And how can you apply what you've learned in the future?
I'm learning how to approach the humanities, or people and their disciplines, differently. Attending different kinds of events that we've had at HRI, like the Interseminars initiative’s “Step Step Step: improvisation, sound, and movement” event last semester—that performance with Damon Locks and Tara Aisha Willis was unlike anything I had ever seen. There are so many different avenues that I have experienced through working with the humanities.
I also really liked the opportunity to start the Intern Insights blog. That’s been really cool because I haven't done anything like that before. I've only ever written for classes, so blog post writing is pretty new to me. I'm excited about that opportunity.
You meet people that have different interests and come from all different backgrounds and areas of study or research. Applying all the knowledge that I've gained will be beneficial. Having conversations like: “This is what I've learned through attending this event or taking this class. This is what I know on this topic. But can you also teach me more about it?”
What would you say to a student that was interested in attending an HRI event? How would you describe an event to somebody who's never been to one?
An Inside Scoop is an event where you can learn from a faculty or a guest speaker about their work and interests. You could honestly go into an Inside Scoop knowing absolutely nothing and come out learning so much and enjoying a free meal—who doesn't love that? I don't really care about sports, but David Maraniss made it very interesting to learn about different athletes in sports history. You can get a lot out of attending HRI events without exercising too much effort, and it does not feel like homework because you are there to listen and explore new interests.
Natalie Lira’s lecture (at ISR) was also interesting to me. I am going to go look at some of the classes she is teaching next year.
What advice would you give to future Printable interns?
Don’t be afraid to get involved. Try to make time to come to different events and experiences. It is really eye-opening, and you get the full HRI experience by helping out with and attending the events first-hand. Getting to know everyone and working with everyone— it’s been fun to be part of HRI.