ME&A Headquarters Hosts Andrew Rozario: Enthusiastic Intern Willing to Learn
ME&A’s headquarters has had the pleasure of hosting Andrew Rozario, a dedicated and engaging recent college graduate, as an intern over the past year. Andrew, who graduated with a B.A. in Psychology and with a 3.84 GPA from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, in December 2023, has proven to be a valuable addition to ME&A headquarters.
His enthusiasm, willingness to learn, and fresh perspectives have enhanced productivity across several headquarters’ teams, including human resources, finance, and business development. His contributions include researching potential development activities, screening job applicants, participating in interviews, preparing documentation for USAID proposals, creating technology use instructions for new staff, and digitizing financial documents.
“Interning at ME&A has been a great experience for me. The steady work and predictable hours gave me so many opportunities to grow and learn. Immersing myself in international development programming and conducting interviews with seasoned professionals has broadened my understanding of the diverse perspectives and challenges in this field globally,” he said. “Being able to interact with the CEO and upper management gave me insight about their career paths which was especially inspiring, showing me how dedication, smart choices, and even some unexpected turns can lead to meaningful careers.”
Andrew brings previous work experience as a residential assistant in a college dormitory, a clinical lab assistant testing for COVID-19, and a lifeguard at a splash pool. He also has experience as an undergraduate research assistant screening research participants and assisting conducting research studies with children in Asian-American families.
He plans to continue his university studies and pursue a graduate degree in counseling. As a conversational speaker of Bangla, a language he learned from his family, Andrew appreciates ME&A’s multicultural environment and values the opportunity to apply his diverse linguistic and cultural background to impactful global development work. His internship has involved researching and learning about development issues in countries like Columbia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Laos, Peru, Sudan, and Tanzania – work he found interesting and meaningful.
“ME&A’s multicultural environment has broadened my perspective and solidified my aspiration to pursue a career as a counselor or possibly a USAID Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting (CLA) practitioner,” he said. “Both paths would allow me to use what I’ve learned at ME&A, along with my background and education, to advocate meaningful change. My time at ME&A has definitely boosted my confidence in my ability to forge a career path that’s right for me and creates a positive difference.”
Like the rest of ME&A, Andrew is working on a hybrid schedule. He currently works in office Monday through Thursday and works from home on Friday.
“ME&A provides interns the tools to help them grow in their chosen field or explore a career in international development by exposing them to different areas of expertise that ME&A has,” said Director of Human Resources Lizette Laserna Salvador who runs ME&A’s internship program. “The pandemic has not changed that. Our hands-on, hybrid, on-the-job experience helps interns develop an expertise to be used as a springboard for a rewarding career.”