Georgia State Junior Chosen for Competitive Irish Internship Honoring Frederick Douglass, Daniel O'Connell

ATLANTA - A Georgia State University junior will be spending the summer in Ireland after winning the prestigious Frederick Douglass-Daniel O'Connell Global Internship.

Sarah Darabadey is a double major in business management and hospitality administration in Georgia State's J. Mack Robinson College of Business. She's also earning a certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language through GSU's Department of Applied Linguistics.

Of Panamanian and Persian background, Darabadey is tri-lingual, fluent in English and Spanish and studying Farsi. She said living at the intersection of multiple cultures has given her insight into the values and histories of those cultures, and curiosity about and openness to others.

"When I'm confronted with a perspective different from my own, I don't see it as a barrier," she said. "I don't see different as something to be corrected, but as something to be curious about."

Darabadey is one of 14 students chosen out of a pool of 500 applicants from across the U.S. to receive the Douglass-O'Connell Internship, which offers placement with Ireland-based companies, lectures on Irish culture, and networking opportunities in Dublin, Cork and Belfast.

The program is cosponsored by the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE), Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs, the African American Irish Diaspora Network (AAIDN) and the John and Lillian Miles Lewis Foundation.

"The Douglass-O'Connell program introduces a new generation of young leaders to today's diverse and vibrant Ireland," said James P. Pellow, president and CEO of CIEE. "It's a privilege to partner with AAIDN, Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs, and the John and Lillian Miles Lewis Foundation to help increase diversity abroad as we also help unite the diverse and global Irish diaspora."

Darabadey is one of four students selected from the late John Lewis' congressional district in the Atlanta area and supported by the Lewis Foundation.

"Congressman Lewis believed in the power of young people to advance justice and build the beloved community," said Michael Collins, chair of the Lewis Foundation. "We are proud to support four exceptional students in this year's program. By expanding their global perspectives and leadership skills in Ireland, this experience helps equip the next generation to carry forward Congressman Lewis' legacy of creating 'Good Trouble' and making the world a better place."

Darabadey called being able to intern in Ireland a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to turn her theoretical leadership knowledge into practiced skills.

"As a business management major, I've learned that you can't truly lead unless you know how to listen first and adapt to people who see the world differently than you do," she said. "Working in Dublin will force me to step out of my comfort zone and question my own assumptions."