As part of an annual sponsorship by YWAA, Tyler Miles '20 completed an internship this past summer shortly after his graduation from Yale. Each summer YWAA funds a designated Yale student who performs an internship in community service.
A native of Wilmington, Del., and a member of Yale's Saybrook College, Miles worked this past summer as an intern at the Bronx Defenders MOIA ("Mentorship, Organizing, Investigation and Advocacy"). The organization is an advocacy group involved in public defense work. During the summer, Miles worked on projects in community organizing and in LGBTQ+ defense. He also contributed research for a national LGBTQ+ conference on rights of trans and gender non-confirming prisoners (Lavender Law). Some project activity involved preparing "Know Your Rights" and training materials.
"I have engaged in social justice and human rights for most of my undergraduate career," he wrote in a summary report to Yale and YWAA about his experience. "Part of the reason why I applied to the (internship) was to engage and work directly with marginalized individuals through the community-organizing team."
Since the internship, he has started a two-year program at Google geared toward social justice and community organizing.
"In a time when Yalies across the world have had to contend with the uncertainty of this pandemic," he wrote, "it has been an incredible blessing to have this opportunity to work with the Bronx Defenders MOIA, but also to have scholarship assistance from the (YWAA)."
He added, "I appreciate not only the financial support, but the mentorship and kindness that the YWAA members have shown me, including (YWAA Director) BK Munguia '75."
Miles had considered going to law school, but has decided to focus on this current social-justice passion for now.
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