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.:Resource Guides:Interviews-Tommy Yeh.
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Interviews
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Tommy Yeh
Long Island University, CW Post, 2000
Philosophy, Economics
Human Rights Watch
HIV/AIDS Program Associate
New York, NY
yeht@hrw.org |
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A Day in the Life
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What are three things you love and three things you find challenging or frustrating about your work? |
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| Love: |
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Being involved in the movement for social justice. |
| 2. |
Learning about the world and how to change it. |
| 3. |
Engaging in the lives of people who need us. |
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| Challenging or frustrating: |
| 1. |
Bureacracy, lack of vision, lack of courage, etc. |
| 2. |
Apathy among the citizens of the first world. |
| 3. |
The above problems in ourselves.
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What is the most important task on your desk right now? |
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Press outreach for an upcoming report criticizing federal funding for abstinence education in the U.S.
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What drives you to do this work? What makes you want to get out of bed every morning? |
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For many of us, human rights and social justice are abstract issues. We could walk away from the problems of the world and live a bourgeois life of comfort and ignorance. Instead, I like to think of this work as a process of
collective witnessing and solidarity. I cannot experience the hardships of the poor and oppressed in the same manner that the majority of human beings do, but I can work to help change things by putting myself in service of them and their cause, by sacrificing
the accidental position of power and privilege that we enjoy. This voluntary abdictation of power -- not charity, which maintains the master/slave relationship -- achieves a double liberation: it lessens the inequality of power in the world that maintains the
structures of oppression, thereby freeing the oppressed, and also frees the oppressor (me) from being in that position.
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How often do you "dress up" for work? Describe the culture of your organization. |
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Human Rights Watch's work environment is pretty open. I wear a tee-shirt and jeans every day in the summer and dress similarly in the winter. Important meetings and special events require a little more decorum.
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In a typical month, about what percentage of your time is spent on the following activities? |
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| Talking on the phone |
10% |
| Dealing with email |
20% |
| Meetings with individuals |
15% |
| Meetings with groups/committees |
10% |
| Traveling |
0% |
| Writing |
10% |
| Reading |
30% |
| Researching |
20% |
(Note: respondents could allow their answers to add up to be more than 100%)
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What do you do when you are feeling burned out at work? |
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Walk around and connect with friends and colleagues. This is a great way to stay informed in the work of other parts of the organization.
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Career Center Resource Guides
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