Social ecology student lands coveted internship
Soon after walking the stage at her commencement ceremony Sunday, Megan Kosai will pack her bags and move to Washington D.C., where she will spend the summer as an intern in the White House.
“I will be with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy,” the 22-year-old social ecology major says.
Kosai credits her undergraduate experience — specifically her work with the university’s INsite Lab, her UCDC internship and her participation in the Kakehashi Program, a grassroots exchange program hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan — for preparing her for the coveted White House internship.
With INsite, a lab in the Donald Bren School of Computer Science and Informatics, Kosai worked as a research and teaching assistant. She helped configure accessibility features on phones and collaborated with the Dayle McIntosh Center to teach clients how to use screen reader features. She also co-developed a university level course with the director of INsite on vision-based device accessibility. She co-taught the course to 15 UCI students last fall.
For her UCDC internship last year, Kosai served as a legislative intern for the U.S. House of Representatives.
“This internship solidified my interest in public service and was a wonderful experience learning about domestic policy making,” Kosai says. “I wanted to learn about different types of policy to understand what sector I want to focus on post-graduation.”
Earlier this spring, Kosai participated in the Kakehashi Program. Kakehashi is Japanese for bridge and the program is centered on building bridges of friendship and cooperation between the U.S. and Japan, she explains.
“I and 30 other Japanese Americans spent time in Tokyo, Okinawa and Gifu where we expanded our knowledge of Japan’s economy, history and society,” Kosai says. “I am so grateful for the Japanese American Citizens League, the Japan International Cooperation Center and the Japanese Government for their coordination of this program.”
Her interest in international affairs began when her grandfather shared stories of his hardships serving as a sergeant for Japan in World War II.
“He inspired me to learn about the power of diplomacy to prevent these types of conflicts in the future,” Kosai says. “Meetings with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan deepened my understanding of international politics. I was honored to write and deliver the representative address to the Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs.”
Kosai sought out the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of her Japanese culture and her identity as a Japanese woman and to reconnect with her family in Japan.
“Being half Japanese, half Mexican, I am always searching to make my cultural identity whole,” she says. “The opportunity of going to the country where my grandparents and father grew up felt like the perfect way to learn about my family history. My favorite experience during the program was reconnecting with my family in Kawasaki. That was truly one of the happiest moments of my life.”
After she completes her White House internship, Kosai says, it’s possible she will remain on the East Coast where she hopes to build her career.
— Mimi Ko Cruz