What I'm All About

Hi Everyone,

If you don't know by now, my name is Mikel Angel Peña, and I am the new intern thanks to GLIFAA (Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies). As such I will be living in Washington, DC, for the summer. It's a very new program, and I and the other organization members, especially Ashton Giese, Public Affairs Director of GLIFAA and my supervisor, are in the midst of coming up with a plan for this summer. Needless to say, I am very excited to begin my work.

The purpose of this blog thus far is to document my internship with GLIFAA. So far, we have decided that I will be attending the numerous events that the city of Washington has to offer and also to meet many different people who work in these foreign affairs agencies (State Department, USAID, MCC, etc.) and are members of GLIFAA. I hope to learn a lot about foreign affairs and Gay Rights policy, two of my loves. I am a rising sophomore at the George Washington University and already know the area pretty well. I am studying International Affairs with a Concentration in International Politics with a Minor in Russian Language and Culture. I have a desire to work in the Eastern Europe/Russia/Central Asia area of the world and hope to be able to fold that in to this internship.

Thinking of all the possiblities with this internship, I would also like the opportunity to create something that is educational for the gay community and international world. One infant idea is to do research on gay immigrants. My father himself is an immigrant from Mexico (though not gay), and I have met many gay immigrants in the DC area. I am interested in knowing their plight, whether being gay makes it harder for them as immigrants in this country, and if their cultural experience from country to country is radically different or very much the same. I believe that doing this kind of research could be beneficial for gays and immigrants alike.

I will be posting on this blog often, talking about my assignments with GLIFAA, the possible research I will be doing, the events I will be attending, and all related works. Please feel free to comment, make suggestions, or ask questions at any time. I want myself to be very open to the public as that is where I will be spending most of my time during this internship. Thank you for reading.

Mikel