2026 Summer Internship Fellowship Recipients

Katherine Gutierrez, Connecticut Institute for Refugee and Immigrants
Open Society Foundations Award

Katherine Gutierrez is a first-generation student in the Special Program in Law double majoring in Political Science and Human Rights. Her academic interests focus on the immigration system and policy. She is currently a Newman Civic fellow where she is co-leading a campus-wide coalition on immigration with other universities across the nation sharing resources and organizing in their campus communities.

Katrina Hatch, Business and Human Rights Center
Eversource Energy Chair in Business

Katrina Hatch is a junior majoring in Human Rights and Environmental Studies at UConn. In the past she has focused her studies on genocide research and how climate change and human rights are interconnected within society. Recently she has developed a new-found interest in business and human rights as well as sustainable global supply chains and how they can be implemented to better quality of life for workers as well as building greener and more sustainable practices.

Lukas Heil, Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services
Open Society Foundations Award

Lukas Heil is a junior pursuing a dual degree in Human Rights and Sociology at UConn. His main interests are genocide and atrocity prevention. He is looking into furthering his education through law school focusing on human rights law and the prosecution of human rights violators.

Suleen Kareem, Bellwether International
Open Society Foundations Award

Suleen Kareem is a junior at the University of Connecticut, double majoring in Philosophy and Human Rights. She is the daughter of Kurdish refugees who fled northern Iraq and settled in the United States after surviving mass displacement, executions, and chemical attacks during the Anfal campaign. These experiences have shaped Suleen’s scholarly interests and commitments, especially to refugee advocacy and the preservation of marginalized histories. She is currently a Humanities Institute Fellow, where she is writing a thesis on the gendered and epistemological dimensions of genocide in the Middle East.

Reem Saood, Amnesty International
Open Society Foundations Award

Reem Saood is a sophomore majoring in Human Rights and Political Science on the Pre-Law track at UConn. Her academic and professional interests focus on immigration and refugee rights, displacement, and the intersection of law and marginalized communities. She is actively involved in community organizing and advocacy efforts centered on political education, social justice, and empowering underrepresented communities.

Malakoot Tabarssi, Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services
Open Society Foundations Award

Malakoot Tabarssi is a junior majoring in Political Science with a minor in Human Rights. Her academic interests focus on international human rights. She is currently working at UCAELI, helping UConn international students. She completed an internship with State Representative Maryam Khan, focusing on disability rights in Connecticut and promoting representation for Muslims in Connecticut. She helped plan the annual iftar dinner at the Hartford Capitol in Spring 2025, where she informed many non-Muslims about the holy month for Muslims. She plans on going to law school and becoming an immigration lawyer.