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Two RHS Students Accepted into The William P. Lauder Junior Internship Program

Nicholas Cho Grade 11

photo Nicholas Cho (Grade 11)

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Two Ridgewood High School students, Nicholas Cho (Grade 11) and Joshua Fishkin (Grade 10) were accepted into The William P. Lauder Junior Internship Program, a highly competitive program offered by the University of Southern California Shoah Foundation – The Institute for Visual History and Education. Only forty students, in grades 7-11, are selected from a nationwide pool to participate in a “dynamic and unique learning opportunity to engage with testimonies – personal stories – from survivors and witnesses of genocide.” To be considered, both RHS applicants submitted a personal letter of interest and a reference letter from an educator familiar with the student’s educational background.


Junior interns engage in ten virtual meetings and must complete assigned activities and evaluations, along with independent work outside of meeting times. They also complete 25 hours of volunteer work experiences with USC Shoah Foundation and mentor a peer group through the Stronger Than Hate Challenge. Through this internship, participants will learn to decipher patterns and impact of hate, gain global perspectives, gain work experience, academic and digital skills, and develop their voice to counter hate.

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“My interest in this program stems from learning about my grandparents’ and great-grandparents’ own survival accounts during the Korean war,” said Nick Cho who was recommended for the internship program by Ms. Kirtane. “It is crucial as a society to learn from our mistakes in history. This program provides first-hand accounts from those who have been affected by society’s most devastating mistakes: genocides. I hope to gain a better sense of the reasoning and impact behind such events and find ways to share these powerful stories with others to spread awareness.”

Preparing students to be responsible global citizens who contribute meaningfully to society is an essential component of the district’s mission and vision. Through classroom lessons, special school assemblies, and unique outside educational and real-world experiences such as this one, RHS students study historical events and contemporary issues to broaden their civic agency and deepen community engagement.

“I applied to the program in order to enlighten myself as to the horrors of the Shoah and other genocides through testimony-based learning.  I wanted to be able to find human connection within an event that is hard to comprehend,” said Joshua Fishkin who worked with Mr. Appel and Ms. Wiater on the internship application process. “When we are able to interact with the people and the testimony of the people who actually experienced genocide, I hope that we will be able to humanize history and learn that it was once happening to actual people. It was the world that they lived in just as this is the world we live in.”

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