“Understanding How Humanitarian Policy for Child Protection Works at UNICEF (and How to Live Like a New Yorker)”
By Paula Oliveira (Duke MIDP ’27)
Summer 2026 AFE Blog Post Series
When I was around 14 years old and attending high school in Brazil, my school coordinator showed me a career guidebook, inviting me to take a look and see if something would come up as a possible profession for me. This was very common in my country with students who were close to finishing school, as a way of helping them to find a career path.
I remember wanting to be so many different things – a police chief (according to my parents), a lawyer, and an oceanographer. The last one was due to my love for the sea and sharks – although someone would have to explain to me later that if I wanted to work with sharks I would have to be a marine biologist. Funny enough, however, when I read the career guidebook, the decision was clear: I wanted to study international relations and specialize in human rights defense.
So, since my early teenage days, I knew what I wanted to do as a career, and protecting children was always at the top of my list. You can then imagine my excitement when UNICEF selected me to be an intern this summer. It was a dream come true and a direct opportunity to understand how to support children in need.
After classes at Duke ended in May, that’s what I have been doing: living in New York and working at UNICEF Headquarters as a humanitarian policy intern.
The UN Headquarters building
My internship at UNICEF is with the complex high-threat environment team (CHTE), part of the Humanitarian Policy Section (HPS) of the Division of Emergency Operations (EMOPS). CHTE has the role of supporting UNICEF with resources and guidance on complex humanitarian issues, including the development of capacity building, policy advisory, and technical support.
In this first month of my internship, I was fortunate to support the team with various tasks, including attending events as part of the Protection of Civilians Week at the United Nations Building and different mission representations, as well as creating a country analysis paper and supporting capacity-building documents on humanitarian policy.
It has been very interesting to see how, in addition to your professional experience, you are always learning. That’s how I feel right now. With a growing sense of feeling better prepared to work with children and other vulnerable communities in protection through my master’s program, I could not be more excited to have the ability to learn from one of the most important international agencies for the protection of children, which is UNICEF.
I’m looking forward to the next couple of months as a humanitarian policy intern, and to understanding more and more how the humanitarian response, peacekeeping, and development agendas have been managed for protecting children in complex environments, especially since I left my previous work and started my master’s degree at Duke.
Having the ability to support the CHTE/EMOPS team at UNICEF headquarters and having a better understanding of how humanitarian access is affected by complex scenarios has been incredibly exciting, but also a humbling experience that will help shape my next semesters at Duke, as well as my personal and professional steps after graduation.
Enjoying the view from the UNICEF building rooftop
Experiences like this are important for giving students a taste of our future after graduation, and even more so when we can do it at places and organizations that are shaping important discussions on peace, conflict, and development, like UNICEF.
But none of this would be possible without Rotary support, especially financially, as most internships are unpaid. Being an intern in a city like NYC demands a lot of resources and planning. Rotary support, which allows me to take advantage of such a great opportunity, is very appreciated. Thank you so much for making this opportunity a reality for me and for my fellow colleagues all around the world.
Besides the internship, I also believe that Rotary support allows students to have an important cultural experience, like the one I’m having right now: to live, work, and enjoy a city like NYC for three months, a cosmopolitan and vibrant place where you can access so many cultural and social opportunities. It has been fun to adapt to the metro commuting craziness, finding new places to eat, drink coffee, and do groceries without breaking the bank (spoiler alert, this is almost impossible here).
But one of the most exciting experiences for me as a Brazilian, is to be in the city and country during the FIFA Soccer World Cup, where the USA is one of the hosts. I’m looking forward to experiencing the good atmosphere that soccer fans bring, as well as trying to convince my Rotary fellow from India of how cool this World Cup competition is (Varsha, this is about you). Dear reader, wish me luck!
Paula and Varsha (another Class 24 Rotary Fellow) grabbing lunch together
I’m looking forward to having a great summer and internship, and maybe watching my country gain a new sports title in the meantime.
I hope I can soon share even more exciting experiences during and after my summer internship, and I wish my colleagues the same. Thank you again, Rotary, UNICEF, and Duke for making this experience possible.