Q2 Update - SALDEF's SikhLEAD DC & Regional

During the second quarter, the primary focus of the SikhLEAD program was Internship placements of all the SikhLEADers. The Programs team worked with the candidates individually to polish resumes and cover letters, as well as to go over interview skills. The main goal was to ensure that the students were able to apply and attain Internships that held personal and professional interest to them. The Internships for this year to name a few range from Sen Schumer in DC, CAPAL, APIAVote, Becket Law firm, Parliament of World's Religions, State Senators & US State Reps offices to Sikh American organizations like SAVA (Sikh American Veterans Alliance), Colorado Sikhs, Dasvandh Network, Sikh American History Project. A few Interns are also interning with the SALDEF Policy, Communications & Resources departments.

By June, all SikhLEAD cohort members were placed in Internships with support from the SALDEF Programs team. In addition to placements, a strong emphasis also was placed on creating an engaging event schedule for the SikhLEAD programming. Panels were decided for weekly events and speakers were recruited to join. Some speakers include Harmann Singh, Rubin Paul Singh, and the Sikh Professional Network for the DC cohort and Sikh Elected Officials Panel, SALDEF’s Partners panel, Dr. Simranjeet Singh, Kulvir Singh Gill SikhRI for the Regional cohort

On the SEVA project side, the DC cohort began working on planning Langar on the Hill and the Regional cohort on SEVA Health Clinics that are free health clinics organized at different Gurdwaras across the country. SALDEF initiated their work with the Sikh Health Network team to train the SikhLEADers to further plan and facilitate these SEVA Clinics with the help of physician and non-physician volunteers. 

The cohort had their Orientation on June 10th, in-person for the DC cohort and virtual for the Regional cohort, kickstarting the 2023 SikhLEAD Summer Internship Program.