Freedom Road has started an internship program. After many applications, we selected three fabulous young women to join our team. They each have a variety of experiences and come to us with energy, creativity and most importantly, a passion for justice. They will expand our reach and teach us to see new things. They will be working very closely with Freedom Road Founder, Lisa Sharon Harper and Dr. Liz Rios, Institute Co-Director.
We are thrilled to introduce Christina Kedaj, Syntyche Nkunda and Tati Rodriguez. Christina will be our Research Intern working to help fact-find and dig up information useful for upcoming books and consulting contracts. Syntyche will be our Merchandise Intern helping with all the Freedom Road products we hope to launch in time for Christmas, and Tati will be our Administrative Intern, helping with all the behind the scenes work of our popular Institute for Leadership and Justice .
Here’s a little more about each of them
Christina Kedaj
Christina is from Dallas, Texas but for the past year has been living in Berlin, Germany with her German husband. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Counseling from Dallas Theological Seminary. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor and works as a therapist, mainly with women and children survivors of Domestic Violence. She is passionate about educating others on violence against women. Christina works part-time as a counselor in a private practice in Berlin.
She states, “I applied to the Freedom Road Internship because, as an American living in Germany, I have had a hard time watching the events of 2020 unfold from a distance. I wanted to be a more tangible help. So, I am very excited to provide my time and energy to Freedom Road so that Lisa and her amazing team can have even more bandwidth to do the work of shrinking “the Narrative Gap” and further the cause of justice.”
Syntyche Nkunda
Syntyche (Sin-teesh) was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina and currently residing in New York City. She is world traveler by profession and leisure as well as a current student of Sociocultural Anthropology at North Carolina Central University. She has served in the church for over a decade, attended Bible College and experienced the consistent colonization of the American church first hand, which sparked her interest in advocacy/activism.
She states, “Mbote! I consider myself passionate about all things true, good, kind, lovely and just. I applied to this internship because I believe you can never outlearn or outgrow.
I want to learn more and grow more, as a person, Christian and activist. I hope to contribute my love of history, research and lived experiences to Freedom Road as an intern. I’m excited to be here at this moment in history, and ready for this journey.”
Tati Rodriguez
Tati was born in Las Vegas and moved to Reno to attend college from the University of Nevada, Reno. She knew she was passionate about education and supporting opportunities for children. She graduated with honors and earned a BS in Education with a minor in Political Science. Since graduating, she moved back to Reno to work as the Director of First Impressions for a Mortgage company. Her hope is to pursue a graduate degree in Political Science and work in community advocacy and development, and perhaps one day, obtain a Doctoral degree.
Tati states, “I applied for the internship because I am passionate about contributing to a more just and equitable society. I know one of the only ways to invoke meaningful change is through conversations and education, which Freedom Road facilitates. I hope to contribute my genuine love and truth to Freedom Road.”
