Finding a Sense of Belonging: The Experience of a Queer Refugee Intern

As part of Rainbow Railroad’s efforts to better respond to LGBTQI+ refugees’ resettlement needs, we launched a Queer Refugee Internship Program. Our program provides a unique opportunity for refugees to gain vital work experience, learn new skills, and connect with professionals while elevating the voices of queer refugees.

We’re highlighting the stories of individuals who were part of the Queer Refugee Internship Program’s most recent cohort. In this post, a recent QRI shares experiences of interning with Pride at Work Canada.

My name is Andres Felipe Caro Díaz. I am 28 years old, born in Bogotá, Colombia, and I am an industrial engineer from the Konrad Lorenz University Foundation, with experience in documentation, process improvement, and process automation.

I completed my internship as an Executive Office Intern (Data & Process Optimization) at Pride at Work Canada. My responsibilities included supporting the management of events such as Pink Tank, Pink Awards, and World AIDS Day; updating the office’s digital asset inventory and helping reorganize the workspace; gathering information generated from events for later review; and analyzing how databases were being managed and stored in the system, identifying improvements for better optimization and understanding among all staff members.

From my internship at Pride at Work Canada, I can say that I gained a strong sense of belonging to the 2SLGBTIQ+ community—something that had been difficult for me to express because of the place and culture I come from. What once made me feel embarrassed is now something I understand I can be proud of. I was welcomed here and treated with respect and empathy, and that is exactly what I want to continue applying in my future work experiences, as well as in my personal life.

Being part of the Rainbow Railroad’s Fall Queer Refugee Internship cohort has been an invaluable experience for me, not only within the Canadian professional environment but also within an organization whose ideals and vision of the world I genuinely share. For that reason, I am deeply grateful and more motivated than ever to continue moving forward.

I am currently focused on improving my professional skills, including my communication skills in English. One of my goals is to become more fluent and communicate in a more professional way. I hope to find a job that is meaningful to me and that creates a positive impact in the world. Since I left my country, everything has been a bit more challenging—leaving behind my family, my job, my friends, and everything I knew—and now I want to find a stable employment opportunity that allows me to keep growing and support my family, building little by little the peace and stability we are hoping for.

As a refugee and a member of the 2SLGBTIQ+ community, I can say that this experience has exceeded my expectations. I am proud to have been part of a program that considers people in situations like mine. This has truly been an opportunity that will mark a before and after in my life here in Canada.