INTERN SPOTLIGHT | Jon
We love Jon! He withdrew from The George Washington University Law School because he was compelled to make a tangible difference on the issue. This spring, he joined our intern team and has been doing some pretty incredible work.
Q: What is your name and age?
Jonathan Joseph Luebbers. 24.
Q: Where are you from?
Rainier, Oregon.
Q: Where do you go to school?
I graduated in 2009 from Washington State University. I was attending The George Washington University Law School before withdrawing and coming to join LiNK.
Q: What did you study and why?
As a student at Washington State University I studied Human Development and Psychology with the desire of better understanding how/why we as people think and function. After developing an interest in foreign policy through personal research, I attended The George Washington University Law School with the goal of ultimately focusing on international human rights law. I withdrew after one semester and joined up with LiNK to give people centered internationally focused non-profit work a shot.
Q: What is the most interesting fact about you?
I am so interesting that it is impossible for me to answer this question in a sentence or two. That or I am just terrible at answering “interesting facts about you” type questions. Answer to be determined. Further inquiries welcome.
Q: Why did you decide to intern with LiNK?
I have a long sustained interest in the North Korea crisis and a passion for helping the North Korean people. I joined LiNK’s ranks in order to work on my passion in a meaningful and tangible way.
Q: What is your job title?
Research and Policy Intern
Q: What are your specific responsibilities at LiNK? Why are they important?
I contribute to LiNK’s knowledge base, keeping the organization up to date on developments concerning the North Korea crisis. I help to construct LiNK’s weekly “North Korea News Brief,” which is disseminated to North Korea experts around the world, and tackle other research requests as needed. I participate in strategy discussions with the Research and Policy Analyst and other staff, procuring ideas about how to best go about pursuing an end to the suffering faced by the North Korean people. Information is key to addressing the crisis in North Korea. If we don’t know the facts on the issue, we can’t move forward to help and resolve it. Every solution begins with knowledge, and this knowledge must then be followed by a good idea. It has to start somewhere.
Q: If you had five minutes with Kim Jong-un, what would you talk about?
If I had five minutes with Kim Jong-un, and the ability to drive a conversation, I would talk with him about our shared humanity. I would talk with him about what it is like being a person in this world. I would speak with him simply as one person to another. I would tell him of difficulties that I have faced in my life, and how I have been able to overcome them. I would ask him about his difficulties, his worries, his fears, his insecurities. I would suggest to him that whatever situation he finds himself in, no matter the pressures that he faces, there is always a way to overcome. I would suggest to him that he could be instrumental in changing the situation in North Korea, for himself, for other North Korean leaders, for the military, and for the population at large. I would tell him that he has the power to make a difference. I would tell him that my hope was in him, and that I would talk with him again, person to person, after the crisis was over and resolved.
