Written by Francesca Burda, a 2nd year International Disaster Management and Humanitarian Response student.

After not throwing myself into the university life as much as I wished in 1st year, I really wanted to embark on something exciting, challenging, and memorable. Last summer, I applied for an international remote internship with a Ugandan NGO in New York. After a vigorous interviewing process and a lot of application papers, I was awarded the position of Online Media and Marketing Intern with Active Me and You.

Throughout this internship, I was responsible for promoting the organisation and their campaigns, making new partnerships, creating a LinkedIn page, and writing newsletters and grant proposals – basically anything digital! It was truly a learning experience, having to navigate a 7-hour time zone difference and teach myself how to run an online platform for an organisation. However, the challenge is what I needed, and it was highly rewarding. Additionally, it was something new and different to university. Of course, I love my degree and everything I learn, however, getting this real-world experience was crucial for me, as someone with no prior work experience. To this day, I’m still in contact with Active Me and You, carrying on my duties from when I was in New York. This is due to the invaluable connections I was able to make with the team, making me feel like family even though I was on the other side of the world!

Furthermore, travelling across the world at 19 for an entire summer seems like a daunting thing, however, I couldn’t recommend it more. Outside of interning, I made the best friends ever! I lived in a building full of other interns from other organisations, and we

 explored the city together. Every week, we had a ‘touristy’ activity planned, had regular dinners together, and spent every night on the Upper West Side, unwinding from work.

For me, this internship was more than simply adding something to my CV, it was an adventure, a time for me to get out of my comfort zone, and chance for me to put my degree knowledge to some use. If you’re considering an international internship or on the fence about it, this is your sign to do it! I recommend it to anyone and everyone looking for something new, exciting, and a little bit educational!

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