Katie S – North Carolina, USA (2019)

Katie is studying towards a Computer Science degree at the University of North Carolina,  Chapel Hill.  She joined the VACorps program  in June 2019, and participated in a civic-tech internship.

“I came to Cape Town looking for adventure and new chances to get out my comfort zone. When looking for these adventures, I found great friends and made some of the best memories of my life. I owe VAC a huge shout out because my first weekend in South Africa was the VAC Hermanus weekend and I decided to go on the trip because I thought it would be a cool way to get to know people. I ended up meeting my best friends and we still always joke about how Hermanus was what brought us all together. I will never forget the feeling I got after jumping off of the world’s tallest bungy bridge on the Garden Route. That feeling really encompasses what Cape Town gave me; I felt like I could conquer the world and I didn’t want to ever forget what it felt like to take that leap of faith. I risked a lot in coming to Cape Town on my own and of course I was nervous, but I think being so far out of my comfort zone allowed me to discover so much more about myself and gain new confidence in my abilities. I especially gained a lot of confidence through my internship. This was my first work experience with computer science and I learned more than I even hoped I would. I was challenged, pushed, and encouraged just like I needed to be. I am so thankful for the opportunity VAC gave me to intern at Open Up and for setting up such a welcoming environment for me to learn and grow.

I got to pair program on a business portal website with a front-end developer. I learned HTML, CSS, and Javascript. The exposure to front-end development showed me the more creative and design oriented side of programming, and I found the front-end to be really fun and exciting. Because this was my first internship in computer science I was worried that I would realize I didn’t like coding or that I wasn’t good at it, but I actually gained a lot of confidence in my abilities. I feel rejuvenated with a fresh passion for coding, and I’m excited to explore more civic tech avenues back home in the states.”