Shelly B

New Jersey, USA

2026

Shelly is a criminal justice student from the United States completed a law and legal advocacy internship in Cape Town, gaining practical insight into South Africa’s legal and political systems. Her placement exposed her to community-focused legal work, civic participation initiatives and paralegal education designed to improve access to legal knowledge.

My internship in Cape Town gave me the opportunity to learn much more about South Africa’s legal and political systems while gaining practical experience in a community-focused legal environment.

I especially enjoyed contributing to projects connected to community participation and paralegal education. One of the most interesting parts of the experience was seeing how legal knowledge can be shared outside traditional legal settings and used to support people who are already active in their communities. I learned about efforts to equip community activists with practical legal knowledge so they can better support the people around them.

The internship also taught me the importance of being patient and proactive when entering a new workplace. It took a little time to understand the flow of the organization, but once I settled in, I found the team incredibly welcoming. My advice to future interns would be to ask where you can help rather than waiting for someone to give you something to do. Taking that initiative made it much easier to become involved and learn from the people around me.

I also valued the opportunity to network and learn from people working within a legal system different from the one I was familiar with at home. It gave me a broader perspective on the relationship between law, politics and community advocacy.

VAC made the overall experience feel very supportive. From the beginning, I knew there were people I could turn to if I needed help, which made settling into life in Cape Town much easier.

Overall, the experience gave me greater insight into community-based legal work and helped me understand how legal education can contribute to improving access to justice.