Cornelius Sanford
Kentucky, USA
2021

Cornelius joined the VACorps program after spending two years in the Peace Corps in Madagascar and participated in the VACorps Human Rights Program. He has a BA in Psychology and Pan-African Studies from the University of Louisville where he graduated in 2018.  He plans to pursue his master’s degree upon his return to the United States.

“I viewed the VACorps Program as a good way for me to leave the United States during the COVID 19 pandemic. I just wanted to be away for a while. Luckily for me, I had the perfect balance of fun and work here, and I feel I’ve experienced each of these aspects to the fullest given COVID protocols. VACorps provided so many opportunities to explore much of the Western Cape’s beauties, as well the opportunities to do “once in a lifetime” joys that I now plan to do multiple times more. All of this being said, these were aspects I kind of expected would be offered through this program. What I didn’t realize was how my internship would provide so much clarity in determining my career goals. My internship placement was the best fit for my skills set, and my advisor provided me the optimal space and guidance to thrive. While I’m grateful that my internship provided flexibility and accountability, I am most thankful for my advisor, Ms. Kelly, for giving the best advice to help me decide on a Master’s program. I am now going back home with a refined vision of how the next few years will look, and the energy to actualize it.”

View Human Rights Internships

Meet our most recent VACorps program alumni:

Chris Doe, Massachussets, USA (2023)

Chris joined the VACorps program in January 2023 as part of his Gap year and participated in a human rights internship.  I decided to come to Cape Town to do an internship because I […]

Nico Theunissen, New York, USA (2023)

Nico joined the VACorps Program in January 2023 as part of his Gap year and participated in an internship at a clean energy engineering company.  “Living in New York City, coming to Cape Town […]

Derya Tunçaral, Istanbul, Turkey (2023)

Derya is a recent graduate of Istanbul Bilgi University where he earned his bachelor’s in International Relations. He joined the VACorps program in November 2022 and participated in a political science internship.  “It was […]

Isabelle Ryan, Illinois, USA (2023)

Isabelle joined the VACorps Program in January 2023 as part of her Gap year and participated in a business internship.  “Originally, I was nervous about coming to Cape Town. I had never been so […]

Alize Serez, Istanbul, Turkey, (2023)

Aliza has recently earned a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Istanbul Bilgi University.  She joined the VACorps Program in September 2022 and participated in a Political Science Internship.  “The reason I chose Cape […]

Carley Adams, Ontario, Canada, (2023)

Carley is a recent MSc graduate of the University of Edinburgh, specializing in Medical Anthropology. She joined the VACorps Program in January 2023 and participated in a public health internship.  “Cape Town is such […]

You may also be interested in: