Joseph is studying a Bachelor of Arts in Global Studies at the University of Washington-Bothell. He joined the VACorps Program in January 2018 and participated in a refugee internship at a non-profit that fights for the rights of asylum seekers, refugees, and immigrants.
“I choose Cape Town as a place to do my internship because of the location. It was a diverse city that is so rich in culture. I came to Cape Town not knowing anyone but after my three months here, I will leave with unforgettable experiences and long-lasting friendships. I enjoyed the weekly VACorps activities because you get to learn more about the other interns and make new friends. My favorite part of Cape Town is the friendships that I have made. I have met people from over 32 nationalities. I made memorable experiences with my internship and my time here in Cape Town. With my internship, I worked with refugees from Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe. Every day, I learned new things about the DRC and Zimbabwe. My favorite aspect of my internship is learning a different language and culture. My ability to work with different nationalities and change the lives of the refugees was an experience that I will never forget.
“I will always remember the days that I directly helped immigrants and refugees and one story really stands out. Before he arrived at the center, “Shorty” from Ethiopia used to live on the streets. I met him, listened to him and helped him with his refugee papers. He now has a decent job where he can earn a regular paycheck instead of living on the streets. It was a powerful experience to impact someone’s life like that.”
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 […]