Josiah is studying journalism at Arizona State University. He joined the VACorps Program in June 2018 and participated in a film internship at a local production company. 

“As I leave Cape Town for Los Angeles I have a new sense of motivation and appreciation. I climbed mountains, hung out with lions, rhinos and hippos and surfed the best waves of my life. VACorps connected me with a local production company. At the film production company, I shadowed a motion graphic.artist and cinematographer and shot a documentary on a Cape Town rap artist. This internship has allowed me to recognize that film is absolutely for me. I had some second thoughts about leaving journalism for a while, and still do, but this internship has reassured me that film is where I belong. I had an awesome internship because it was with a company that did almost exactly what I want to do. My internship was great because I learned something every day. I have helped set up and takedown on shoots, transcribed audio, painted green screens, e.t.c., but the people at my internship site helped me more than anything. Through working with them, I learned how to use different editing software, camera equipment and how business works in a film production company. 

 I went on a Garden Route trip which included a safari, walking with elephants, canoeing, and bungee jumping (yes, I can’t believe I did that). My favorite weekly activities organized very well by the VACorps staff were exploring Cape Point and the braai at Mama Suli’s in the township of Khayelitsha. Through VACorps I was able to see South Africa, a third-world country where everything is cheaper. Taking the train to work, I saw poverty first hand. It was tough to process how little people had in such a beautiful place. I stayed for eight weeks, and in these weeks I learned to never take anything for granted and was reaffirmed that film production best fits my career.”