“Pursuing a marketing internship at Gary’s Surf School in Cape Town, South Africa was just as cool as it sounds. When signing up, I envisioned working at the beach in summer time, surfing some waves on my break, immersing myself in diverse culture, and doing hands on marketing work that’s vital for my career. Well, my dream came true and I made it happen with VACORPS as my platform. They took my vision and ran with it. I remember Vanessa saying in one of the first e-mails something like, “I’ve never placed an intern in the surf industry before, but I’m up for the challenge.” My target market was tourists and surfer guys and gals- so much fun creating marketing ideas and implementing them for this group of people. My creative juices were flowing and I thrived in this environment because I was enthused about the company. Sharing the stoke and teaching underprivileged children how to surf was an added bonus to my already epic job. It is bittersweet though, because it’s going to be really hard to top this in my future…
“I’ll miss my lively and rhythmic filled days here in South Africa. Commuting by train with the soulful South Africans, listening to clicks of the Xhosa language, and always hearing someone jammin’ out in the distance made me dance through my days. Besides learning historical knowledge first-hand from local South Africans, sharing homeland stories with the international interns, and developing personally by jumping out of my comfort zone, I’ve learned something real.. pursue what you enjoy doing, whatever makes you happy and keeps you healthy. Whether it be working for a lekker surf company like I did, turning down a high paying corporate job to play in your rock band, or traveling and living on a couple dollars a day, you have to do what your inspired to do. Who says you can’t earn University credits by working for a surf shop in South Africa for three months and getting two summers for the year? Don’t settle- think outside the box, envision what you want and make it happen.”
Oliver is studying towards his Bachelors Degree in International Business at the University of Copenhagen. He joined the VACorps Program in June 2019 and interned at a Technology Incubator. “I chose to come to Cape Town because I study an...
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“I decided Cape Town was the best place for my internship because of my passion for human rights work and my interest in South Africa’s history. I completed a human rights internship working specifically with policing in Khayelitsha, an informal...
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“VACorps has an impressive list of internship placement sites offering interns a chance to work at some of Cape Town’s best organizations regardless of what your academic focus may be. My internship at the Amy Biehl Foundation Trust allowed me...
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