Mackenzie Bunnell
Connecticut, USA
2022

Mckenzie joined the VACorps program in May 2022 and participated in a film and media internship as part of her GAP year. 

“I chose Cape Town because I felt that it was different from any other place I had been to previously, and I was right. I learned so much just from being immersed in the culture in South Africa, and I would say that’s what I loved most. I came when I was only 19, and I learned some really valuable life skills such as cooking, cleaning, and fitness during my time here as well as the importance of being social and making the most of your time in a place. I worked for the daily show at a local TV station, which meant that I got to go out on shoots many times, specifically for arts events, and they were always very fun. I think I will miss the friendliness of South Africans, and I will also miss Table Mountain. I was originally only supposed to stay for 7 weeks, but I ended up extending it to 8 because I just wasn’t ready to say goodbye. I personally think that 8 weeks was the perfect amount of time. The VACorps staff, specifically Kus, Kholi, and Loyiso, were amazing, and the weekly activities were also amazing.

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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 […]

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