Mady is studying a Bachelor of Arts in Early Childhood Studies at the University of Washington.  She joined the VACorps program in April 2018 and participated in a teaching internship at a local primary school. 

“I chose Cape Town as the place to intern abroad because of the DIVERSITY. Cape Town’s history makes it a very demographically diverse city and with that diversity comes extremely rich culture. I loved my experience here because it allowed me the opportunity to firsthand learn from people with a broad array of cultural backgrounds. What’s more is that it’s so easy to make friends and feel at home here, as people are very relaxed and conversational.

My internship site was a great learning experience for me because it opened my mind to different perspectives in education. I also believe it was important for me to have this internship because it taught me about my own culture. Culture can be very hard to identify because it’s often so ambient to us. However, being submerged in a work setting here allows you to see how culture affects the decisions you make and the relationships you have. You learn that people inherently do what’s justifiable to them and when you know that you have the power to create conversation and make change.

I recommend the VACorps program because the staff members are compassionate and friendly. Going abroad is an overwhelming experience and I wouldn’t have been able to successfully find and complete an internship here if it weren’t for the support of the VACorps staff. VACorps is very organized and informative. Now that I’m at the end of my 3-month journey here, my one regret is that I’m leaving so soon. The VACorps staff really is full of lovely people and I hope that I’ll be able to come back to Cape Town and grow in my friendships with them.”