Sidney Opara-Justus

Sidney Opara-Justus, a Community Health Science major with a concentration in Health Planning and Administration at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, participated in a semester-long study abroad and internship program with VACorps and the University of Cape Town from February to June 2025.

I chose the Cape Town study abroad program hoping for even the slightest bit personal and professional development, but I left with my heart completely full and forever changed. My placement, housing, and university experience equally impacted how well I integrated into the community, my new home-away-from-home. I’m grateful for my internship placement because it gave me clarity on my future career. As a public health student, I’m really passionate about making healthcare accessible and equitable. My fieldwork assignments allowed me to harness that passion, and turn it into impact. I connected with community centers who support at-risk populations and visited clinics in townships to manage our research project partnerships. I also really enjoyed the administrative side of my research clinic, helping out with filing, completing transcriptions, and other small tasks that supported my staff in the areas they needed me the most. Through my experiences of learning and collaborating with a team who encouraged and supported my professional development meant the world to me.

I loved my housing placement because we all came from different backgrounds, lives, and experiences. We became a family! We cooked together, enjoyed the pool, and explored Observatory hand-in-hand. I felt comfortable to be myself, and in the unique unfamiliar environment of interning abroad they were a sense of comfort I didn’t expect to love so intensely. Being able to bond, especially during Friday activities, was amazing! I am really thankful for the VAC staff making each opportunity to embrace our intern community memorable.