Global Impact Fellowship

Every once in a while we come across people or things that change us forever. For me, the Emzingo experience impacted me in the most positive ways and opened my mind to greater possibilities with regard to my future aspirations and personal development. During my time in South Africa, I learned more about business and social development than I would have ever expected. If you value on the ground meaningful work applied with real life scenarios, the Emzingo internship is for you!

In my opinion, working at an HIV/AIDS counseling, testing, and after school care facility seemed to combine the aspects of business, human rights, and education. I appreciated the diversity of the project and the team I worked with because it challenged me emotionally, and intellectually.

This program balanced mentorship, exposure to a new community, and room for leadership perfectly. Emzingo days were filled with bonding with the interns and learning new things. Not just trying to distinguish Zulu and Afrikaans, but also conversing about the cultures and backgrounds of the fellows. It was clear to me that the program coordinator took time to select brilliant people with distinct personalities. Hands down, the Emzingo Fellowship was my experience of a life time.

The phrase that stuck in my mind this past summer was, "Yolo"! I thought to myself, " You have one life, so live it to the fullest."

I was fortunate to be one of the students from McGill University selected to participate in Emzingo's Global Impact Fellowship 2016 South African Cohort for a period of 2 months. The experience has been, for lack of a better word, life-changing. I was able to not only have a hands-on professional consulting experience with constant feedback and support from Emzingo, but also spend one of the most culturally-rich and entertaining summers of my life. The peers and supervisors that I met during this program have truly become another family.
I left the program wishing it was longer, with renewed enthusiasm concerning my future career path and the feeling of having grown into a leadership position towards creating social impact. I can only recommend the GIF wherever it may be in the world: get ready to experience one of the most fun, educational and inspiring moments of your life!