Alumni Spotlight: Heeyoon Shin

Heeyoon Shin is from South Korea and currently studies fashion design in New York. She enjoys music, art and nature.

Why did you decide to volunteer with VFP in Iceland?

Heeyoon: After doing a lot of research on volunteer programs in Iceland I decided to go with SEEDS because they offered various workcamps all over Iceland. Coming from the US, they referred me to VFP and I saw they offered quite a lot of projects around the globe as well. VFP was an affordable option and their coordinators were prompt and helpful during the application process. They also offered a great scholarship to their volunteers and thanks to them I was able to experience an amazing month in Iceland.

VFP Volunteer exploring Iceland

Describe your day to day activities as a volunteer.

Name: We started our day at 8, so every workday I would get up around 7-730 to prepare/have breakfast and get ready. We drove to the workplace, which took no longer than 5 minutes. We would be briefed on our tasks and had a coffee break around 10.

Our workday ended at 5; we had an hour lunch break at noon and another coffee break in between. At Patreksfjordur, my first workcamp, we usually weeded, collected trash or laid grassed down- much of it was easy going work. At Skriduklaustur, we were building the turf walls of the monastic site, which was quite physically demanding. After work, we would explore the area or do some sort of an activity. We would discuss and decide what we wanted to do. My first workcamp was in a small town so we would usually go play sports at the gym or relax at the pool.

Other days our host would take us on small excursions. Skriduklaustur was an archaeological site and the nearest town was about half an hour away. We were lucky our host provided us with a van so we spent most our free time exploring the Eastfjords.

We were fed dinner in Skriduklaustur at their café, but in Patreksfjordur we took turns cooking our own dinners in teams. We usually played a game or watched a movie during the evenings and tried to get some rest to do it all over again the next day. I loved experiencing the midnight sun.

VPF Volunteers spending their time in Iceland

What made this experience unique and special?

Heeyoon: SEEDS, which was the Icelandic organization I volunteered with, tries to limit two people per country in a group. This created a diverse environment in both my workcamps which I really enjoyed and appreciated. The nature in Iceland is incredible and connecting with all these great people from all over the world made this a unique experience for me.

How has this experience impacted your future?

Heeyoon: I came back to the city life feeling lucky to have experience such untouched wilderness and the calm, solitude life of the Icelandic countryside. It was refreshing to fall into a new rhythm. You learn a lot when you live with strangers from all around the world in a community setting. This experience has further pushed me to get out of my comfort zone, keep trying new things with an open mind and travel more. I had wanted to travel to Iceland for a long time and this journey proved that things can happen when you really put your mind to it!