Preparing for my future career in public health

From the start of the internship, VACorps was a big help. The staff in South Africa was easy to contact and they helped find the right program for me. At the beginning of the 8-week remote internship with Dr. Takiyah, my goals were established and throughout the 8-week program and my goals were accomplished.

My goals for my internship were as follows: 1) to expand knowledge on research 2) learn how to reach different demographics, and 3) build health programs for communities in need. Now that my internship is finished, I can say that I have done so much research during my internship while achieving these goals!

I participated in research on grants, history, townships and a variety of other Public Health topics. For example, during my internship with Ms. Takiyah, I built a Hypertension campaign for black women stemming from a paper I wrote. I also did a COVID Prevention flyer for middle schoolers in South Africa and I assisted with donation handovers, that I really enjoyed. I have even published a page on Dr. Takiyah's memorial fund website, networked with some board members of the memorial fund-- all of which looks great on my resume! It has been an incredible experience and this remote internship has helped me to grow, professionally and personally. I feel more comfortable and prepared for my future career in the Public Health field. I even feel more comfortable and prepared for life after graduation.