IE3 Scholarship Winners: Ashly Doran, UO, Cape Town Refugee Center South Africa
Noted on September 17, 2008 by Natanya in
My name is Ashly Doran, and I am a senior at the University of Oregon. I am 22 years old and was born and raised in Santa Cruz, CA. Ever since I was a young girl, I have had a compassion for other people. My eyes were really opened up during a sophomore college course about current world issues. We learned about environmental, health, and humanitarian issues. One section of the course that really moved me was when we talked about Africa. When our teacher went though a general overview of some of the problems that were occurring, environmental and humanitarian, and how poorly the people are represented and treated, I felt an incredible urge to learn more and wanted to do something to help. I started doing research on my own reading article after article, sometimes becoming emotional over what I was learning, and then I realized that I had found my passion. I had finally found something that I deeply cared about and was interested in.
After this, I decided to become an International Studies major focusing on Sub-Saharan Africa and the environment and community development. Having a strong desire to travel to Africa, I first looked at options to study abroad. When I was looking at my options and the programs I wasn't satisfied with anything that I saw. I wanted something that could be more hands on; I wanted to do something where I could contribute , where I could make a difference. That is when I started to look at internships. I found the IE3 website through UofO and immediately realized that this is what I was looking for. The Cape Town Refugee Centre appealed to me because it's a place where I would be able to improve the quality of life for others. A place where my coworkers and I would be working strictly for other people in need, people who have nothing, but still have the will, desire, and strength to start over with a new life.
What I hope to gain from this internship is a taste of what it is really like to work and be involved with people who are in desperate situations and how to properly handle situations that are out of my element. I am looking forward to working with a dedicated team and building my skills as a team player. I also hope to come out with a clearer understanding of what direction I would like to go in for my career. Working in this internship will allow me to approach and see things with a world view, and not just from an American view anymore. I hope to be more cultured and have a new limit as to what I feel I am capable of accomplishing. I know that this will be an amazing adventure and I am looking so forward to everything that I am about to experience.