Interning at Shine

Hello all!

I am an American intern that has been with Shine for the last month with plans to stay until the end of February. Having graduated with a degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina in May, I came to South Africa in search of an meaningful international excperience that will hopefully help me direct myself into a career that I can be passionate about.
I am the new link at Observatory and have already fallen in love with Cape Town, Shine and Obs. As a new intern at Shine, I quickly established that I had the most rewarding internship in my program, Connect 123. While my fellow interns complain about boredom or uselessness in their positions, I come home each day beaming with purpose and excitement. Yesterday, Carrie and I introduced eight new volunteers to Shine and I found myself bubbling over with enthusiasm. How can one get across the value of contributing time and effort to the futures of so many children?
Having tutored children for four years at university and volunteering for many organizations, I have seen how disorganized some nonprofits can be. Shine makes it easy to give children what they need to succeed because of how organized and purposeful its daily proceedings and systems are.

This was supposed to be a blog solely about me, but I wanted everyone to know how much I appreciate my time here and how lucky I feel to be a part of the Shine family. I am convinced that when February comes, I will have no desire to go home! I am so looking forward to getting to know volunteers and children over the next five months and am so grateful for this opportunity.

Many thanks,

Amy Holter