I already knew I was coming to South Africa for my race, and our summers are really long so I wanted to do something different and I thought an internship would be a good idea. I wanted to get some work experience and visit Cape Town as I heard so many good things about the City.

I was looking to work with an NGO, or within the environmental sustainability sector.

My actual internship turned out very different from what I pictured, but I think that’s because I never really had an idea of what I wanted or what to expect. What I quickly learned when I got here and started working, was that I had an opportunity to make a big impact and difference. I could have a close relationship with the people and my internship became more of a lifestyle than an internship.

It was sufficient for me! I think some people might think it was not enough – in my first week, my mentor introduced me to everyone and told me to speak with them about things, and then after that I was given a lot of freedom and independence to do my projects at my own speed and in my own way. I had to take the initiative to go and speak with people and I think I grew a lot because of that.

Yeah, I feel like I did! Completely! There was never a time when I was bored. I especially loved it when we had meetings, and everyone would just give me more projects and responsibility. It made me feel like they acknowledged me and trusted me to get the job done. I really felt like I had a voice!

I think there’s lots of different skills, and I think here I learnt a lot of human skills and life skills, rather than technical skills, which is what I wanted!

Yes that’s one of the main bonuses of this project! I developed a 3D model of the property and this will definitely be used to refer back to for many projects, and for many years to come. Even the pool project, I started up again. It’s a potential income for the community for many years to come.

Yes I do think so. I know that when I start my career, I want to be an engineer, but I want to go the sustainability route. I actually spoke to a potential employer, and one of the big things he stressed is that they want “credibility.” I need to show that I’ve worked on projects and that I need to understand my own values, and I feel like my internship here fits in perfectly with what he was talking about.

Because this was such an uncertain internship I was coming into, I was concerned that it wouldn’t be what I wanted. And that id be bored or not have any work to do.

After I arrived and met the Bridging Gaps team and started my internship, all those fears went away. I know now that the next time I do something like this I shouldn’t be scared as things always work out in the end!

I think the most amazing thing about this city are the people! The spirit of the people shocked me most. People are so friendly, and they come up and talk to you and try to be helpful. People are always singing, even if they are working or standing around in the streets. I think the spirit of the people is really the thing I love most about Cape Town.

Yes definitely!

My internship was a bit of a challenge to find, so it took a while. But Lucie never gave up and I loved that. I was also in between exams and finishing up things, which was stressful, but Lucie really understood me and what I wanted and was very helpful! It was great that we could have many short productive meetings to arrange things, she was very flexible to talk to me and always available!

It was really good, I really loved it when all the Bridging Gaps interns got together for a dinner or a social event! It was a great way to hang out but also not too much so that I felt confined.

I think how quickly and easy it was to get the internship. I was very busy and stressed with exams, and all I had to do was send over 3 documents and Lucie just took it from there! And another best feature is the amount of contact and support you have here, The weekly whatsapp messages just checking in to see how I was doing, and that kind of support you give the interns. I know it’s in your company values and you really follow them!

My internship was a bit of a challenge to find, so it took a while. But Lucie never gave up and I loved that. I was also in between exams and finishing up things, which was stressful, but Lucie really understood me and what I wanted and was very helpful! It was great that we could have many short productive meetings to arrange things, she was very flexible to talk to me and always available!

Yes I definitely would. I’d recommend it to my sister and many of my other engineer friends!

I don’t know! It’s a hard question.

I think the fee is worth it definitely. There are other ways of getting this type of internship, but the fees ensured I always had someone taking care of me.

I would tell them to go for it and not worry about it because its so worth it!