Catalina on her volunteer project in India

We invited Catalina, on of our former interns, to talk about the value of the adventure of NGO jobs for young people to acquire.

Have you even wondered what it would be like to start your twenties by living an adventure? A
few months ago, I decided that I would. Having been just a few months into my senior year of
university, I knew that I wanted to complete an internship (one of my graduation requirements) in
a different country. And so the search began.

Leave Ur Mark was one of the many pages that popped up on the screen as I carried on in my
search and after reading up on it, I realized that the experience that I could get from locating my
internship through Leave Ur Mark was completely different from what many other internship
finders could offer. What made LUM stand out, you may ask? Just about everything when trying
to look for overseas, internship experience in YOUR field.

As an international relations major, it isn’t the easiest task to find something fully compatible with
the human security aspect of your career without getting offered internships that require you
teaching English at a local school. Not that there’s anything wrong with that (by far). However,
Leave Ur Mark placed me in an internship with an organization called the Water Literacy
Foundation, where I am really getting a taste of my career.

In the past month, I’ve gotten hands on experience with an NGO that I feel completely related to
because it is environmentally driven with a strong sense of social responsibility. In the little time
I’ve been here, I feel like I have really contributed some of my knowledge towards improving the
way things get done in my workspace, as well as learned how to work as a team in a labor
environment rather than in a hierarchical power relationship with my superiors.

Catalina learning from a field visit during her internship in India

Something else that I find has been a big advantage while working here is the field visits. While
most interning positions will allow you to learn from the employer from behind a desk, my
internship has given me the opportunity to see for myself exactly what it is that I’m working
towards. Trust me, there’s no better sensation than feeling like you are working towards making a
difference in the lives of others through something that you are passionate about!

In all, my work experience with my organization through Leave Ur Mark has been more than
satisfactory. I, knowing that I speak for many past interns, feel completely satisfied with the
experience of working in an NGO in India, thanks to Leave Ur Mark. Knowing this I hope that
whoever you are, you’ve gotten some new outlook on what to expect from your internship
placement with LUM.

By Catalina Gamez