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Reminiscing on a Superb Summer

Reminiscing on a Superb Summer

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After completing my freshman year, I could not get back to visit my family in Cambodia due to the pandemic. Therefore, I need to find something productive to do during the summer break. At first, my mentor, Andrea, and I felt helpless because we could not find anything for me to apply for. I ended up only applying for only one internship. Luckily, I got it! 

After learning of my acceptance, I was very excited, but worried at the same time. It was my first time having an internship. Thankfully, due to my friends, mentors and supervisor who were willing to be there whenever I needed advice, my fears soon abetted. 
My summer internship was with Vital Voices, an organization that invests in women in order to improve the world. Vital Voices works with extraordinary women leaders accelerating peace and prosperity in their communities. My role is to research women leaders and politicians, finding out what they are currently up to. We use this research to determine what our organization can do to support them in their journey. In addition, I also work on keeping track of the current activities of Vital Voice’s fellows through their social media posts. 
This internship gave me the chance to explore my interests and an opportunity to connect with not only interns from other teams but also with female politician leaders. Throughout the summer, there have been a multitude of lunches and learning sessions that were helpful for interns to gain experience and improve leadership.
For example, we had conversations on salary negotiation, gender mainstreaming, and Microsoft Excel amongst other topics. One outcome resulting from this internship that I’m very proud of is a video creation I made. The video depicts my personal story,  detailing how I’d escaped child marriage by convincing my parents to believe in higher educations. It tells the story of how I became who I am today. 
In addition to my internship, this summer, I also worked on campus in a couple of different roles including Building Manager at the Powerhouse, SEAL programmer, and Weissberg Project Assistant. These jobs allow me to research, work independently on specific projects, and run special events for students who remained on campus during the summer.
Despite my busy schedule, I also tried to dedicate some time to myself. For example, I taught my friends to cook Cambodian food every weekend. I also trained myself to go to the gym, play volleyball, badminton and soccer after work with friends. The most interesting part of my summer was finding my few close friends and a very best friend who I can hangout with and share my problems with.  My friend group has become a very important part of my day schedule.
Talking about my relationship with friends reminds me of another person that I consider a mom, friend, and mentor. I spent a week in Los Angeles with SHE-CAN mentor, Andrea, and her husband. It was my first time seeing her person. The trip was fantastic, filled with exciting and diverse activities. We walked to the beach, did some shopping, and tasted delicious food from all kinds of restaurants. We also went hiking, rode roller coasters, and hung out with her husband. The last day of the trip was an especially incredible night for me. Andrea and her husband took me to Bollywood Bowl to attend the live concert. I couldn’t help but dance along with the performer. Out of everything we did, I’m most grateful that the trip gave me the chance to hug Andrea in person. I loved it!
Now, I’m back on campus writing this blog. My internship has wrapped smoothly. Everything is going as I expected and hopefully I can have some time to prepare for my class. I can’t wait for the semester to start so I can welcome people back to campus.