My Cooperative education was completed as an intern at Volunteer Service Abroad (VSA), in Wellington. My work was centred around tourism, specifically voluntourism, and the establishment of VSA’s form of voluntourism, learning journeys. During this internship, I was mentored by the CEO, Gill Greer, which allowed me to observe her passion for sustainable development. Gill believes that the success of sustainable development can be achieved through improvement of human rights, health, education, and empowerment of women. Gill was an inspirational mentor, with incredible wisdom and advice to offer. I have learnt so much from Gill, and this experience has fuelled my passion for sustainable development and the empowerment of women. …show more content…
I began exercising six times a week, despite making less than half of what I was making when I was back in Auckland, I am saving significantly more money, applying for graduate positions, developing relationships at work and with my extended family, including grandparents, and young cousins that I do not see often. I believe that this self-development was immensely important for me to learn. It has allowed me to mature, and prepare for the future, and begin living a healthier lifestyle. I believe this will help me in the future as not only am I living a healthier lifestyle, but I have essentially already surpassed the shock of adulthood when going into my first job, therefore, would be able to focus on that …show more content…
It resulted in my inability to listen to lectures, or discuss the project with classmates, thus, making me unable to clarify what I was meant to be doing for my studies. Yet, due to my weekly Skype calls with my cooperative education mentor, it meant that if I was able to stay ahead in my work, then I was able to ask my mentor to clarify any questions that I had come across. Therefore, I was required to either use my initiative to solve the questions that I had, on my own or manage my time to ensure that I was able to stay on top of both my work and university