Charity is ready and eager to learn

My name is Charity Whitehead. I am a senior Africana Studies and Psychology double major.  I wanted to be part of the Cape Town program because it is one of the few study abroad programs that allows its participants to really interact with the community by being engaged in an internship at a non-profit organization that is focused on some aspect of human rights and/or social justice. It’s easy to travel abroad and stick to only tourist activities instead of truly investing yourself in the culture, ideas and environment of the area but I think the Cape Town program is structured so that there is no way you can leave that experience without having those essential interactions. I’ve heard nothing but fabulous things about this experience from participants in different cohorts and I am so excited to be able to have the opportunity to be a part of it. I can’t wait to start learning more about South Africa in the pre-departure class so that I’ll be better aware of the environment I’m about to embark into and how to get ready to travel abroad and figure out all of the details that come with that. I’m also eager to begin developing relationships with others in the cohort. I hope that studying abroad in Cape Town will help me solidify the future plans that I have for myself when it comes to social justice work and the ways in which I can make an effective impact on the communities and issues that I am passionate about. But above all, I hope that being a part of this program reaffirms my idealism and helps me become a more understanding, socially responsible and effective social justice advocate.  I believe that we are our brothers and sisters keepers and that involves being aware of what is going on in other parts of the world and understanding that what happens across the world affects your individual environment. I’m ready to learn how to be a better sister.