El Principio
By: Emily Ai, CAS ’22
Manna Project International – Quito, Ecuador
Throughout college, I have always looked forward to the opportunity to study abroad. As a student currently pursuing medicine and having a strong passion for community service, I knew that I wanted to immerse myself in a program dedicated to reaching out to the community and helping others. During my Junior fall semester, I read through the GRIP programs and came across “Community Development in Ecuador.” I was impressed by the plethora of volunteer opportunities the Manna Project offered and excited by the 1-on-1 Spanish classes offered as well. When I had my interview, I knew that the Manna Project was something I really wanted to be a part of in terms of its goals and the time commitment fitting in with my summer plans. This summer, I plan to work part-time at a clinical research lab while preparing for medical school exams and applications. I am grateful for the amount of flexibility Manna Project allows for meetings and calls.
At Manna, I am primarily involved in three activities so far. My biggest project is working with other interns to organize a two-week virtual summer camp for a group of children in Ecuador ages 8 to 12. I have really enjoyed brainstorming with my team and coming up with creative ideas for activities that are not only fun but also educational. Working around a virtual format is definitely a challenge, but I am confident in the team’s ability to organize a camp that will still give the children a memorable and meaningful experience. My second project is the adult conversation club, which is a meeting in which interns and people of Ecuador engage in and discuss new topics weekly (I attached a screenshot of it to this post!). I switch off with interns to come up with a new topic, put together relevant vocabulary terms or phrases to review, and write discussion questions to engage participants. Conversation club is one of the highlights of my week because it makes me happy to see familiar faces return every week and they are always eager to tell me about Ecuadorian culture and traditions. The third and most challenging activity is 1-on-1 Spanish classes twice a week. Immersive language learning is something I have never done before (I took Latin in high school) and at my first lesson, I was pretty uncomfortable with listening and trying to understand rapid Spanish when I hadn’t taken Spanish since the 6th grade. However, thanks to the support and encouragement of my amazing teacher (shoutout to Martha), I have found myself loving the fast pace and intensity of the teaching style. I already feel like I have learned so much and hope to continue my Spanish studies to eventually be conversational.
My internship has just started, but I’m already extremely excited to see what the future holds for me at Manna!
The Global Research and Internship Program (GRIP) provides outstanding undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to intern or conduct research abroad for 8 to 12 weeks over the summer. Participants gain career-enhancing experience and global exposure that is essential in a global workforce.