Through a McCusker Centre for Citizenship internship opportunity, 22-year-old law student Jessica Vu is in New York working for three months on the Global Poverty Project – an international education and advocacy organisation working towards ending extreme poverty by 2030.
Jessica will work on policy liaison with international government organisations and help organise the annual Global Citizen Festival in Central Park, for which Coldplay’s Chris Martin is the creative director.
Not surprisingly, competition for this internship is intense and Jessica jumped many hurdles to secure her place. And while the financial commitment is significant and she’ll have to defer her studies for a semester, Jessica is confident it will all be worth it.
“I’m so excited about this opportunity,” she says. “Growing up, I’ve always done volunteer work at a community level. It’s something my parents, who are immigrants, instilled in me – to always make time to give back to others.
“But this is even bigger. It’s such a huge, important project and I can’t believe I’m going to be part of it. I’m so humble and grateful to have the opportunity to make a difference on a global scale.
“I would love to be able to help develop policies that actually make a global impact and I’m really hoping the internship will shed some light for me on where my future passions and career lie.”