Written by
Kristina Stepanenko (University Complutense of Madrid)
Everything
started back in 2018 when I visited New York for the first time. My classmate
and I went for a fore days trip to this metropolis and I felt in love with its
atmosphere, cultural diversity and lifestyle.
When I found
out about the internship position at the Global Foundation for Democracy and
Development, I collected all the necessary documents and immediately applied.
My
incorporation began with an orientation where my supervisor introduced me the
organization, it’s amazing work, programs and policies. I started to work at
the InteRDom program, which brings an excellent opportunity for international
students to travel to the Dominican Republic to complete their internship, a
study or a research project. They created an amazing summer program to make an
internship at one of the best resorts of the Dominican Republic.
The second
department I was assigned to is the United Nations programs. There I was able
to see the remarkable work of the organization from the inside and to even be a
part of a policy development process, training and planning processes through
assisting various conferences of different committees to make positive changes
in the world.
The most
remarkable experience was an event organized by our organization ‘Sports:
Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals’ regarding to the international
sport day to promote the 2030 Agenda and to highlight how sports help to
achieve the sustainable development goals. In addition, in April there was a UN
Model that brought about 500 students from Latin America to New York.
Besides a super
friendly atmosphere in the office that made me feel like my new family, the
overall experience in the city was also pleasant. New York is a unique city,
and its diversity is something incredible. Even when it seems that you have
seen most of the city, you still have not experienced even half of what it has
to offer. The gastronomic choice is very wide as people from all cultures of
the world are present and working here. You can walk through the city and
suddenly find yourself in China, Italy, Costa Rica or even Russia because there
are a lot of districts where different diasporas are based.
In conclusion I
would like to thank all the GFDD team for this amazing experience!
