My name is John Chisholm, and I am a rising senior at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). As an International Studies major, I study the history, culture and politics of many different countries. As my second year of college came to a close, many of my classmates and counselors encouraged me explore study abroad programs.  I was eager to live in another country and explore a new culture, but I was most excited to choose a place that challenged me and which encouraged me to grow adapt. I wanted to pick somewhere that I knew had a contentious, dynamic and complex history. The fall of my junior year, I decided to take my talents to Cape Town, South Africa.

A few months later, as my plane made its final descent into Cape Town, I knew what lay ahead of me. I had taken classes on the country. I had read online about the city, and the issues it faced. I thought I was ready, but in the end I wasn’t at all prepared for what I saw. My initial shock when I saw the city, with sparking, polished neighborhoods lining the ocean, yet with miles of informal sprawls of shack houses on its periphery, was unlike anything I had ever seen. Although I would grow more comfortable grappling with the issues that I saw, the impression that was left on me that first day never left me. It is this feeling which has contributed to my passion for international development and which has led me to a summer Research and Advocacy internship at Education for Peace in Iraq Center (EPIC).

In South Africa I took several classes on issues of discrimination, economic inequality and poverty. Taking these classes on such pressing topics, given from a South African perspective, much different than the viewpoint of my American professors, was enlightening and exciting. However, the greatest lessons I learned were from many of the people I met in my volunteer work and travel. In the face of some of the worst living conditions and under the most difficult of circumstances, a sharp wit and an eager smile were always closer than one would expect. Often times during my volunteer work with Surfshack, an organization that connects children from the poorest parts of Cape Town to university students and mentors, I was amazed by the optimism and energy that these children exuded. It gave me hope that investing in the lives of others was not a fruitless effort. The resilience and energy of many of those I met during my time in South Africa imbued in me a sense of purpose, to help empower people to achieve their full potential and to break the limits that circumstance imposes on them.

Upon my return to the US and to life at UCSD, I found myself thinking back to my experiences abroad. It was hard to settle back into the routine of college life, insulated from many of the issues that other people face. The itch to do something more meaningful led to an internship with a leading NGO in San Diego, Project Concern International (PCI). As a global humanitarian aid organization, PCI implemented projects focused on economic empowerment, health and sanitation, and agricultural assistance among others. While at PCI, I had the chance to research past projects that were uniquely successful, and compared them to other projects in current NGO work to discover what specific parts of each program were innovative and could be replicated in the future. It was amazing to experience what kind of a difference can be made on the lives of people around the world, and my time there assured me that my future involved working in international development. The urge to my ability to make a difference is what has brought me to EPIC.

EPIC’s mission to improve the lives of the people of Iraq through development and education, investing in the long-term future of the region, appealed to me greatly. Especially at this moment, with conflict drastically disrupting the lives of many Iraqis, there is an extraordinary opportunity to help many of those at risk and to assist them in building a brighter future. While I was working with PCI, I had the opportunity to see what creative and successful strategies work in the NGO world. Because of EPIC’s grassroots focus on the lives of the people of Iraq, I hope to apply my experience in NGO work to directly improve the lives of the Iraqi people. I believe that EPIC’s focus on the youth of Iraq will promote a more prosperous and stable Iraq, Middle East and world. In the coming months, I am eager to contribute my time and energy into researching and advocating for peace, development and education in Iraq. I couldn’t think of a more meaningful way to spend my summer.