Hello everyone,
My name is Taylor Stephens and I will be serving as an
intern for Visedal in Nicaragua this summer. I would like to use this first
blog to share a little about myself and my background, and some of my goals for
the summer.
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| Waiting for lunch with Nadiuska in December 2012. |
I am currently a rising senior at the College of William
& Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, where I am majoring in Government with a
History minor. Around campus, I am actively involved with the admissions office
through the tour guide program and with my social fraternity. Throughout my
time at college, I have gained valuable experience in international service
during trips to Haiti with a group of my peers and Nicaragua with Visedal. Last
summer, I had the opportunity to intern in Washington D.C. for Civic
Enterprises, a bipartisan consulting firm specializing in education and social
mobility. I am also currently in the process of developing an honors thesis, to
be completed during my senior year on the unintended market consequences of
certain types of non-governmental aid organization intervention. While I
strongly believe in the positive implications of the work of Visedal, I will
use some of my free time in Nicaragua to explore instances in which other forms
of aid intervention has stunted, or sometimes reversed, economic, and social
development.
While working with the Visedal scholars on the winter trip,
they indicated they would love to learn more about English, technology and
community service during my internship this summer. During my stay, I am hoping
to work on two projects that incorporate all three of these interests. The
first project will allow the scholars to write, direct and edit videos they
will make for their sponsors, which I believe will help allow for greater
communication and collaboration between sponsors and scholars in the future.
The second project will allow the older kids to learn more about community
service and what makes a project successful.
The older scholars will then develop a project that can either be
completed towards the end of my stay or on the winter trip this upcoming
December. I look forward to serving as a resource as the scholars explore their
interests within these two projects, and will keep all of you up to date as we
progress.
I would also like to take time to thank all of the people
and groups that have made this trip possible. First, I would like to thank my
family for all of their love and support. I would like to thank the Charles
Center at the College of William & Mary for encouraging me to intertwine my
honors thesis with my desire to serve with Visedal, and Ben Boone for
introducing me to Dylan and the work of Visedal. I would also like to thank all
of our friends and family, and especially my church family at St. James
Lutheran Church in Coopersburg for all of their support. Lastly, I would like
to thank Daniel Schutrum-Boward and Esmir Calderon for serving as awesome
resources as I prepare for my internship experience. I feel truly blessed to
have the opportunity to travel to Nicaragua to work with these incredible kids,
for an organization I believe is making sustainable long-term improvements in a
community, all with the love and support of so many people.
Until next time,
Taylor
Taylor Stephens
intern.visedal@gmail.com
