Katie, Masters in Development and Globalization,
Mines Action Canada, Vietnam, Association for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (AEPD)
In my final semester of my master’s degree in International Development and Globalization at the University of Ottawa, I decided to take part in an internship as opposed to completing another course. As someone who has completed an entire master’s degree online due to the pandemic, I was feeling very drained and exhausted from the online learning experience – I missed the engagement with professors and my peers! An internship also provides me with valuable experience within my field and the opportunity to see how theory can be put into practice.
On a whim I checked out the internship opportunities for the Winter 2022 semester and saw a posting for a Vietnamese disability empowerment NGO. I have focused the majority of my academic career on disability inclusion within international development, I could not pass up this opportunity. Despite 80% of persons with disabilities living in the Global South, international development as a field often does not engage with this group widely understood to be one of the most vulnerable and marginalized populations. Working with the team at the Association for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, I have been able to see how local NGO operations make significant impacts on the lives of people in their community. From this, I am starting to see a future where disability awareness and inclusion is better integrated into development programming – something that I struggled to see in the classroom and academic articles. I’m so thankful to have the opportunity to work in the very specific field that I am so invested in and am looking forward to building off of this experience in my future career.