This blog was written by Valeria Rodriguez, a student at the University of Florida who spent three months volunteering with RESULTS UK as part of a university programme.
As an intern at RESULTS, I learned about many significant global issues that made me realise how uninformed I was before. In my opinion, it is important for everyone to be active members of society and be aware of these global issues. This made RESULTS a perfect opportunity for me, as it provided an insightful platform on the global issues of tuberculosis, human rights, child health and much more. In addition to wanting to pursue a career in law, I am interested in finding out more about social and legal justice organisations. As RESULTS is involved with parliamentary, policy and grassroots advocacy, I was really pleased to be placed here for my work experience.
My responsibilities as an intern ranged from writing parliamentary briefings and giving presentations. Although these were all different, each task was steered towards a greater cause – ensuring the same rights for everyone globally. RESULTS UK focuses on health, education and economic opportunity as the means to end extreme poverty. Throughout my internship, I found myself learning about global issues that I was not aware of before and this exposure has shaped my intellectual outlook and perspective. In addition, all my assignments were useful for enhancing my research and writing skills, as well as my knowledge on issues related to global health and education.
I enjoyed working with everyone in the office and had the pleasure of working with amazing individuals. The RESULTS team emphasise the importance of advocacy in their work and passion is what I see that drives them to be successful. Along with their determined attitude, the team was very helpful and welcoming. Overall, my experience at RESULTS provided me with a new perspective of British working culture. Coming from Miami to London was a complete change of environment. I noticed many cultural differences during my time here, from the amount of tea drank, to differing social interactions. Additionally, I noticed that people were generally politer in London than in the United States!
I genuinely did not know what to expect from RESULTS, however, through the work I did and the interactions I had with my colleagues, I am able to say that I left RESULTS feeling much more confident and knowledgeable about global development and the world in which we live.
