Development Internships in Costa Rica

Meeting the people in my flat really changed my experiences. They were so kind. I was lucky with my internship with having people supporting me and also wanting to get to know me. I highly recommend this to someone.

Karen and Kristal at Intern Abroad HQ were wonderful at assisting me and my study abroad counselor throughout the whole process (esp. with the academic credits). Thank you to them! What I enjoyed most about the Public Health internship in Cape Town was being able to work closely and connect with such qualified, educated, and passionate professionals in my field. Being exposed to the work that they do gave me a clearer idea of what I want to do in my own professional career and gave me insight into what it takes to get there. Furthermore, I enjoyed being mentored by my internship supervisor and being able to take charge of my own internship project.

My opportunity to intern was one of the best things I've been blessed enough to be a part of. It taught me so much about the world, the field of International Policy, culture, and working with people from other cultures. It contributed so much to how I developed as a person, how I travel, and how I live life, and the whole experience was incredibly eye-opening, both professionally and personally. I am incredibly glad that I decided to take part in this internship, it was one of the most amazing things I've gotten to be a part of.

I think Intern Abroad HQ was a great program because it provided and coordinated all that I needed. It was encouraging to not have to have every bit of my internship figured out and to know everything that was included would be reliable.

I want to thank you and your team for helping me get to my GIS & Reserve Management internship in South Africa and fulfill a lifelong dream. I loved every second of my time in the Gondwana Game Reserve and it applied directly to my career goals.Everything exceeded my expectations. The people are fantastic, the wildlife incredible, and the experience gained unmatched.

My GIS & Reserve Management internship at the Gondwana Game Reserve in South Africa exceeded my expectations in both the knowledge I gained and the amazing views & animals I was fortunate enough to see. It was extremely an rewarding experience as I learned lots and my supervisors taught me so much about GIS and the wildlife here.

The internship absolutely met and exceeded my expectations. The experience itself was once in a lifetime and the people, food and general vibe of the camp was always amazing. Everything about this program felt so rewarding! I’ve made so many new friends from different countries around the world and gotten to experience little bits of their cultures. Being able to stay on a game reserve has been a spectacular experience, every day is different but seeing the wildlife everyday never gets boring. Being able to contribute to the research here and learn how different types of fieldwork and observations are done is really cool.

My stay in South Africa greatly exceeded my expectations. I expected my experience at Gondwana to be exciting and educational, but I never imagined it would be as impactful and enriching as it turned out to be. I'm leaving with a deep appreciation for the incredible wildlife, plants, and landscapes I experienced, as well as the connections and bonds I made with the people around me. I learned far more than I expected and gained an even greater love for the beauty and uniqueness of the region. The most rewarding part of my stay was the unexpected friendships and social bonds I formed with the people around me. I also found it rewarding to complete a GIS which gave me a sense of accomplishment. Working on conservation in such a beautiful and biodiverse region was a privilege, and every day I learned something new about the area's unique wildlife, plants, and ecology. The highlight of my stay was the friendships I formed with the people around me, as well as the privilege of seeing incredible wildlife in its natural habitat every day. Experiencing such a unique environment and becoming so familiar with the animals, plants, and landscapes was something very few people ever have the opportunity to do.

My stay in South Africa greatly exceeded my expectations. I expected my experience at Gondwana to be exciting and educational, but I never imagined it would be as impactful and enriching as it turned out to be. I'm leaving with a deep appreciation for the incredible wildlife, plants, and landscapes I experienced, as well as the connections and bonds I made with the people around me. I learned far more than I expected and gained an even greater love for the beauty and uniqueness of the region. The most rewarding part of my stay was the unexpected friendships and social bonds I formed with the people around me. I also found it rewarding to complete a GIS which gave me a sense of accomplishment. Working on conservation in such a beautiful and biodiverse region was a privilege, and every day I learned something new about the area's unique wildlife, plants, and ecology. The highlight of my stay was the friendships I formed with the people around me, as well as the privilege of seeing incredible wildlife in its natural habitat every day. Experiencing such a unique environment and becoming so familiar with the animals, plants, and landscapes was something very few people ever have the opportunity to do. It was an unforgettable experience of living and working closely with South Africa’s wildlife, where I was constantly learning, pushed outside my comfort zone in the best ways, and grew personally and professionally while contributing to conservation work.

What I enjoyed most about this internship was the unexpected teaching experience and the variety of work I got to do. I went into the program not expecting to teach, but I was first asked to cover one class for a week while a teacher was away. I had mentioned that I am studying to become a teacher, so they gave me the opportunity, and I am really grateful for that. After that, they asked me to cover more classes, and I ended up teaching for about two weeks in total. This was a big learning experience for me, and it helped me build confidence, improve my communication skills, and gain real classroom experience that I didn’t expect to get. Alongside this, I also did administration work for one week at the beginning and again later in the program. This gave me a better understanding of how things are organized behind the scenes in an education setting. Overall, the mix of admin work and teaching made the internship very valuable, and I learned a lot more than I expected when I first started. This really helped me develop personally and professionally. I am so grateful for the opportunity.

My three-week internship in Arusha, Tanzania contributed to my personal development by challenging me in ways I had never anticipated. From the moment I arrived, I was placed in unfamiliar situations that required me to adapt and remain open-minded. Although some situations was initially stressful and unfamiliar, it showed me the strength of the Tanzanian community and the willingness of people to help one another. It helped me develop emotional resilience and a deeper appreciation for life, family, and the responsibility nurses have to remain compassionate and professional during challenging circumstances. Professionally, this experience significantly broadened my understanding of what it means to be a nurse. Seeing the effects of preventable illnesses such as sepsis and HIV/AIDS, as well as working in an environment with limited resources, showed me that nursing is not only about having the best equipment or following an ideal set of circumstances. It requires critical thinking, adaptability, resourcefulness, teamwork, and the ability to provide the best care possible with what is available. Watching the nurses continue to care for their patients despite difficult circumstances taught me a great deal about dedication and resilience. I also learned that nursing involves caring for the whole person and their family, including providing compassion and support when the outcome cannot be changed. Overall, my time in Tanzania pushed me outside of my comfort zone, strengthened my confidence and adaptability, and gave me a greater appreciation for the privilege and responsibility of being a nurse. I will carry these experiences with me as I continue developing both personally and professionally.

The internship allowed me to improve my graphic design skills and my workplace confidence while creating media for an organization I cared about. It was a valuable experience and I would recommend it to anyone in my field.

My Program Manager was always quick to reply to my questions and very clear in her answers. I thoroughly enjoyed my internship, but the working culture was very different and way more relaxed than I was anticipating. Once I got the hang of it though, I really enjoyed having the flexibility. Overall I'm glad I did it, the homestay was nice, food and family were good, I met some wonderful people and became close with a lot of them and was able to explore Costa Rica with them. I definitely incorporated the Pura Vida lifestyle into my personal growth, in the sense I am more go with the flow now and that helps me be more open to opportunities and fun adventures. I think as I want to go into international aid and development having done this internship will look good on my CV, and I was able to gain new skills and have a nicely written reference letter from them. The biggest thing I would pass onto anyone else wanting to do this, is that you get out what you put in. Because of that you need to be able to work independently. But if you're looking for an experience where you get be immersed in another culture, meet people from around the world, spend a lot of time at the beach, get some work down and contribute to the local community through beach cleans, this is for you.

I enjoyed the opportunity to live and work in a different country. I met some really great people who also share my passion for protecting the environment.

Bali itself was an amazing experience. I received a lot of guidance from Kathleen and from Rich. Without them, I won't have had the best experience and this internship has lead me to understand more about myself and about my career aspirations

Had the most wonderful internship at Projekt Ubuntu Connekt! Worked with an amazing team, consisting of 2 amazing community women leaders, at the community hall. The time I spend with the children was special and I learned so much from them! I felt so at home in the community and was surrounded with great joy everyday!

Overall I had a great experience on this internship! I was able to fully immerse myself in the culture, work entirely in Spanish, and see remote parts of the Amazon. At times the difference in work culture was hard to adapt to, and it was hard to work in a second language, but this only made the experience more valuable in the end. Definitely an experience you can’t get anywhere else.

The experience was extremely valuable to understand the healthcare system in Zambia. However, there was much less public health work than expected--only working with patients in the mornings with not enough focus on most severe cases and no public health education. Recommend if interested in healthcare and community building vs public health.

Alturas is great. It got its ups and downs but what place doesn’t I must say that overall I did not learn some new things as I went into other placements but the work environment and the team are great. Nursery is amazing so I really recommend doing the orphan care volunteer

I thoroughly enjoyed my time here at sos animal. This organization is run by people who truly care about each animal on property. I met the most amazing people from all over the world while being in a breathtaking place.