UNDP: Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction Internship

Summer 2017

Securing an internship at the United Nations is one of the most harrowing experiences of my life. Even after you are accepted by your supervisor, sleepless nights follow with the stress of visa processing, HR, document procuring, and extreme financial stress. Despite the rough start, it was completely worth it. My experience has opened my eyes to the complex system of disaster response, the limits in mandates, and networking in the heart of the development world.

Albeit, I have spent most of my time networking with coffees, lunch, and the occasional Carlsberg. My realization is that social skills are hard to teach but anyone can learn a technical skill. People want to hire you because you are flexible, amiable, and thorough with your work. You must not be afraid to make a mistake and quickly learn from it. I actually hope to make many mistakes on my journey, because it will mean that I learned more. I have no idea where I will end up after my graduation, but I hope it is in Geneva.

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