My name is Alexandra Kansler, and I am from Raleigh, North Carolina. I graduated from Ravenscroft School in 2017 and am currently a junior at Fordham University in New York City. At Ravenscroft, I directed my studies and extracurricular activities to fulfill the requirements of the International Diploma, and one of my final requirements as a Ravenscroft student was fulfilling the mandatory Senior Internship program. In order to receive the International Diploma from Ravenscroft, my senior internship required an international focus; this lead to Ravenscroft’s decision of assigning me to Curamericas Global.

During my time at Curamericas Global, I helped with various tasks of program management, completed housekeeping tasks for organization and betterment of office space, aided in planning the organization’s retreat, and wrote thank you cards to donors. I came to realize there was so much more to Curamericas Global than just the office tasks I was given. Everyone within the organization cares about the world and the people in it. Their approach to building a relationship with the communities they help captures the essence of giving back and developing personal relationships. They also encourage traveling and stepping out of one’s comfort zone; a theory I strongly agree with and endorse.

Going into college, I knew I wanted to continue my focus on the people who live in different countries of the world. During my second year at Fordham, I declared a double major in Sociology and Anthropology. Looking ahead for the next two years, I believe my studies run parallel to Curamericas Global’s mission of learning about people and how to help and care for each individuals’ physical and mental safety. In addition, study abroad is a component I have considered including in my education, but I want a service aspect to be a part of my travels as well. Fordham offers Global Outreach (GO!) trips which are cultural immersion and service programs where Fordham students learn about various issues of social, economic, political, and environmental injustice while living a simple lifestyle that fosters communal and spiritual growth. GO! Trips and their goals align with the service trips Curamericas Global offers in providing aid to the people of forgotten communities around the world.

Now back at Curamericas Global for the summer of 2019 as an Administrative and Events & Outreach intern, I have been busy filing donors’ donations and receipts, composing financial reports, creating a new orientation process for future interns, and establishing a guide on past events and how to run future ones. All this work is described as the “behind the scenes” of Curamericas Global and often nonprofits’ constituents or the general public do not see it.

On my first day at Curamericas Global this summer, I was pleased to run into six of Ravenscroft’s 2019 seniors in the office completing their Senior Internship requirement. Alexandra Nickolas, Claire Goodson, Cynthia Woodward, Ella Rockwell, Laura Duenas-Pincay, and Melissa Kong were with Curamericas Global for only two weeks, but during their time here they accomplished all sorts of tasks. Some of these tasks included helping with Mom-A-Thon outreach, designing thank you card templates, and other research. Four of the six seniors will be staying in state at North Carolina State University, WakeForest University, and Elon University; the other two are heading out of state and attending the Sewanee (University of the South) and the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. Looking ahead, they hope to pursue careers as foreign service officers, accountants or consultants, social workers, and doctors or surgeons.

Curamericas Global thanks these Ravenscroft seniors for their work and support and welcome others who are interested in following a similar path. For more information on how to become an intern at Curamericas Global check out our careers page!

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