My DukeEngage experience this summer looks drastically different than it did before COVID-19 forced a change of plans and an adjustment to a remote environment. While I am still devastated that I won’t be able to complete the Independent Project I spent so long developing, this new, remote DukeEngage experience presents a very different set of opportunities. I have mostly come to terms with the change, but for a while I had to tell myself that different is not worse.
My work this summer with Konektid International will allow me to gain certain skills and engage with a different community that I would have likely not been exposed to without this change.
I am excited to learn and grow, and find myself engaging in a space that I already, after one week, see myself possibly working in later in my career. International development and aid excites me as the field presents personal challenges which I would enjoy conquering and aids and assists diverse communities.
I worry that throughout this summer I may not be able to accomplish as much of the project as I would hope as I lack certain technical skills, but I am confident that I will do work to the best of my ability and am eager to see how I grow in my technical proficiency.