Kara Byrne

Youth Volunteer

I am a Political Science major and a Peace & Justice Studies minor at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California, but I am from the East Coast—Connecticut—and I decided early on in my college career to study abroad in London.  When the pandemic hit and everybody’s lives got derailed, I took a gap semester so that I could postpone my graduation and study abroad.  I especially wanted to do the London program because there was an internship in tandem with the study abroad experience, which I was very interested in. I was so lucky to be placed with Sculpt for my internship, as it is truly an incredible organization filled with wonderful people.

My fellow intern and I were welcomed by Maija and Sophia, and they could not have been more helpful and friendly, and made us feel comfortable on our first day.  They were incredibly responsive and always gave us the chance to ask questions, but also, they were always very clear in explaining how we could help on a project.  I enjoyed the small workspace and learning about all the different projects we could become involved with during our internship.  Personally, I was involved with Queer Migrants the most; I wrote a blog post, completed research, and worked on and created trainings with our international partners for diversity and inclusion.  I also helped with YOU_WEEN, for which I was able to research and learn more about green entrepreneurship for young women.

At Sculpt, I worked a lot in a team or with one other person, which I really enjoyed.  Therefore, I improved my teamwork, communication, research, and writing skills.  Most importantly to me, I was looking for any experience in a field that might help me to discern what career path I may want to take, and after my time with Sculpt, I can definitely say that I am interested in volunteering or working for a charity that is trying to solve issues that I am passionate about.  I am extremely grateful for this experience, and I know that it has already helped me to learn a lot about a new sector, it will continue to help me later on in my career because of everything I learned and most importantly helped define what it is exactly I want to succeed in.