I recently received an internship offer with the United Nations secretariat in New York City. With over 7,000 applicants and approximately 200 accepted, this is a very prestigious feat and an incredible opportunity – I honestly can't fully express what this opportunity means to me. It opens so many doors for a future of living abroad due to the people I'll meet and the experience I'll gain. I've never been to New York City, so needless to say I am very excited!
As the UN covers no expenses whatsoever and the internship is unpaid and full-time for 2 months, I was at first fretting over how I would be able to afford any of it. Sure enough, I received overwhelming support and encouragement from my amazing co-workers and friends, many of which have been helping me sort the finances and university matters. This is not the kind of opportunity one turns down and my friends made sure I knew that. Indeed, I've already scanned a signed copy of the offer letter and the internship agreement to the UN's internship office. I'm now finalizing all of my arrangements for the trip.
I'm not sure yet what I will be tasked with, but I should find out upon my arrival in January. For those of you other applicants who are still waiting to hear back, let me outline the timeframe of my application process and offer:
- August 26 – Registered an account at careers.un.org.
- September 10 – Successfully completed and submitted the internship application.
- November 15 – Received an inquiry as to my interest and availability, as well as notification that my application met preliminary requirements, which I interpreted as "you're in the pool of applicants from which we will select interns."
- December 13 – Received the internship offer (letter and internship agreement). The internship starts January 17 and ends March 11.
I still have a hard time believing that I was selected out of so many applicants from all over the world. I read my offer letter about 3 times on the laptop screen, then printed it out and read it another 5 times, and then read it 3 more times from my smartphone. I'm honored to have this opportunity.
The past 2 weeks have shown me that I have a lot of true friends, great co-workers, and encouraging professors cheering me on and they know who they are. It's going to be great. Wish me luck!
