Baobab Internship: It’s been a long road to Arizona State University!
After getting through a series of written evaluations and a Skype interview, I finally received that congratulatory message that I had been accepted into the Baobab Internship at Arizona State University. And as we speak, it is already one week down that road. My first week has been filled with new beginnings and expectations amidst surviving the summer heat that drastically keeps on increasing. I was also shocked to learn that the amazing brains behind Baobab are located at Arizona State University’s Edplus, in the building named SkySong. Edplus is what you would call the ‘motherboard of innovation’ for Arizona State University, of which Baobab, an online platform, definitely falls. You would be surprised to know that it’s a team of 10 people in a few square meters open workspace getting great inspirational stuff done. And, they are professional and personally very nice human beings!
Also, the modality of work is that it is generally online. Working remotely is the new normal, emphasized for issues of flexibility, cost efficiency and in case of emergencies as long as you can still cover workload within your working allocated working hours. My new job in all of this is creating and reviewing content and research on improving scholars’ engagement through the Baobab platform in this internship track. The expectation is that by the end of these two months, we should have launched two new key professional communication courses in public speaking and delivering a powerful presentation, which I am so passionate about. Other things that I am expected to include are a list of attending and leading at least one intern meeting, do some scholar interviews, meet key stakeholders, among others
My final thoughts?
People have been amazed and excited to hear the why some from Uganda would choose to study in Lebanon. “Aren’t they two different worlds?” they ask. Underneath the excitement, there is an intrigue to understand if it is safe, if Christians exist in that part of the world, if my campus is good and how have I survived there. It is through that intrigue that personal connections have been made to talk about in plain and simple terms about the universal aspects that connects more than those that divide us. If at all there is any story, Beirut (Lebanon) has been home for almost 2 years of learning, growing and struggling to appreciate and find myself. It has been the intrepid journey to the American University of Beirut has been the gateway to Arizona and many more life opportunities, lessons and blessings that I am forever truly grateful for.
