February 19, 2010
Media contact: Kim Lawrence
Office: 604-864-4611
Cell: 604-302-6257
kim.lawrence@ufv.ca
Summer job in Uganda earns UFV student credit
towards her degree
Abbotsford’s Victoria Harris has the best summer job.
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Victoria Harris with some young friends
in Uganda.
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Harris, who is currently in her third year of studies at the University of the Fraser Valley, has a returning gig each summer with Give International — an Ontario-based non-governmental organization that hires and place volunteers in several African nations. Each summer, she travels to Uganda, where she works as a volunteer coordinator in the city of Jinja.
Her job is to meet fresh-faced volunteers at the airport, set them up with accommodation, help familiarize them with local jargon and currency, and introduce them to other expats. Basically, she’s there to make new volunteers feel at home and to help stave off feelings of isolation or of being overwhelmed.
“Volunteers come from all over Canada to work in Jinja and I help them get set up during their first few days,” she explains. “It is my summer job, but I’m hoping that it will lead to full-time work once I graduate.”
Harris is no stranger to travel and that’s probably why she’s a natural for this job. She grew up in Summerland, a lake-side Okanagan town, but as a teen attended bible school in New Zealand and then travelled extensively throughout Australia before returning to Canada. When she was 21, she travelled to Uganda and fell in love with the place.
“I loved travelling and wanted to get in one more trip before I began university. I also knew I wanted to do some international volunteer work, so I also did my best to make connections and I researched a number of NGOs and different organizations while I was in Uganda the first time,” she says.
This particular summer job is also helping Harris speed through her post-secondary degree program. When she started at UFV, Harris was taking theatre courses, and needing an elective, signed up for cultural anthropology because it sounded interesting.
It was in that class, while listening to instructor James Hutchinson, where the light bulb went on and she knew she was studying the wrong major. “It goes to show you how much influence a really good professor can have on a student,” she says. “I learned that I could link my work in Africa to an education and eventually a career,” she says. “I switched my major to sociology/anthropology, and kept theatre as my minor.”
Victoria was able to earn university credits while working in Uganda last summer. At first she thought it was too good to be true, but UFV faculty made arrangements for her to complete some academic work and submit a full report at the end of the summer to earn nine credits towards her degree.
“My instructors certainly went the extra mile to ensure I would be able to earn those credits,” Harris says. “UFV is small enough that the professors know you and they are willing to go the extra mile for you.”
Thanks to those extra credits, Harris will be able to graduate next December, shaving a good five months off her educational plan. While not entirely certain of where her career path may take her, she knows it will have an international flavour. She’d love to work with the United Nations, and she wants to feel like she is making a difference in the world.
She also acknowledges that anybody who wants to work in global development is kidding themselves if they think they can do it without a post-secondary education. “While a lot of this field is about who you know, you’re not going to go far without a formal education,” she says. “I know I need my degree, and I also know that you can only find out if a career is right for you by going out and experiencing it.”
Harris has both angles covered. With her job in Uganda on her resume, and a degree from UFV, she knows the opportunities are boundless.
UFV’s Global Development Institute, established last March, has goals that include providing support for students and faculty interested in development research opportunities; building partnerships between communities, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations; and identifying internship opportunities. The GDI also plays an active role in global development with the aim to make policy recommendations on behalf of people living in poverty in order to improve their living conditions.
To find out more about UFV’s GDI, or internship and travel options for students, please visit
www.ufv.ca/GDI .
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