Meet the New York Interns of Fall 2019

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This fall, the World Youth Alliance welcomed its last batch of interns for 2019. Their first week in New York overlapped with the 2019 United Nations General assembly with other conferences also happening around the city. This allowed them an early exposure to different discussions on topics such as Human Rights. 

Together, the interns will be using their experience as Certified Members to lead the WYA20 Film Screening, WYA20 Dinner, WYA North America Emerging Leaders Conference, a Special Screening of Year Zero (this year’s winning entry in the Manhattan International Film Festival), and the much-awaited WYA Christmas Party at the end of the year. 

Coming from the Philippines, Kenya, Mexico, and Nepal are individuals who all started their WYA journey in different ways, learn more about our last set of interns this 2019 here: 

Andrea Gutierrez (Mexico)

 Andrea is a recent Psychology graduate from Mexico City, a place which she describes as “ a big, intense city but very exciting and so rich in culture. Living there is amazing, but mostly because of the people.” She also says that it has the most amazing beaches in the world and that it is a very developed country but people know little about it. 

She has had a deep desire to be involved ever since she went to the United Nations at the early age of 15. She was fully convinced to defend human dignity and saw an opportunity to fully do so through the WYA Headquarters internship. She is excited about meeting new people and learning more about different cultures.

Upon arriving in New York, she hopes to be able to explore the city. She admitted that when she first arrived, she was surprised by the intensity of it but eventually got the hang of it.  She is passionate about travelling and constant learning.

 

Diwa Ghimire (Nepal)

Diwa, the youngest intern of the batch, recently graduated from highschool in Nepal and has been an active member of WYA since 2016. She hails from Kathmandu city, the capital of Nepal where different cultures and religions beautifully blend alongside each other. 

Her journey with WYA started in 2016 after signing the Charter but after joining the International Summer Camp in 2017, her perspective on the human person was changed which also led her to being the Chapter president of WYA Nepal. She hopes to spread the vision of WYA to more areas in Nepal, especially through the Human Dignity Curriculum because she believes it can help inspire many people (especially the youth).  

She wishes to take up a Psychology degree in university and is interested in history, especially that of her own country. In her spare time she loves to read books, write in her diary and listen to Kpop.

 

Jayj Velez (the Philippines)

Jacinto, or Jayj as he prefers to be called, is a graduate from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines where he completed his Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy. As a native from Cebu City, he sees it as a perfect mini getaway due to the proximity of the city to the mountains and the sea. 

He first learned about WYA earlier this year. After he saw how WYA is able to operate not just on a national level but also on a global scale, this made him want to join the Headquarters Internship. He hopes to share and also gain knowledge in how to address various health concerns. He understands that accessible healthcare is a basic necessity that everyone should have. 

After arriving in New York, he not only hopes to be able to travel to different places and meet new people but also see how the organization works with other regional chapters around the world. He hopes that he will be able to contribute to the cause of WYA in whatever way he can.

 

Camille Lu (the Philippines)

 Camille is a former WYA Asia Pacific Intern for the Philippines who completed her Bachelor of Arts in Development Studies in Ateneo de Manila University. After being diagnosed with Lupus in 2016, she was able to understand herself more deeply after joining WYA and learning more about what it means to be a person with Human Dignity.

She first learned about WYA in 2017 and she decided to take an internship in the Asia Pacific office during the summer. She decided to pursue the internship at the WYA Headquarters because she wanted to learn more on how the programs and advocacies were executed and to also meet the different members of WYA from around the world. 

On her first day at New York, Camille spent her afternoon at the New York Public Library which was always one of the places she’s wanted to go to as she was bookworm ever since she was a kid.  She felt like it was fate since she chose a random stop to get off on and she was surprised to end up in the one right in front of the library so it was the perfect way to start her 3-month stay in the city.

 

Vam Macabanti (the Philippines)

Vimaluz or Vam Vam for short, is a 21-year-old hailing from the Philippines who just recently graduated with a degree in BS Architecture from the University of San Agustin-Iloilo. Her hometown is Antique, Philippines but has been living in Iloilo City, Iloilo, Philippines for the last 8 years. She describes Antique as “a magnificent place, it’s peaceful and homes a lot of good beaches and mountains. It’s also called “The land where the mountains meet the sea” because whether you want to go on a hike and camping or go swimming, surfing and scuba diving it’s really accessible.”

Her WYA journey began with her as an extern for WYA Asia Pacific which also led her to establish the WYA Antique Chapter. She chose to pursue the headquarters internship because she likes the values of WYA and she wishes to use her creativity and expertise in a field she is good at. 

Vam Vam is an adrenaline junkie who loves going on different adventures and going out of her comfort zone to try new things. But at the same time she enjoys relaxing, reading a good book in a coffee shop or spending time with her 7 cats at home.

 

Faith Kabora (Kenya)

Faith is an Advocacy Fellow from Kenya. She just completed her law degree studies from Kabarak University, in Nakuru Kenya and is in transition to join the Kenya School of Law.  She enjoys reading fiction novels, blogs and poetry. During her free time, she spends time with her family and friends who are in Kenya. 

She is excited to work at the World Youth Alliance as her greatest ambition is to make an impact, however small into the world. She found out about WYA during a public lecture at her University, where the organization had been invited to speak on Good Governance and Constitutionalism.

Since then, she has found a home, the very temple of her existence and a place that has trained her on the importance of Human Dignity before realizing any other rights and privileges.

She hopes to advance her legal career back home, and hopefully, she can continue promoting the values that WYA has taught her.

 

Eileen Ayieko (Kenya)

 

Eileen Ayieko is a law student from Kabarak University in Nakuru, Kenya. She is currently awaiting graduation in December 2019. While pursuing her studies, she got the opportunity to take part in a global volunteer program run by AIESEC in Beira Mozambique on environmental conservation advocacy. Soon after, she participated as the Head Commissioner for the International Law Commission at the 19th Cohort Kenya Model United Nations 2019. These experiences have not only enhanced her curiosity in the different areas of law that she can contribute to but also created a desire to work to positively impact and bring about innovative sustainable growth in the global community.

 

 

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Applications are now open for the 2020 internship program in selected WYA regional offices around the world. For young people who are interested to work with the organization offsite, some offices currently offer an externship program as well. Follow our members’ WYA stories on FacebookTwitter, and Instagram .

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