Beginnings.

To begin, I want to thank The Faculty of Information, Manulife Financial, and the Nelson Mandela Foundation for making such amazing opportunity available to students.

I was very fortunate to have been the individual selected by my Faculty from a pool of wonderful and qualified candidates to intern this summer with the Nelson Mandela Foundation's Centre of Memory in Johannesburg, South Africa. Although I was informed of the decision over a month ago, I admit that I am still in a state of disbelief.

As an archives and records management student, this internship is pretty much a dream come true. It will allow me to dabble in the many different areas of archives, including arrangement, description, preservation, and reference while promoting social justice and preserving the legacy of Nelson Mandela. My career goal is to work as a reference archivist in a repository of Holocaust records. I feel that this experience will provide me with invaluable knowledge that I can incorporate into my future profession.

From a personal standpoint, I cannot wait to learn more about South African history and culture. As an undergraduate history major, I took a couple African history classes and found them incredibly fascinating. I'm currently reading Mandela's autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom. While I'm realizing that I have a lot to learn, I'm also realizing that I will be in South Africa to learn it!

In the upcoming days, I will share more about my trip preparations over the past month. While this may be uninteresting to some, I think future applicants to the program may find it useful.

-Lindsay