Mika Lim is no stranger to globe-trotting, but her summer internship in Cambodia and Vietnam marked an important leg of her life’s voyage.
The Willamette University sociology major got an in-depth look at global non-governmental organization management by working at two organizations after her junior year.
One was the Pari Project, which provides fundraising, marketing and development services for NGOs. The other was the Supplementary Teaching and Education Program (STEP), an NGO that works toward disintegrating corruption in Cambodia's education system.
“I learned that development work takes a great deal of patience and that there are no quick fixes,” she says.
Mika earned the chance to go to Asia through the Kemper Scholarship, a national honor she won at Willamette after her freshman year. The award for students interested in business or management pays for three years of scholarships and two summer internships.
“The Kemper Foundation experience has given me a stronger experiential framework for understanding what I learn in the classroom. It is an invaluable experience that has provided me with hands-on opportunities to learn the complexities of changing political, economic and social environments.”
