Student Virtually Travels Through Online Internship
"I was at home, but there was a part of my brain that really believed I was working somewhere abroad."
Antonia BignottiThis summer, KU student Antonia Bignotti learned how to make risotto from a cook in Florence, Italy, interned for a London-based nonprofit and made friends around the world – all from her home in Santiago, Chile.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bignotti had hoped to study abroad this summer in Oslo or Singapore, but could not afford to do so. When KU classes moved online this spring, Bignotti returned to her family’s home in Chile and faced a summer with little to do. So, she decided to look into a virtual study abroad program.
“I was a bit apprehensive at first. You don’t think of something online when you think of study abroad,” said Bignotti, a senior human biology major with a minor in sociology.
Through KU Study Abroad & Global Engagement and CAPA: The Global Education Network, she discovered a virtual program, which was nearly all paid for through scholarships and earned six credit hours in six weeks.
The program placed Bignotti in an internship with Invincible Me, a London-based nonprofit that provides mental health education to elementary schools. As a virtual intern, Bignotti assisted with research on mental health and wellbeing. She also took a comparative health systems course that was taught by a U.K. professor and offered through the CAPA program.
“I was at home, but there was a part of my brain that really believed I was working somewhere abroad. My work was going to affect people in the U.K.,” Bignotti said of the virtual program. “The coolest part for me was to be able to mentally travel someplace else.”
Although Bignotti’s internship was based in London, she was able to take part in virtual cultural events from around the world. The program offers virtual programming such as movies followed by group discussions, museum tours, cooking classes, trivia nights and sports watching events.
As part of the program, Bignotti was matched with an Italian pen-pal studying in Florence, with whom she was able to practice her Italian through Zoom meetings and text exchanges. She also made connections with other interns and classmates.
“It really has been a well-rounded experience. I’m doing an internship, taking classes, attending events, and meeting new people,” Bignotti said. “All the people you talk to have really different perspectives because they are abroad.”