Allison graduated in 2011 as a Sociology major and a Spanish minor. She has recently applied to AmeriCorps and returned from a trip this summer to Honduras to further improve her language skills. Allison went to Nicaragua in 2010 on an NIU sociology internship she created for herself through a program called Viva Nicaragua. She was in the town of Ville de Granada for four weeks. A trip with a language and volunteer program to Guatemala the summer before had been the inspiration to return to Central America.
Interview:
KH: Where did you go for your trip?
AP : I went to Valle de Granada, Nicaragua this past summer [2010] for my trip.
KH: What was the purpose of your trip? Study abroad, internship?
AP : It was basically from my own interest to do an internship abroad. I didn’t go through the study abroad office, I found this program on my own, I went through idealist.org that has a lot of different programs for social justice or community development. I found a program in Nicaragua [Viva
Nicaragua], and since I’m majoring in sociology and minoring in Spanish, I thought it would e the best option since it was a non-profit organization that worked with community development and social justice issues.
KH: What made you decide to go to Nicaragua specifically for your internship?
AP : I had been to Guatemala the summer before and I loved every minute of it! I also saw what poverty was in a third-world country. I was there learning Spanish in this little school that also took you on trips and to volunteer. From that opportunity I learned about the poverty and the way that people live on nothing everyday and I wanted to do something about that. That’s why I’m in sociology in the first place. So, I found the Viva Nicaragua program because I wanted to volunteer for a nonprofit organization that helped people. I petitioned to get this program accredited by the NIU Study
Abroad office so that I did get credit for it.
KH: Did anyone else from NIU go on this trip with you?
AP : No, it was just me. I put my application in to Viva Nicaragua for the internship and they found me a home stay family to live with for 4 weeks. My home stay family was extremely accommodating and made arriving by myself in Granada, Nicaragua much easier than it could have been. I was then placed where my background would be best suited and that was with a non-profit organization helping out a marginalized community of poor Nicaraguans in Valle de Granada, which is next to a major city called Granada.

KH: How have you been personally impacted by the experiences you had on the trip?
AP : Personally I have been impacted by what I’ve seen outside of this country [United States]. I’ve seen a completely different way of life. When I came back after just 4 weeks I just really saw all of the corporate building and huge Wal-Mart’s that don’t exist in Central America and the complete difference between the two worlds. The people in Nicaragua are so loving and kind and they get by making everyone laugh around them. That’s impacted me and caused me to try and become loving to everyone, I know it’s totally idealistic sounding but it really was just seeing the way people get by that has changed me. I have realized that I am very, very fortunate to live where I do, not necessarily that I agree with everything that goes on in this country but, just that I want to continue to try and make a difference even if it’s in a really small miniscule way.
KH: How important do you think your internship was in the learning experience here at NIU?
AP
: I love traveling and I wanted to continue doing that. I think it’s really important to just get out and see the world even if you’re doing and internship close to your own area or in a different country it’s definitely important to try to see what opportunities are out there. To have a successful learning experiences students need to be open to change and flexible at all times as well as being respectful of the culture around them.
KH: What were some of the memorable experiences you had on your trip?
AP : Seeing the way that the women were able to start a micro business out of a very small donation given to them from the non-profit organization Viva Nicaragua. There were able to start up a business selling piñatas in less than a month and then started to sell them around the community and created a business out of that. It was really, really powerful to see this group of women organize the business; they all had different jobs like keeping the accounts or purchasing the materials. They did this along with having to care for a huge family. Women are seen as having to provide for the children solely so typically in all of these poor communities you see women head of households, They have a lot of responsibility and that was the most memorable thing – to see how strong and assertive these women were in their work and getting everything accomplished.
KH: How can you apply your experiences on this trip to sociology?
AP : In one of my workshops with the women, I tried to bring a little bit of my sociological background and discuss with them that what they are doing is incredible. Across the world women are subjugated comparatively to men and what they are doing is overcoming that. And they’re teaching the other women that are in the village, their own families and their daughters that they can be independent and provide for themselves economically and they don’t have to rely on a man for that.
KH: How did you soc classes help with your experience there?
AP : I was better able to understand the issue of poverty and how widespread it is in the world through my classes. I wouldn’t have been able to go there and be prepared for it without the sociological background that I have about all of these social issues and inequalities that are spread across the world.
The soc class Organizing for Social Action, about non-profit organizations and social justice movements helped me a lot.
KH: How can you apply your experiences on this trip to your future career plans or goals?
AP : I plan to become involved in more volunteer or community development activities. I know that
I’m going to apply for AmeriCorps and hopefully I’ll get into that and continue with Peace Corps. My desire is to go out there in the world and try to do something useful.