Committed to Making a Difference

It first happened for me in my final year of high school. Throughout my life I had been interested in social, political, economic, and military crises, but I didn’t really think that I could make a difference in the world. I was on a school trip in California teaching co-mediation to other students. Observing these students as they came to realize the possibilities of conflict resolution was the moment that I realized I wanted to, and that I could make a difference in the world.


I graduated with a Masters in International Relations. Soon after I was leaving my homeland of New Zealand in my pursuit of making a difference. My first stop was in Chile, volunteering in an orphanage. There were over 40 children all under the age of five. My responsibilities included feeding, changing, playing with, and most of all, loving the adorable babies. Although my role was simple, months later I look back on that experience in my life and am so grateful for my time there.

Next, I came to the US with the intent on seeing development work from the administrative side. I was living in NYC at the time I was offered my internship here at ASCEND. One week after being offered the internship, I was in Utah attending ASCEND’s annual conference. Over the past four months I have gained invaluable experience from making cold calls to asking for donations, to researching and writing grants, and every other odd job that is required to make a humanitarian organization like ASCEND work well.

Before leaving ASCEND in September, I will be offering my thoughts about interning with ASCEND from the perspective of one who seeks to commit their life to humanitarian work. I will be honest in my blog entries, as there are always those days where it can be difficult to see the greater picture of our work here in the US and its impact in developing countries. Overall though, I hope to convey to you, the reader, my enthusiasm for this work, and hopefully encourage you to become more involved with this great organization ASCEND.

Written by: Michelle Broczek
ASCEND Alliance Intern