Reviews

Chris Vandemark

It’s challenging to put into words the experience I had while in Cape Town, South Africa. From the amazing team at Connect-123 to the endless list of activities around the city, down to the entrepreneurship internship itself, I had the experience of a lifetime! I gained professional skills that I can apply going forward, along with cultural perspectives that I will not soon forget. Cape Town was the perfect environment for myself to mature as a young man, and I will forever be grateful to have the opportunity to travel there.

Cody Larimore-Siu

Christina Christophi

Having worked within the financial industry in London for some years I decided that I didn’t want just a job but I wanted to find something that I am actually passionate about doing. Having whittled it down to working with small businesses, I then found Connect-123 who were offering entrepreneurship volunteer programmes in Cape Town. Within a short period of time they had organised everything necessary for me to make this massive move. Having spent three months in Cape Town as an intern, I fell in love with the people and the City. Cape town to me was like a melting pot for culture and creativity and a city of incredible contrasts. One of the best things about doing an internship is that you can, if you want, experience what it means to be a local, much more than if you were just visiting on holiday. I experienced my highs and my lows, I was both in awe of the cities beauty and also heartbroken by some of its struggles. It was a privilege to be able to be a part of individual lives that are as contrasting as the city itself and it was also a privilege to be a part of the entrepreneurship world at its grassroots. This internship was one of the most rewarding and eye opening experiences that I have had and it has sparked much creativity and enthusiasm for future plans. I would highly recommend Connect-123’s programs and friendly staff to accommodate a positive internship experience for anyone!

Andres Rodriguez

Working with Connect-123 was as easy as 1, 2, 3, pun intended! Lea, our program director, was a great point of contact from the day we e-mailed her regarding information about Connect-123, processing our résumés to making sure we were set up properly in Barcelona. Lea walked us through the process of finding an internship that was fitted to our interests and skills with the least amount of burden on our side. Upon landing in Barcelona we met with Lea, where she gave us valuable lessons in the lifestyle and culture of Barcelona. On top of that Lea set up amazing outings that allowed us to see, feel, and even taste the culture of Cataluña! Working for a start-up has truly been an awakening experience. As an aspiring entrepreneur it has been a blessing to work under the leadership of the founder, whose ambition and determination to make his company a success is definitely contagious. What this start-up lacks in size and resources, it makes up in ingenuity and innovation. Overall my experience with Connect-123 has been pleasurable. Time has flown by without an incident, but it’s nice to know that Connect-123 has your back.

Will McAneny

I've been lucky enough to travel a great deal in my life, but can honestly say that Cape Town was the first destination abroad where I've ever felt like I never had to leave. It's an absolutely magical city, with fantastic weather, beautiful and friendly people, a wealth of things to do and one of the most fantastic settings that I've ever seen. I was there for six months, and rarely a day went by without going out into the city and exploring a new neighborhood or finding a cool bar or restaurant! Additionally, choosing to do an internship in Cape Town through Connect-123 rather than independently vastly opened up my experience of South Africa. First of all, the apartment complex that I lived in, Perspectives, was located smack in the middle of the city center, walking distance from the majority of the city's restaurants, bars, and tourist attractions. Any place I couldn't reach easily by walking was at most a 3-6 dollar cab ride away! Additionally, the group outings that Connect organized both made it extremely easy to make friends from practically the moment I set foot in the city and made visiting the various attractions outside of the city - Garden Route, Cape Point, wine tastings, etc - much easier to plan. Finally - and perhaps most importantly - the internship that Connect set me up with was absolutely FANTASTIC! I worked at a social enterprise whose mission was to plant trees in undergreened areas of southern Africa and to incite a more inclusive and popular environmental movement in the region. The organization regularly planted trees in Cape Town schools and organized activations to raise green awareness, such as free yoga on the Sea Point Promenade, giving away seedlings, and riding bikes to promote alternative transportation in a very car-dependent city. My role at the organization was as a social media and communications intern - I ran the Facebook, helped with events management, marketed to various media sources around the city, and performed a variety of other tasks that never failed to keep me busy. Additionally, I accompanied the organization to Livingstone, Zambia - home of Victoria Falls! - to plant 5000 trees in the country more plagued by deforestation than any other in southern Africa. Finally, one of my bosses was one of the most famous musicians in South Africa - so I regularly got to attend concerts for free and help out with selling merchandise and the like. Overall, I had an absolutely magical time with Connect-123 in South Africa, and can't wait to return!  

Trevor Larson

Having the opportunity to live and work in Barcelona during the summer of 2012 has provided me with indispensible life skills as well as many lasting connections with people from all over the world. Connect-123 found me an internship almost immediately after signing up. I was very surprised seeing that my request to work with entrepreneurs in an Internet tech-based firm was very obscure. However, Connect-123 worked diligently finding me a handful of options right away. Needless to say, I got the opportunity to work with some really intelligent and hard-working entrepreneurs in a real-life environment. This opportunity gave me the experience I needed to go back home and be successful in my own business ventures as well as provided me with beneficial business contacts for me in Europe in the event that I ever want to work in the overseas market. My only piece of advice for someone who is debating whether or not to intern in Barcelona is to simply just do it. Connect-123 is very professional and makes the transition to a foreign country very enjoyable. Not only that, but Barcelona is an amazing city and you will undoubtedly find that you will not want to return home!

Ricardo Caldas Pereira

Doing an internship abroad is a great opportunity, and Connect-123 made it really easy to get and even more delightful! Even if you don't want to work abroad or in a global company, you will improve your personal skills so much faster, living in an unusual environment, with a lot of people sharing different cultures and behaviors. My experience in Shanghai with Connect-123 provided me with the opportunity to make a lot of friends from all over the world. For me it was like meeting a little bit of Russia, Kazakhstan, England, Netherlands, USA, Mexico and a lot more in just one place! And not talking only about professional interests, in Shanghai I had some of my best times of my life, with people that will always be a part of my best memories. Good food, good music, many ways of having fun, and without spend too much money, that's what you will find in Shanghai! Something that I would like to add is that Connect-123 provided me with all the support that I needed before my trip and on my arrival. During the time that I was in Shanghai, the "Connect-123 Events" every week were a wonderfull way to make friends and have a really good time!