During my time in Cape Town, South Africa, I had the privilege of working under Professor Catherine Admay in collaboration with two remarkable community partners along with two other undergraduate students. 
Our first partner was Youth Capital, a campaign advocating for key policy changes to solve youth unemployment, ensuring that youth voices and experiences inform solutions. Our second partner was the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (CASAC), an initiative led by progressive people who seek to advance the South African Constitution as the platform for democratic politics and the transformation of society. 
Over the course of the program, we engaged with two distinct yet equally pressing community issues. With Youth Capital, we examined how meaningful conversation can influence public awareness and drive change around South Africa’s high youth unemployment rates. With CASAC, we investigated the complex impact of short-term rentals, such as Airbnb, on Cape Town’s local communities, housing market, and economy.
This experience was both rigorous and rewarding. It challenged my weaknesses and strengthened my existing skills. I emerged a more thoughtful student and researcher. Collaborating with a team toward a goal that was intentionally left open-ended was initially daunting. The ambiguity tested our adaptability and resilience, but it also gave us the freedom to be creative and innovative. This flexibility became one of the defining strengths of our two projects. 
I had previously not had many opportunities to be a leader in a college setting until this summer. Working in a group this small produced an abundance of opportunities to lead. We were able to delegate tasks to one another and to self-lead. This was an uncomfortable experience, especially in an area that was unfamiliar to me, but this uncomfortableness proved to be an incredible opportunity for growth as a leader.