Reflecting on my summer internship project in St Lucia - Michelle Anderson (BA Criminology, 2022)

Michelle Anderson recently graduated from the University of Birmingham with a degree in Criminology. In her final year she took part in the St Lucia Boot Camp in Birmingham followed by an internship experience flying to the Caribbean island in August.

Students from the University of Birmingham and Keele University visited the fishing village of Anse Le Raye in St Lucia as part of a university Knowledge Exchange programme. The programme was hosted by the University of Birmingham at The Exchange in the city centre and facilitated by Caribbean Elective. 

We invited Michelle to reflect back on her experience.

Michelle: In November last year I joined the programme and met my fellow Boot campers to further my enterprise skills with a hope of gaining a volunteer trip to the island of St Lucia. 

The Boot Camp challenged us to think of ways of improving tourism in the poorer areas of the island. The group I was in - we really connected with the case studies and over the course of a week we met at university and outside, to thoroughly engage with the issues that were facing towns such as Anse La Raye in the west of the island. The passion we shared on the project and also the support from Caribbean Elective helped us to succeed.

16 University of Birmingham students were given the opportunity to visit the island of St Lucia following the final day presentations as well as student representation from Keele University.  

In early August, I met back up with my Boot Camp group at the airport. I think we were all a bit daunted by the thought of spending a whole month away from home but we had the opportunity to work on the volunteer internship and develop our project further. Our group really bonded in St Lucia and we all became really close friends. Our highlights include;

• presenting our ideas to the Minister of Tourism for St Lucia
• Meeting and connecting with the local people of Anse La Raye
• Volcanic Springs and Mineral Water Baths
• Watching sunset on many of St Lucia's beautiful beaches
• Playing group games in the pool

A typical day.... we would all meet at 9am ready to be picked up and taken to Anse La Raye. Each day we would meet different people which showcased different aspects of the town, schools, town hall etc and work on our project plan. We would leave late in the afternoon around 3pm and then arrive back at our base in a different part of the island. Then we could meet up with different flats and explore the local area and beyond. Going to beaches, bars and shopping etc. We spent evenings doing Karaoke.

How would I describe St Lucia? Vibrant, cultured, beautiful and unique.

After the internship, some of us met up with each other in Birmingham. It was nice to make long lasting friends. It has also helped with prospects on my CV and I have learned a lot from this experience. I am thinking of doing Camp America next!

Dylan Saulick (LANS) - reflects on his experience in St Lucia

With thanks to Michelle Anderson
Added by Bob Lee