Sophia Magazine vol.2 / WINTER 2015

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“During the summer break I took part in a youth camp in a mountain village in the Philippines which was organized by a Japanese NGO. It was my rst time to stay in a developing country and it was then I realized that there are a lot of things that you can never think of or understand unless you put your-self onsite. For this reason I was attracted to UNYV, which would allow me to gain valuable rsthand experience in a developing country,” she recalled. Among her various activities at UNV Nepal, Risa felt that two Risa selected Sophia University because she wanted to study development assistance and also because it has such a large number of alumni who play active roles in the eld of international development. During the spring semester of her junior year, she underwent the application process, including an interview with local UNV staff, and was soon on her way to Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal. It was to be a major turning point for Risa, who had wanted to get involved in devel-opment cooperation after being inspired by her parents’ contin-ued support for international NGOs.Risa, who had thought about studying abroad at rst, applied to UNYV looking back at an unforgettable experience from her freshman year.Awakening throughUNV ActivitiesUN Youth Volunteer Experience “A Turning Point in My Life”The UN Youth Volunteer Program is a major initiative by United Nations Volunteers (UNV), under which afliated Japanese universities, including Sophia University, dis-patch students to UN agencies in developing countries. What did Risa Nishida, who took part in the rst recruitment, experience and learn from her volunteering in Nepal? Student: 02Risa Nishida16Student