Melissa Connolly

Melissa Connolly

Prime Minister’s Scholarship for Asia, Global Internship in Vietnam

Introduction

Kia ora! 

My name is Melissa, and I will be spending two months interning in Ho Chi Minh City on a Prime Minister’s Scholarship! I have just finished my third year of a Law and Global Studies conjoint, majoring in Global Politics & Human Rights and Te Reo Māori at the University of Auckland. I grew up in Hamilton, where I attended Hamilton Girls’ High School. 

I applied for the group programme to Ho Chi Minh City because I have never travelled before and would love the opportunity to see the world – especially such an exciting and innovative country like Vietnam! I am really looking forward to learning more about the culture and where it is different from my own!

Working in a law firm in Ho Chi Minh City will be a great opportunity for me to apply the skills I have learnt in my conjoint degree, as I will be navigating the law in a setting that has an entirely different cultural context. I hope I will have the opportunity to use these skills again in my future legal career!

  • Life in Saigon – Week 2

    Week two in Vietnam was certainly very different to week one, and it brought with it a whole new set of challenges and experiences! While week one felt like a constant blur of changes, week two was a lot slower, and it was nice to have some consistency and stability again. I am so grateful…Continue…

  • Lost in Saigon: My first week in Ho Chi Minh City!

    Wednesday the 11th marked 7 days in Vietnam! It is so crazy to reflect on the last week and how much we managed to fit into it. Having never been this far from home before, these last few days have shifted my perspective on the world, and every moment has brought me a new experience….Continue…