Way Out of the Bubble: A Profile

Van Vliet feeds an elephant before taking an elephant-back safari ride
in Zimbabwe, where she and four classmates went after the program.
(Photo courtesy of Allie Van Vliet)

Allie Van Vliet has always loved giraffes. Last semester, she got to meet one in the wild.

And that was just the beginning.

Van Vliet and 10 other UNC students experienced the Honors Semester in Cape Town program last fall. Students took two courses while doing independent research and interning with "institutions that are helping to create a democratic civil society," according to the program's website.

Van Vliet said she did things that were out of her comfort zone while in South Africa, but knew they would all be worth it.

"I'm typically a fraidy cat," Van Vliet said, "but sometimes I get that mindset like, well, I have to do it."

Van Vliet, a junior from Pinehurst, went to N.C. School of Science and Mathemtatics for her junior and senior year of high school. She said this was a fun experience that helped her transition into college.

"It was very challenging academically," she said, "but it made coming to college so much easier."

A political science and Peace, War and Defense double major, Van Vliet got involved with extra-curricular activities soon after coming to UNC. She joined the community events committee for UNC Dance Marathon, and has since been involved with the fundraising-projects committee and the operations committee.

Residents of Stacy Hall after the 2011 UNC Dance Marathon
Clockwise from top are: Logan Smeallie, Heather Frederick,
Michael Goodling, Kei Kurosu, Matt Karas, Carolyn Belcher,
Kelsey Kaul and Allie Van Vliet.
(Photo Courtesy of Kei Kurosu)

Van Vliet said she is involved in the marathon because she believes children are important.

"The best part is walking in gym and they just scream for you," she said of the marathon's beginning. "It pumps you up so much."

Van Vliet's sophomore year at UNC, she was the Resident Adviser in Stacy Hall. The hall was unique not only because it was the first time girls had lived in Stacy but also because all of Van Vliet's residents were first-years.

"Freshmen are so much fun because they need you," Van Vliet said, adding that her inspiration to be an RA came from her own RA her junior year of high school.

Residents Andrea Nackenson, Camille Sowder
and Nneka Ndubisi arrange a surprise on
Van Vliet's door for her birthday in 2011.
(Photo courtesy of Heather Frederick)

"She was completely there for us," she said. "She made it so much better than it would have been. That's one of the best ways to be involved: to give that to someone else."

Van Vliet has accepted a position as a Resident Adviser Mentor for her senior year.

Both Van Vliet and a past resident, Andrea Nackenson, stressed how quickly the RA-Resident relationship with each girl was molded into a friendship.

"It was great to have someone who's open and easy to connect with as a freshman," Nackenson said. "Allie was our RA and friend and big sister and everything rolled into one."

Before last semester, Van Vliet had traveled to Mexico twice on mission trips and spent a "mini-term" (the equivalent of spring break) in Greece with her high school.

Van Vliet cooked two Brazilian turkeys for Thanksgiving
dinner because turkeys are not found in South Africa. 
(Photo courtesy Abby Poeske)

"Allie hadn't been away from home as long as some of us," said Abby Poeske, a junior education major from Boston who also did the Cape Town program. "She seems like a homebody because she has such a good relationship with her family and her boyfriend."

But Van Vliet had nurtured a passion for South Africa ever since taking a First-Year Seminar called "Memoirs of the Apartheid Era" and knew she wanted to study there.

"I always knew I wanted to study abroad," Van Vliet said. "That was never really a question."

Van Vliet said one of the most shocking moments of her trip was as they drove into town for the first time.

"There are slums, shacks," she said. "Upfront, that’s all you can see. It's very abrupt."

This introduction prepared Van Vliet for her internship with the Cape Town Refugee Centre, which provides  food and rent money to people who are struggling. 

Van Vliet said she had difficulty asking some of her clients the questions she was required to ask. 

"I’m 20 years old, a white girl from America," she recalled herself thinking. "What do I know?"

She said the most striking memory was when a client asked her, "Do you have a bed to sleep in tonight?" 

"It took everything I had not to start crying," Van Vliet said.

Erica O'Brien, a junior Global Studies and Communications major from Fayetteville who was Van Vliet's roommate during the trip, said that the internship seemed really emotionally draining.

"Allie carried a lot of it home with her," she said.

Overall, though, Van Vliet said the internship left a positive impact on her.

"It made me wanna have a career helping people," she said, "but not at that level. I don't think I could do that as a career."

Because of this internship, Van Vliet said, if she writes an honors thesis next year, it will likely focus on South African policy.

Poeske said that one of the most difficult parts of the trip was dealing with being approached by homeless people on the street.

"The homeless are very persistent," Poeske said, adding that Americans are targeted more.

Van Vliet agreed. "We would get followed home," she said. "You always have to be on your guard."

The trip was exciting in a good way, too, Van Vliet said. During their week-long spring break, the group went on a primitive safari on the east coast.

Rhinoceroses that the group spotted on their primitive safari
(Photo courtesy of Allie Van Vliet)

There the group saw four of the "Big Five," the hardest animals to kill by foot: lions, elephants, rhinoceroses and water buffalo. Van Vliet said this was plenty.

"Maybe not seeing a leopard was for the best," she said.

When giving advice for students considering studying abroad, Van Vliet and her fellow students gave similar answers: Make time for yourself, whether it's something as simple as exploring a new neighborhood or as adventurous as traveling to another country.

"You’re never gonna get that chance again in your life," she said.

Van Vlliet climbs a rock overlooking Victoria Falls.
(Photo courtesy Allie Van Vliet)

O'Brien said that Van Vliet grew more self-sustainable, learning to do things on her own.

"There are only so many things you can do with eleven people," she said, adding that researching activity ideas ahead of time is a good idea.

Miriam Tardif-Douglin, a junior political science major from Maryland who was Van Vliet's other roommate,  advised students to be prepared mentally, too.

"Whatever ends up happening, you're gonna have some adversity," said Tardif-Douglin, who explained that Van Vliet's laptop was stolen out of their house near the end of the semester.

She had already written the three papers that were soon due, Tardif-Douglin said.

"She had been really on top of things," she said. "I was really impressed."

Given the chance to study abroad again, O'Brien said she would take more risks.

"I saw 'Taken' before I went," she said. "Don't watch that."

"You want to be frugal," Poeske agreed, "but you don't want to skimp on experiences."

Van Vliet said that the thing she did that was most out of her comfort zone was to go shark cage-diving.

O'Brien, who went down in the cage with Van Vliet, said she heard her scream underwater.

"A shark came towards us, and I just heard bubbles," she said.

Tardif-Douglin still believes Van Vliet had a good time getting up close and personal with great white sharks.

"She took it like a sport," she said, "like she does everything."

Van Vliet prepares to meet great white sharks up close.
Next to her are Erica O'Brien and Will Leimenstoll.
(Photo courtesy of Abby Poeske)