I go to the university of Notre Dame in Indiana, USA, and am in my third-year majoring in biology. This year I had the opportunity to studying abroad here in London. We had the opportunity while we are here to apply for an internship, and I chose Emmaus Greenwich because I’d really like to help people in the long run, whatever I choose to do in the future – I’m currently thinking about medical research.

I’m a people person, so wanted to find a way to use that, and this is the best opportunity. I came in late August and have been working here since then. I was initially working on the logistics side of the organisation, working in the office with Stephen, and then after some time doing that I decided to take a different approach, so have now started working in the kitchen.

I thought it would be really nice to make Thanksgiving Dinner for all the companions, as it’s such a big thing back home. I’m making turkey, mac and cheese, sweet potato pie, yams and I also made beans. We tend to say a prayer before we eat, and then go around the table and say what we were thankful for. When I was little I used to say the prayers, and say I was thankful for things like the trees and so maybe incorporating something like that would be nice. Thanksgiving is really about community and getting together, so we’ll move the tables to make sure we’re all sitting together and can have a good chat.

I’m here until December, and think it’s going to be a bit of a culture shock to go back! The best thing about working at Emmaus is definitely the people. They’re really funny, everyone is always making jokes, I hear them coming down the way chatting. They’re very friendly people, always recommending me places to go and visit while I’m in London. I’ve heard some of their stories and some people have really lived multiple lives and done some amazing things. I’m sad I’ll be leaving.