Former Intern: Vasu Sojitra
Learn more about Vasu through his Instagram account.
Q: When did you intern, which location?
A: I interned at the Mt. Ellen Sugarbush location for Vermont Adaptive in 2014.
Q: What do you remember most about your internship?
A: This internship was one of the more formative experiences that I was able to take part in. It shifted my career interests from Mechanical Engineering to Adaptive Sports. One of the other more significant memories for me was skiing a Green Run as the second volunteer at Mt. Ellen with a pre-teen skier who was being tethered. He was having the time of his life and that moment made me realize why we all need access to the outdoors; the feeling of joy and free that he was expressing was the embodiment of why we do this and why I changed gears towards adaptive recreation.
Q: Why was the internship important to you? Or was it?
A: The internship was important to me because it moved me away from this “me” mentality to this “we” mentality. It helped me start seeing the bigger picture of what it means to have a disability. It also helped me realize how powerful having a community can be to the well-being of everyone within. This internship was a spark for me to grow and become who I am today.
Q: Where are you now? What are you doing?
A: I live in Bozeman, MT as a professional athlete in skiing and soccer. I advocate for access for more folks with disabilities and other marginalized communities through my work with many companies in the outdoor industry.
Q: Did your internship help with getting you to where you are now professionally? Personally?
A: This internship has very much so helped me get to where I am now both professionally and personally. Learning how to navigate a disability in a world that isn’t designed with us in mind is incredibly difficult but going through this hands-on experience gave me the tools to work through it or at least start.
Want to become an intern with Vermont Adaptive? Click through to learn more and apply.
