I shouldn't use the headline to tell Seth Godin I won't be back from Africa in time for his internship.

In early 2006 I was finishing my honours thesis for a BBA at St. Francis Xavier - a university respected for its business program and its insane parties. The plan was to follow my dad's footsteps right into law school and beyond, but his footsteps led him suddenly and unexpectedly to an ICU hospital bed with a staph infection. Less than 24 hours later my idol was dead. A month later I graduated first in my class, but he never saw me walk across the stage.

Needless to say, a period of prolonged reflection ensued. Both law school and the cushy bank job I was offered were declined in favour of something outside my comfort zone: a six-month internship to Botswana, where more than 1/3 of the population is infected with HIV. I worked with a grassroots organization that uses theatre and sports to teach young people how to protect themselves sexually. It was more incredible than it sounds.

Working in Botswana rekindled my childhood passion to write. I wrote editorials, articles, blog entries, mass e-mails... even speeches. I had purpose and felt like there was no more important message in the world. I wanted to be the voice for all the voiceless. It made sense to get myself a journalism degree when I got home.

A year later, I graduated as the top journalism student at the University of King's College. My successes earned me an interview at the final round of the 2008 Oxford University Rhodes Scholarship selections, and the guy who called with the results thought he'd be doing me a favour by telling me I was the first runner-up. The number one loser! Thanks, buddy.

Ultimately, I did what felt most natural - returned to Africa. In just three months on this internship with the Aga Khan Foundation, I've already become semi-fluent in Kiswahili (a talent I attribute to my disdain for the ignorant expatriate community and my love of the wonderfully genuine Zanzibari people) and work feverishly to better the education system in Zanzibar, where students outnumber teachers 100-to-1.

1. Basketball.

When I was a kid, I told my parents my dream was to be tall, black and play in the NBA. Strangely, none of these materialized, but I captained my high school team and developed a lifelong passion for the game. I've played for professional leagues in both Botswana and Zanzibar, and I helped my Botswana team win the 2006 national championship. Seriously.

2. Music

I spent three years of my undergrad hosting a hip-hop radio show, I've played the drums since I was 10, and I was the lead in my high school musical. George Berger from Hair, if you're a Broadway fan.

3. Reading

Never would have considered this a cool hobby until I realized how few people actually enjoy doing it.

4. Photography

As a visual thinker, this one came naturally. I love taking typically "ugly" situations and framing them to find a beautiful shot.

5. Volunteering

Hardly a hobby, but I've been doing it since I can remember and I've witnessed the fakers. In Botswana, I founded a group of high school students to raise awareness of the Millennium Development Goals: together we got more than 14,000 Batswana to stand up against poverty. This month, I organized the first ever World AIDS Week commemorations in Zanzibar's conservative Muslim culture, encouraging Zanzibari people to "Break the Silence" on HIV. I also work with a group of at-risk teens back in Canada, teaching them to express their anger and pain through writing and photography.

Other than playing in the NBA, I never had a dream job. Every new opportunity was exciting, but I always felt as though "the perfect job" would call out to me the same way love does. I thought it never would.

Until copywriting called.

I'm addicted to the effect creative thinking has on my brain. I keep a copywriting journal where I write six fresh ads every day. I love the way it bends, twists and pushes the limits of my mind. I love the psychology of a job designed to elicit emotions and actions from other people.

More importantly, my experiences have exposed me to the bland, passive and ineffective writing used throughout the world of international development - vague concepts such as capacity-building and resource mobilization that everyone interprets differently. I see wasted opportunities to appeal to the emotional side of decision-makers and bring an entirely new perspective to marketing development. I believe I am uniquely positioned to help change this trend.

It's the lame and cliché because it's what every young hopeful says to an inspirational leader he or she admires, but I think we're quite alike. I would soak up every lesson you offered me because I understand and respect the way you think.

I'm an avid reader of your blog, but I got to this post too late. The eager beavers have scooped up the LinkedIn and Facebook groups. I can certainly work a spreadsheet, but working in Africa has left me a relative rookie in social media. I understand the benefits and I am desperately anxious to learn - unfortunately, right now I'm not much more than a blogger and a Twitterer. Nonetheless, I have spent my life proving myself an anxious and capable learner.

I hope you consider the substance of my story rather than its non-existent style.

I hope my passion shines through these few words.

Mostly, I hope you get back to me and tell me what I need to do to intern with you. I've aced every academic challenge that's ever come my way. Now it's time to learn from real people.

And more than anything, Seth, I want to learn from you.