For my STEP project this summer, I spent a little over 8 weeks in London, England having an internship with an influencer marketing agency called Proseeders. Over the course of the 8 weeks, I have traveled around Europe, gained knowledge about the marketing industry, and gained new friendships with fellow Buckeyes and Brits.
After completing my STEP project, I have gained a whole new understanding of myself and the world. One of the main reasons why I decided to intern in London was ten years ago, my mom had the opportunity to work in London for HSBC and she was able to develop her career and make lifelong friends while in London. As a result, my mom’s travel abroad inspired me to intern abroad in London which was amazing to visit places my mom visited ten years ago and gained new experiences and friends in London.
While interning at Proseeders, I have learned so much about the influencer marketing industry from writing proposals for clients to seeing how data-driven influencer marketing is. I had a lot of responsibilities as an intern, I was in charge of my company’s social media accounts, bi-weekly newsletter and create blogs about influencer marketing to my overall internship experience. I was able to experience to both success and failure on my social media posts by seeing which posts brought in the most online traffic to my company’s social media accounts.
As for my worldview, I learned a lot about British culture and customs from my coworkers and how the office atmosphere differs from American offices. I made great relationships with my British coworkers that they would be very supportive and helpful whenever I had a question. Also, we would go to the pub together after work and still keep in contact while being back in the United States.
I also had the opportunity to go on weekend travels to other countries, where I got to focused on getting out of my comfort zone culturally and physically. I had to learn how to communicate with others even when you don’t know their language and Google translator became my friend. During my weekend trips, I tried different cuisines such as Flemish beef stew in Belgium to Swiss chocolate in Switzerland. I’m thankful for the opportunity that I was able to travel to other countries on the weekend to experience different cultures I wouldn’t have experienced in London or in the United States.
Overall, my internship abroad in London was the highlight of my summer and I will never forget the priceless memories and skills I have gained abroad. My internship in London has given me a glimpse of what my future can look like after college and has helped prepare me for a career in marketing by experiencing a 9-5 job in a new city. I am grateful for my internship experience and plan to come back to London to visit my new British friends!
Selfie outside of my office