This summer, I used my STEP funds to travel to Dublin, Ireland where I worked for GRID Finance. During my internship I assisted the company with their marketing information system. I was also able to explore Europe for the first time during my free time.
Living in Ireland this summer opened my mind to the world. For my entire life, I have lived in America, and have not really traveled and experienced new culture. Through my internship abroad, I was able to get hands on experience with a new culture very different from my own. Although I may not have had all of the same views or social rules as the Irish, I was able to gain understanding of the different ways people think about life. Through my work, I was able to better understand what I enjoy about my major and I am certain it will help shape my career.
There were many factors that led to my amazing transformations in understanding different types of people and what I want to do with my career. In terms of understanding people, one particular instance that comes to mind is when dealing with a client from Ireland at work. It was important for me to adapt to act in the same way as his culture accepted. The Irish tend to be more laid back and relaxed than Americans, so this was an interesting task I had to deal with. I can now apply this skill to any situation when interacting with people from different cultures.
One project that I was assigned at work helped me narrow my focus on what I enjoyed doing at work. I was tasked with analyzing a large set of customer data to find trends in our clients’ tendencies. I was able to help the team target certain markets more heavily for more business after presenting my findings. I enjoyed this work and decide that I would like to focus my career around this type of work. On the other hand, the few occasions in which I had to write marketing content were not very enjoyable for me. My new career perspective will be invaluable to me in the future as I approach graduation.
Finally, my view on where I want to live in the future was transformed through my experiences traveling around Europe. London and Paris were the two places I enjoyed the most, so in the future I think I may look to live in a larger city. Having a vibrant downtown with influence around the world is incredibly exciting to me. Those are a few of the specific moments that helped shape my transformations while interning abroad this summer.
My broadened understanding of different cultures along with my improved perspective on my future career will certainly effect both my personal and professional goals and aspirations. Firstly, my personal goals have shifted through meeting many different types of people. I am now aiming to appreciate different outlooks on the world and life. By meeting such a wide range of people in Ireland, the UK, France, and the Netherlands I feel as though I will make a change in the world by appreciating everyone’s thoughts. My professional goals have been altered as well. Through my work, I realized that I am mainly interested in the data analytics field. This will help me schedule classes and find jobs that will lead to work I will be passionate about. The two months abroad was an amazing way to shape my future.