Summer in Sydney

Natalie Nuckols

Summer Global Internship Program

  1. For my STEP Signature Project, I participated in an 8-week internship in Sydney, Australia through the Fisher Office of Global Business. During this time, I was a Business Operations Intern for an Intellectual Property and Trademark law firm called Wrays. Along with working in another country, I had to opportunity to explore the major city and discover more about their culture.
  2. I believe this project helped shape me into a better version of myself. I have always been reserved and only tended to stick with activities and people I know. I wasn’t one to often change up my routine or habits, rarely stepping outside of my comfort zone. However, when you travel to another country you have to be willing to open yourself up to new cultures, ideas, food, and people. During this trip, I learned to take risks, put myself out there and meet new people, try new food, and appreciate the difference among our cultures. It didn’t come easy and took a fair amount of consist pushing of my boundaries, but I am beyond thankful for it. Not only did I get to have the experience of a lifetime with new friends, but I also discovered a whole other side of myself that I didn’t know existed. I am coming back to the States and campus a more confident, carefree, and flexible person who now enjoys being outside of my comfort zone and embracing the new challenges I am faced with.

 

  1. During this journey, I believe I grew more independent, easy-going, and open-minded. Living in another country for 2 months without your family or friends can be quite challenging, especially when your top strength is prudence. To start, I had to accept the fact that I was enduring this journey without my closest loved ones and would make new friends and memories along the way. The thought of leaving everyone beyond and going to a place that is quite literally halfway around the world with more limited means of communication was frightening but I tried to embrace it. When I first left for my pre-trip program to New Zealand, I traveled completely alone and had no means of communications while trying to navigate my flights, other transportation, and accommodations without any help. Upon arriving at my first accommodation stay, I was put in a situation that was new and made me slightly uneasy as I was staying in a bunk with three complete strangers from different countries and cultures. Although this was something that challenged me at first, I believe it was the first step in my transformation.

 

As other students started to arrive, I still felt alone although we all attend Ohio State. I had never really met and talked with any of these other students before and suddenly we were living and traveling together in another country and they were the only people that could even slightly make this place feel like home. All of the other students who had traveled to New Zealand on the pre-trip with me were very carefree, up for challenges and not afraid of conversation and all started forming relationships on their flights, but I, however, was shy and missed the opportunity to bond with them all during the journey over. I didn’t let this hold me back though and quickly started pushing myself to get to know them which soon lead to a feeling of a sense of comfort while with them.  I am very thankful I forced myself to take this step because I continued to challenge who I was while also building some of my greatest friendships.

 

I then used this new-found version of myself to further meet new people and make friends when we arrived in Australia while continuing to open up myself. I wasn’t staying in the same room as the students I had met in New Zealand and knew that building relationships with as many other students as possible was essential. Living with other students was very similar to being in a dorm except none of us had filled out a questionnaire about our habits beforehand. This only pushed me further into wanting to be the new person that faces challenges head-on and in turn, I became great friends with my roommates and all of the other students as well. Australia taught me that meeting new people is so much fun, discovering new places are exciting, and pushing yourself is the best way to grow which is why I am beyond thankful to experience this journey. I can’t wait to be back to campus and show all my current (and new) friends this new version of myself!

 

  1. This transformation is important to every aspect of my life. Being someone who can now push me further outside of my boundaries will help me academically, professionally, and personally. In terms of academics and professional growth, this transformation will let me start to take more risks that allow me to learn, experience, and discover another skill, concept, or practice. Not only does this mean I get to expand my knowledge base, but I also get to further develop and transform myself. I am also now more willing to put myself out there and network with more recruiters and professionals compared to this time last year which can only help me in my future as I begin to start my professional career. As for how this transformation helps me personally, I am starting to put myself in situations that used to make me uneasy and uncomfortable and building relationships with more people. By doing so, I have learned to accept and deal with situations that I previously avoided or never even encountered. Not only have I noticed the transformation in myself continue to shape me, but my family and friends have too. It was after this program that I have realized what a significant impact this experience has had on my growth as a person and will continue to have for years to come. I am beyond thankful to have discovered a new side of myself that allows me to continue to grow each day.

Me at the Sydney Harbour Bridge

 

A group of the girls I became friends with taking the risk of skydiving!