1.) I spent the summer in London, England interning with an immigration law firm. At the law firm, I successfully helped audit over 3,000 immigration cases.
2.)I learned that I can rely on myself to plan and handle situations of critical decision making. I have been transformed to where I no longer become panicky in situations where I don’t know what to do next. Living in London and traveling to other countries in Europe, sometimes by myself, forced me to gain problem solving skills that I couldn’t have developed any other way.
I also gained insight into my professional development. I learned I really do want to go into immigration law or maybe even consulting. While interning at Newland chase, the other interns and I audited case files of the company. Doing that gave me the confidence that I have what it takes to analyze data and draw conclusions from it.
3.) While I was in London, I was supposed to meet my parents in Barcelona at the end of my internship to then fly home to Cleveland. There ended up being a strike at the Barcelona airport, which caused my flight to get cancelled. With 2 large suitcases and a backpack, I took the subway to the London train station. From there, I took a train to Paris where I struggled to find a train station employee who spoke english. I had to then use google translate to purchase a ticket on the train machine for an overnight train to the french country-side. After arriving in the french country-side I sat in an empty train station and finally got on a train to meet my parents.
Through this experience, I learned that I can rely on myself in difficult situations. My overall confidence of being able to handle stress and think on my feet was definitely raised during this experience. Being able to plan trips and travel on my own showed my invaluable skills that I will carry with the rest of my adult life.
I also gained a lot of professional development skills. During my internship with Newland Chase, I audited over 3,000 immigration cases. Additionally, myself and other interns put together presentations, compiled and analyzed data, and discussed our main points from the audit analysis with senior management of the company. Overall, I learned how to juggle the responsibilities of work and learn how to analyze data and present it to higher company management.
4.) The changes of developing my overall confidence in problem solving abilities and critical thinking skills will last me a lifetime. I now know I can accomplish things and make big decisions for myself. I also feel confident traveling and facing difficult situations where I am alone or in situations where there is a language barrier.
During my internship I also gained professional development skills that are invaluable. I learned how to work in a professional environment, mingle with co-workers, and communicate with my boss. Additionally, I learned that I do want to go into either immigration law or consulting. While I was able to discuss with those who worked in the field, I was able to see how the immigration lawyers got into the industry.