Guten Tag from Berlin! I’ve been here for just under a week and everything thus far has been amazing. I absolutely love the city and I’ve already had a chance to do many of the things I’ve always wanted to do here. After writing this blog, I have one more night of sleep until I start my internship with Gramercy. I’m a little nervous, but mostly excited because this program will force me to learn quickly. I have set several personal, academic, and professional goals that I hope to accomplish through this experience.
In terms of personal goals, I want to finish the program with better general life skills. I’ve never lived this far away from home, and I will have to learn to be more independent and a better problem solver. I’ve lived on my own here in the US, but living across the world will present a completely new set of challenges. I will encounter a new set of problems brand new to me. Every little thing from buying groceries to navigating public transportation will be vastly different from what I’m used to. When I return I hope to be better prepared for adult life post-graduation.
Academically, I hope to gain experience that will make classes easier and help me make more impactful contributions in the classroom. Working a full-time job for the first time will teach me how to better manage my time. Time management is something I struggle with and this internship will force me to plan or else I will have a rough time. If I’m not on top of things I will quickly fall behind. Better time management skills will help tremendously with school assignments. Additionally, since many of my classes next semester are team project-based, working for a small company will make me more comfortable in a class-sized team.
Professionally, I hope to gain many new skills and expand my marketing knowledge. Specifically, I want to learn to be more flexible and learn to be a better problem solver. I think this internship will make this possible because I will have to adapt to a completely foreign environment and face foreign problems. If I’m not flexible I will struggle to find success. Also, after this internship, I hope to be comfortable in a traditional office setting. This will make my transition into full-time work a lot easier. Finally, I want to gain as much marketing knowledge as possible. This knowledge will make it easier to land a marketing internship in the US next summer.