After working, living, and exploring for two months in Portugal, I am excited to be back in the United States. I am incredibly grateful for all I got to experience while abroad. The lessons I learned through my internship and my travels will stay with me as I move on from Pitt towards the next stage of my professional and academic career.

The biggest takeaway I have from this experience is that I am capable of so much more than I ever thought I was, both in work and life. I was incredibly nervous to step into a brand new field for two months. I was worried that I would be completely out of my depth, that I wouldn’t enjoy the work, and that it would all be too much too quickly. Sometimes, those things were true. I had to build my knowledge in many areas and rely on the eyes of experts to make sure I fully understood what I was doing. But in many ways, this internship felt no different from challenges I’ve faced before. While the content was new, the way I set up my research and wrote my analysis wasn’t. Every research and writing skill I’ve honed over the past four years at Pitt served me well and helped me realize that I could succeed in a new career path.

I also learned this lesson outside of work. I planned outings and trips on my own and with my friends, I budgeted for groceries, going out to eat, and souvenir shopping, and I maintained my own day-to-day routine without a class schedule in mind. I felt like I was experiencing a slice of the “real world” while abroad. As a graduating senior, I proved to myself that I could thrive on my own in the professional and social world, and that was huge for my confidence moving forward.

I did not find this success all alone. The Frederick Honors study abroad staff, particularly Brice Everett Lynn and Blair-Alexandria Cobb, helped guide me through applications and orientation materials before my departure. The staff at FLAD (Luso-American Development Foundation) secured my internship for me, helped me learn about Portuguese culture, and provided emotional and professional support as well as meaningful excursions around Portugal. I also want to thank my internship supervisor, Prof. Paulo Almeida, for all of his expertise and guidance that shaped my work and my ability to thrive while abroad, my friends, Elena, Al, and Andy, for being sources of comfort and fun while taking on Lisbon together, and my professor, Dr. Molly Warsh, for gifting me with a love for Portuguese history and culture through her incredible teaching as well as being another form of support for me throughout my stay.

Moving forward, I cannot wait to see where life takes me. There are a lot of uncertainties right now with graduation. I need to find a job, apply to graduate school programs, move into a new apartment and start living a full adult life. Those things don’t feel as scary now after living and working in Lisbon. I have a new confidence and a new outlook on the future. I feel more sure of myself than I ever have been before, because now I know, no matter what, I am capable of facing the challenges that lie ahead of me.

If I could give any advice to Honors students looking to study abroad, I’d like to tell the Seniors and Juniors in the school that it is not too late to take a chance on studying abroad. As a graduating senior, I was convinced that studying abroad would never fit into my schedule. It just wouldn’t make sense to uproot myself so close to the finish line. I am so glad that the Frederick staff convinced me otherwise. It’s ok if the program is out of your comfort zone or different from how you originally planned to graduate. It will help you learn that the past four years have been setting you up for success while immersing you in a new culture and new places. Take the leap, I promise it’s worth it.