Program: UMD-Summer: Ireland (BMGT)
Term: Summerterm 2022
Major: English
I feel so lucky that I was able to gain both local and international experience in my desired post-grad field of advertising.
Taking on an international internship was something I hadn't planned for, but turned out to be exactly what I needed.
Advice for future #TerpsAbroad:
As a woman, I was concerned about my safety going abroad for the first time. The biggest advice I can give you is to be actively aware of your surroundings, and have a safety plan. Whether that's sharing your location or frequently checking in with your roommates, make sure you have something in place on the off-chance that something goes wrong.
One of my favorite memories abroad was attending Dublin Pride.
I loved being able to surround myself with like-minded people and engage with the Dublin queer community!
Advice for future #TerpsAbroad:
I wish I knew more about Dublin before I arrived. I was working within the Education department of a marketing agency, and I had to play a lot of catch up to understand their education system.
The hardest part of study abroad was letting go of my rigid expectations for how I thought my experience should be like.
My first day did not go according to plan. I was held up at immigration, lost my luggage for an hour, and missed my first day of orientation from jetlag. What I came to learn is that when you want to control every element of your experience, you can't be flexible in the face of problems. Getting humbled not only made me more resilient, but allowed me to address and solve problems as they came up.
If I hadn't studied abroad, I would have never have gotten to work on the Read Mór initiative for the Arts Council of Ireland. This project provided 4,500 free books to the community at Culture Night, an outreach event in Dublin.