Hi everyone!
My name is Aleah Atkinson and I’m a current student in the second semester of my junior year studying abroad in Sydney, Australia. I am pursing a double degree made up of Marketing and Anthropology, with a certificate in Leadership and Ethics.
To begin, I chose Sydney for my study abroad destination for a variety of reasons. The biggest was simply to say that I spent an entire semester across the world because let’s face it- that’s pretty cool! I had narrowed it down to either Sydney or London because I knew I wanted an English-speaking country that was part of the Global Business Institute program. This was important to me so that I could be guaranteed an internship since I had never had one before and knew that I needed one for my future professional career. Having an internship set up for you is a rare offer that I definitely couldn’t refuse. Ultimately, Sydney was my choice because of the amazing weather and the global business environment that I knew having an internship in would be very beneficial.
The program that I’m here with is called CAPA: The Global Education Network. I’ve only been here for about 2 weeks, but I already feel extremely at home and part of that is because of how friendly the faculty are. Australia has much less power distance and formality when it comes to professional settings, with a much flatter hierarchy than what is common in America. The professors are much more relaxed and actually a bit silly here, so it has made the adjustment to living in a new country much easier.
When it comes to what I hope to get out of this experience, I’m really just looking for growth and happiness. I can already tell that I will learn a lot through my internship placement, which is a research assistant at a tourism marketing research company. My mentor is very kind and clearly knowledgeable and enjoys passing on her wisdom, so I’m sure to come out of this more experienced and confident in my professional abilities. Academically speaking, I obviously want to get good grades and enjoy my classes, which I already do because of how much I like the professors. I’m taking four classes: International Marketing, Advertising and Promotions, Abnormal Psychology, and an internship-related class. As long as I dedicate some time each week to my classes I know I’ll be fine in that regard. Finally, what I want to personally get out of this experience is to work on being more independent and confident with myself and my decisions. I’ve always been more of a shy person, but I’ve already made some good friends here, so I think I’m on the right track. As for becoming more independent, I’ve never lived in a city other than Pittsburgh, which is where all of my family lives. I’m excited to really feel like an adult now that my sort of safety net is gone. To make sure that I don’t get overwhelmed with this new experience or too anxious, I’m trying to live by a common saying here in Sydney: “No worries mate!”
Wishing everyone joy and fun experiences!