Hi everyone! My name is Nayana Prakash and I am a rising junior at Pitt Business. My intended major is Supply Chain Management and Business Information Systems with a certificate in International Business and a minor in German. I came to the University of Pittsburgh because I knew I wanted to study abroad and the programs offered here are all amazing opportunities. I was a bit unsure of what my major would be when first arriving on campus, but after taking some of my core business classes and other electives, I found my own path within the business school. On campus, I am a part of two clubs, Women in Business and the Society for International Business. In my free time, I like to crochet and go on hikes. This is going to be my first professional business experience and I’m very excited for it! I was set to go on the Plus3 Germany trip the summer after my freshman year however, due to the pandemic, that was cancelled. Although I would have loved to been able to visit Ireland in person, an international internship is definitely the next best thing.

This summer, I will be interning at patientMpower which is an internationally expanding startup providing solutions for patients with kindey and lung disease to manage their condition. Basically, they have developed a platform to help patients manage their condition, get access to medical data, and be able to communicate with their health provider. When I first met my supervisor, I found out that he had interned at this same company through EUSA when he was in college; I thought that was pretty funny. I also found out that my duties as an intern will be a combination of analyzing data and helping with the expansion of their company into the US, so a data analytics and sales internship. I am especially excited for this opportunity because I think it’s a great first professional business experience. My role as an intern will be very hands-on and completely reliant on the steps I take to go above and beyond in this internship. This program is a great first step for my professional experience and figuring out what my future career will be. Academically, I am also excited to be able to use some of the skills I’ve learned in my classes in this professional environment.

Professionally, I hope to gain more knowledge and appreciation for other cultures and their work environment. I am excited to work with this group of people and learn from them. I also hope to be able to communicate more effectively with a diverse group of people as well as through a virtual setting. I will have to make an extra effort to build a relationship with other people in the company since they are based in a different time zone than my supervisor and me. Personally, I hope to strengthen my leadership skills, my communication skills, and to further globalize myself. As leadership styles differ between different cultures, I hope to use this experience to learn how to work with people I am not used to. Again, professionally and personally, I want to improve my communication skills. This internship will encourage me to seek out new opportunities and build relationships within the company. Finally, I hope to further globalize myself. I will be meeting a lot of new people from a different culture and will be able to take in their perspectives on things. I think this is a great next step for me as this opportunity is forcing me out of my comfort zone. I will be placed in situations I have not experienced before and will need to adapt to them. By the end of the summer, I hope to gain many valuable skills not only professionally, but also personally.

I chose to do an international internship because I wanted to build my professional business experience while also being able to incorporate an international aspect to it to further build my global competency. Even though this internship is virtual, I know that I will still able to take a lot away from this experience. I am eager to build my professional experience, my professional network, and improve my skills in the workplace. I am very excited for my internship to start and to continue to update my experience!