Hello! My name is Ryan Bullett, and I’m a rising junior from New Jersey. I’m pursuing a degree in Marketing and Global Management, with a certificate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. I love to travel, and a part of why I chose Pitt was because of the study abroad opportunities. I jump at any chance to travel I get, whether that’s through school or just with friends or family. I love everything about it, from trying new foods to seeing postcard-worthy sights to even navigating busy airports and squeezing into a 17-inch-wide seat in the back of a plane. I knew the University of Pittsburgh would provide many chances to travel while also furthering my education at the same time. Afterall the Pitt Business motto is “From the classroom. To the city. To the world.” I could not be more excited to embrace the world aspect. I initially planned to study abroad during my freshman and sophomore years, but COVID made that impossible. Here we are, the summer after my sophomore year and I could not be more ready to start my program. I’m extremely grateful I get a chance to experience something like this, and I still can’t believe I’m sitting at the airport about to board a Lufthansa Queen of the Skies!

About the Program

The program I decided on is the International Internship Program in Berlin. This program consists of an eight-week-long internship in a field of my choosing. I chose this program specifically because I want to experience my first full-time internship. This program doesn’t have any traditional classroom requirements, so my time will be fully dedicated to my job. I will work about forty hours a week in an unfamiliar foreign office setting. I will learn to manage my time, navigate public transportation, and communicate with co-workers in a country I’ve never been to. These are the kind of skills that can’t be taught in a classroom, and they will help me post-graduation when I transition into full-time work. Additionally, I’ve always been fascinated by German culture, and Berlin is a city I’ve always wanted to visit. Since the program is summer long, I will get a chance to fully immerse myself in the culture and live like a local. I hope to meet as many people as I can and experience everything the city has to offer.

For the internship itself, I requested that it be digital marketing focused and that’s exactly what I got. I was assigned to a company called Gramercy Global Media. Gramercy is a digital marketing agency and working for them will help me gain valuable experience in an industry I’m interested in. I will learn about Germany’s work culture and hopefully, bring aspects of it back to the US with me.

Goals

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. Additionally, the skills I learn in the office, I can take back to the classroom. Many of my classes next semester are team project-based, and 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. 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. That’s all I got for now but next week when my internship starts I’ll be back reporting from Berlin.