These past 6 weeks in London have gone by so fast and I cannot believe that my program has come to an end. I have learned so much both inside and outside of the classroom that has greatly contributed my professional and personal development. Being able to participate in this internship abroad, was one of the greatest assets to my professional experience as a business student and I am excited to apply what I have learned to future opportunities as well. Some of my responsibilities at my internship included learning how to manage outstanding accounts, balancing client accounts by taking payments, and doing marketing research to find potential clients for my company. The tasks that I was given allowed me to gain a valuable insight into what the business manager does in a business and how their role contributes in the overall company’s context. I was able to develop unique perspectives and gain ideas following what I have seen at my internship and I believe that these will be very beneficial to me as I expand my professional experiences. Along with my internship, I was also taking an international finance class and taking this class in another country allowed me to gain a more thorough understanding of the material as I was able to compare the differences between the financial market here and in America.
My experience here has also taught me a wide range of transferable skills that I will be able to use in the future both inside and outside of the classroom. When I got to my internship, the first thing I noticed was the expectation to take initiative in doing your tasks. Often when I was assigned work, my supervisor would give me the task but not much explanation on how to do it. After talking with other interns, I realized that this was more normal here. This didn’t mean my supervisor was not open to answering all my questions or helping me if I asked for it, it just meant I had to take the initiative and first step to do so. I believe that this is one skill that carries great importance both inside and outside of the classroom and is going to be beneficial to me in many ways. Another important skill that I have been able to further develop is my communication skills. At my internship I had to ensure that I had clear communication with my coworkers and the other intern I worked with as well as the company’s clients to ensure that everything was getting done correctly and to avoid setbacks. In my class, we had to do various group projects and in class activities which also allowed me to further develop my communication skills. Overall, this program has taught me a lot about the business world and allowed me to develop both professionally and personally and I am excited to apply what I have learned to future opportunities.