Hi my name is Julia Helou and I am a senior at the University of Pittsburgh studying finance with a certificate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. This summer I have been given the opportunity to study abroad in London, England where I am completing an internship and taking one summer course. As someone who loves to travel I was super excited to visit London for the first time, but I was also very nervous about adjusting to living and working in a different country for a longer period of time. However, it did not take much time before I fell in love with this city.
I chose to study abroad in London because it was somewhere I had never been before. To be able to further my career and education goals in one of the most diverse cities was an opportunity I could not miss out on. This summer I am working for a company called LMP group which is a company that focuses on education across the UK. It has been an amazing experience so far where I have been able to meet and interact with new coworkers and also learn more about work life in a new country. I am also in an International Finance course which has been so cool because we are a smaller class and have been able to learn a lot about finance all over the world. We also get to take different field trips to areas such as the Bank of England and learn about the different finance related events going on all throughout the city that we can attend. Overall, my academic goals are to build and grow connections with peers as much as possible. I want to learn as much as I can about the city in as many ways as possible. I also just want to enjoy the city and explore as much as I can because I have never been in a different country for as long of a time period as this.
I am now entering my third week of living and working in London, and I never want to leave. I have adjusted to working and love my coworkers and how much of a part of the team they make me feel. My first day here, I was nervous on how I was going to adjust to being in such a big city for so long, but I immediately changed that perspective during my first couple days and now London is my favorite city. It is so beautifully diverse where you walk down the street and hear at least 5 different languages. You take the tube a couple stops down and experience a whole new area, always with something new to explore. London is truly a beautiful city and I find myself loving it more each day.
