And just like that, it is all over. It seemed like every week I was saying to myself “we only have X more days left here in Berlin” or “we have been here in Berlin for X days” until it was actually time to leave. I have been back for about a week and am back to my normal routine. After being in Berlin for eight weeks, it is strange to be back home. The routine I had ended just as quickly as it had started. Over the nine-hour flight, three-hour drive back home, and the past couple of days, I have had lots of time to reflect on my time in Berlin.
This experience was more than just an internship. Through my travels to cities, soccer stadiums, and other countries to my everyday routine, I learned a lot. While getting great work experience, I also got to cross things off my personal bucket list, which were things I had only dreamed of doing before. I got to gain valuable skills that I will take back to Pitt and my future internships and jobs. I also learned a lot about myself and what I want to get professionally out of my life. Through the connections I made and the people I met, I will always have people that I can rely on in Berlin.
Academically, I was able to evaluate and advance my German skills that I have been working on for the past few years. Through both my work and being out and about, I was able to see my German improve. At work, I got to translate the company website so I was able to pick up new words, mostly ones relating to the business world and health care. By listening to conversations, I was able to improve my comprehension skills as well. Professionally, I got to learn a bit about the industry as well as decide if I liked this field of supply chain. This was my first professional experience where I got the chance to apply everything I have learned so far in my classes at Pitt. While I liked the work which mostly consisted of planning transportation routes, I believe I may want to try another field within supply chain in the future. Personally, I got to figure out my own goals. The main reason I picked this program was because I wanted to see if I could truly see myself living in Germany in the future. I even met with an American who was living and working in Berlin to talk about that. While I enjoyed my time in Berlin and the work I did, I do not think I can see myself living and working there full-time. I definitely plan on returning in the future for maybe soccer matches or a vacation. Besides my goals, I think I grew a lot personally and professionally concerning the skills I developed. Those ranged from my time management, project management, and decision-making. I was given a lot of freedom with how I wanted to complete the various tasks I was assigned at one time. This was unlike any freedom I had had at Pitt.
From this internship and overall experience, I plan on taking quite a bit back to Pitt. The soft skills I developed and improved upon will be key to me being more successful this year. I can now manage my time better when it comes to classes, studying, work, and exams. I can also take what I learned at my internship and apply it to class projects, my clubs, and Pitt business classes. In the future, I plan on working in an international field so having this international and cross-cultural experience will help me be more prepared for when I graduate. I also think that working in an unfamiliar field that I did not have much experience or knowledge in helped me learn to adapt better. I can use this skill when I do an internship this upcoming summer in another field that I will most likely have little knowledge about.
Overall, I am thankful for my time in Germany and am glad that I got to complete this program. It will be something I can look back upon and even some of the work I did will be around for years, such as the website I created. While I may not see myself living here in the future, I plan on coming back and seeing more of Germany outside of Berlin.