It’s crazy to think that the semester is almost over. Throughout my time participating in this course, it feels like time flew by, and I can’t believe it’s almost done. Over the course of the semester, I believe I have grown a lot and learned a lot as well. Key things that I believe I have learned over this semester are collaboration, problem-solving, and personal growth in general. In regard to collaboration, I think this experience has taught me to be a better team member. When participating in group projects, there are times when I can get overwhelmed and not know where I fit in the group. I think being in this group has allowed me to find my place and to be the most helpful group member I can be. This experience has taught me to work in a long-term group and build those relationships needed to work with others. Typically, a group I work with in school is short-term, for one or two assignments, and we never really meet. But being with my group for Trinidad, we were able to spend crucial time with one another and get to know each other so we can work together in great group settings. In our class reading, “Top 10 Characteristics of an Effective Project Team,” it describes good qualities for a team, and I think our Trinidad group has managed to hit a majority of those characteristics. Another thing I have learned through my experience in this program is to be a better problem solver. While we never encountered any extreme problems while creating our deliverables, we had to develop ideas so we could create them. The thought process revolving around the deliverables required a lot of thinking due to there being so many ideas we could use and ways we could have started the project. We started out with ideas and worked our way through it to create the inventory system we developed. I think that using our critical thinking and problem-solving skills, we were able to create great things that will benefit Nature Seekers. Another lesson, probably one of the most important, was my self-reflection and development. At times I can struggle with change, but I have learned to be less stressed at times. I should allow there to be changes in life because not everything has a plan, and that is okay. I am also usually very prepared for any situation that comes my way, but going in-country to Trinidad, I didn’t really know what to expect. That made me very nervous, but I was able to overcome it. I went in with no knowledge of what was really going to happen, and I just had to go with the flow. Everything worked out better than I could have imagined, and being in Trinidad was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. In the beginning, my goals were to go through this experience and learn a lot, and I think I achieved that and more. I believe this was a great experience that I could not get in any other program.

In my lessons learned above, I also referred to different transferable skills I have learned throughout the course of the semester. The skills such as communication and problem-solving will be crucial throughout my future career. Next summer I will be working as an Audit Intern at KPMG, and I will be able to use these skills in that internship. I also hope to work in auditing in my post-grad career as well. In auditing, a lot of communication with clients is needed, and I think I have learned communication skills with Nature Seekers. The communication skills I have developed will help me to work with future clients I will be working with. Teamwork is also a big thing in auditing and working in this team has helped me to develop my teamwork skills as well. The skill of problem-solving will also prove useful during my professional life because there will undoubtedly be problems that occur. I’ll need to be able to work through them with myself or my team because there won’t be someone giving me exact steps on what to do. Another transferable skill that I have gained is the ability to ask questions. I think at times I don’t know what to ask, or I think I don’t need to ask questions in situations. But in this program, we had to ask questions to Nature Seekers in order to know what they needed, and what worked best for them. I know in my future career, if I don’t ask questions, I won’t be able to succeed. It’s very important to gain all of the knowledge I can in the beginning rather than make crucial mistakes later on in my career because I didn’t know any better. There are so many more transferable skills that I have gained through this program, and I will find them all useful throughout my whole future, professional or personal.

Having strong relationships is crucial to conducting work like we did. There needs to be a good relationship and a sense of trust for any client to trust their consultants. In our case, Nature Seekers had to trust us in order to allow us and give them information about their organization. We were able to see how their organization operates and what they do in order to make money and ultimately conserve the turtles. We were also able to build an even stronger relationship with the employees at Nature Seekers during our time in Trinidad. I think that was crucial for us, the consultants, because we got to see what we were working for. We were able to see all that they put into Nature Seekers and how much the organization means to the employees and everyone in the community. Since Pitt hasn’t been working with Nature Seekers for long, I don’t think that it really had any significant impact on how our group’s deliverables ran. We were able to work with Nature Seekers and achieve our deliverables to a very good extent. I think that the next group could benefit from the relationship we were able to develop this year with Nature Seekers. I think we left a good impression on everyone in the organization that they will be eager and excited to work with students from Pitt again. Future GSL students will be able to continue developing the bond between Pitt and Nature Seekers so that we can help improve the organization with whatever may come their way.

 This program was both an amazing experience, professionally and personally. Writing it on my resume will allow me to talk about it to future employers so they can see and hear about everything that this program entailed. I would describe this experience in the following words: “I worked alongside 5 other individuals as a student consultant to assist a nonprofit organization in Matura, Trinidad. We worked with an organization called Nature Seekers whose mission is to conserve Leatherback Sea Turtles. They are dedicated to doing everything that helps support the turtles. Most of the individuals at Nature Seekers are extremely dedicated to the turtles, they know so much about them. Since they spend so much time with the turtles, they don’t have much time for the administrative functions of the organization. We were asked to help them create social media posts for marketing along with an inventory record system. Through the semester we worked alongside Nature Seekers and created deliverables that met their needs and will help them improve the operations of their organization.”

Lastly, there is so much I learned on this trip and advice I can give to future GSL students. The top three things I would say would be to try new things, be adaptable, and have fun! When it comes to trying new things, I am a very routine person and I pretty much do the same thing every day. I love my routine but through this trip I learned that coming out of the routine is okay! Being on someone else’s schedule and doing amazing new things is a great experience for anyone. Don’t let fear stop you from doing something new or scary, it will be okay! Another example of trying new things is to try the food! I am a very picky eater, but I tried everything in Trinidad. I won’t say I loved everything but there were a lot of things that I liked that I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t tried them. I am so glad I tried new foods while I was there rather than sticking to the bland food palette I usually have. Be adaptable! That is also extremely important on this trip. On this trip you are given an itinerary, but I know something will change when in country. It’s okay if it changes, you will still experience cool and new things, and everything happens for a reason. Changes aren’t the only thing you will have to adapt to. The new climate you will be in is very different from Pittsburgh, PA. It is hot and humid, luckily there is air conditioning, but it isn’t everywhere, so it still gets very hot. Be prepared for the temperatures and drink lots of water! My last piece of advice is to have fun. As much as it is a trip to meet your client and discuss deliverables, it is an experience you won’t forget. We did so much on our trip in Trinidad and they were all amazing. Being able to kayak and hike through the river to a natural pool and swim in Mermaid pool were experiences I will never forget. Seeing the views at Paramin were some of the most stunning I’ve ever seen. Those were only some of the fun times I had in Trinidad, there are so many more. Also, don’t forget to be a friendly face and speak to the local people. Especially at Nature Seekers, they are some of the friendliest individuals you will come across. It was nothing but fun being able to have conversations with them. 

Overall, this program has taught me so much. I am very blessed to be able to have participated in it and grown so much through it. I am also proud of everything we as a team have accomplished through our deliverables and I can’t wait to send the finalized items off to Nature Seekers!