Hey everyone! My name is Ethan, and I’m a rising senior starting a new path this 2024 summer with my involvement in the International Internship Program through the Pitt Business Administration in Dublin, Ireland! I am currently pursuing a major in Psychology, with a minor in Social Work. My future career hope is to eventually become a licensed clinical therapist, while also pursuing non-profit management work in the near future. To achieve these goals, I’m preparing in the next year or two to apply to graduate schools, most likely focusing on a dual degree in Social work and Business Administration. I’m looking forward to the internship ahead, and hope this work along with my experience in the country of Ireland will shape my future to potential life-changing moments.

My personal life is quite different from many I have interacted with before. For basics, I love watching and playing sports, concerts, documentaries/films, and thrifting, but those are the things that I keep within myself. To start, however, I was born and raised in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Everyone often asks me “oh why did you decide Pitt was the place” and the reason fits more after I then tell them that I went to high school in Rochester, New York. I have always lived and been in a very unconventional life situation, and I totally am okay with that! The second fact I love to talk to people about is my family. I grew up in a family of 5, my parents and a dog, but what makes it a tiny bit different is that I’m actually a triplet! Having a constant person to be with every second of every day can seem like a lot, but as you grow older, you begin to cherish the memories in front of you, and at a certain point, I discussed abroad opportunities as a way to separate myself from the similarities my siblings and I had shared for so long, myself being the first and only person in my family to ever have the opportunity to go abroad; so I took it.

When choosing between what program I would like to attend, the largest obstacle I felt was presented was the language barrier. Within many of the other programs, although possible, there is an extreme language barrier in both the culture and the daily life of living within those cities. I have never been great with adapting to new experiences and change, so I felt that if I embarked on a trip such as this one, I would need to have the most comfortable enough preparation and situation going into my plan, so this is why I originally felt Dublin was the smartest choice for me personally. Furthermore, I have become deeply connected with an interest in nature recently, especially in regard to mental health, and I felt a nature/green space as rich and deeply homegrown such as Ireland would be the perfect spot for me to continue my connection with the outside world and grow myself at the same time.

For this specific international program, I was placed in a charity organization in Dublin called Jobcare. Jobcare is an organization that works with any individuals under long term unemployment by giving them life and career skills to reinvigatorate themselves back into the ever-growing workforce of Dublin. What makes this organization so special as well is it also involve a system the United States often shuns, the incarceration system. By working with this population, this organization shows they believe any person can turn their life around, and I want to continue to be a part of that. I hope to personally break out of my comfort zone within this program. Although more extroverted, I can struggle to live life on my own without the confidence of others I know around me. I hope that this program will give me the tools of more confidence and understanding by living across the world by myself and becoming more connected with myself as an individual and further help me pursue my career goals. Furthermore, I believe this internship will allow me to settle more conclusively on the specific route I would like to focus on in the future. Although I have an idea that therapy Is one of my end goals, I do believe that I have so much time to officially decide what the best route is for me, and something such as this could push me in a new direction or idea to that end goal. Overall, I think this experience will hopefully push me into new boundaries, experiences, people and motivations for the best in my future. I’m ready Dublin.