As I start writing this as I sit in the Sydney Airport getting ready to leave as my time here ends, I can not help but look back at my growth over the last 6 weeks. During that time I have had so many great experiences that will benefit me personally, academically, and professionally as I go into my last year of school here at Pitt as well as into my professional career afterwards.
From a personal growth view, I was skeptical how I would handle being in a new country so far from home where I did not know anyone in my program before I left. Now 6 weeks later, I can say that I grew so much personally from stepping outside of my comfort zone. I feel much more confident as a person and feel that I developed a new ability to not worry about going into situations where I feel new or am the odd one out. I feel that I also became a lot more adaptable to things that I am unfamiliar with as I had to learn how to adjust to a new culture and relearn how to connect with people that I had little in common with. I am very proud of my growth personally and I will take the things I have learned and apply them back home and in my future.
Academically, I experienced a much different class structure and setting than what I am used to here at Pitt. My class had 5 total students which meant I felt a lot more accountable to participate and pay attention that most students would in a large lecture hall, but that also meant the class was set up differently. A large part of the class was based on class discussion and presentations based on the topic of that day’s class. This meant I had to be on top of my material each class as it would be obvious if I was not doing the work. I really enjoyed this format and think that it has prepared me well for the projects and presentations I will have to do over my last two semesters at Pitt.
My professional growth is what I think was the most significant during my time in Sydney. This was my first experience working consistently in an office space over a longer period of time. I learned a lot about how to adapt and integrate into a team but also how to behave and act in a workplace to seem professional at all times. I learned that I really enjoy an open company culture where a lot of the team are friends with each other and spend time together outside of work and work events. I really felt that after 6 weeks I was fully a part of my organization and was sad to leave once my time there was over.
I learned so much about myself and developed lots of great skills that I will use in the future during my time in Sydney and I am so thankful that I was able to have such an amazing experience!
