This last week in Ireland has been very bittersweet. This trip is one that I will definitely never forget. I made a ton of friends, and I am confident that these friendships will continue at Pitt. I am looking forward to hanging out with these new friends and seeing them around campus. Being in a foreign city for a long period of time, these friendships were very important to me. These other students were like my family for the 8 weeks we were abroad, and we have all gotten very close. To celebrate our time together, we went out to dinner and spent time together every day the last week that we were there. Specifically, we went on walks and spent time on the lawn outside of our apartment building talking. I will always cherish these friendships that I made.
This past work week has also been full of hard goodbyes. I became good friends with a coworker from the University of Bucknell, and I am hopeful that we will continue to stay in touch. Additionally, I will greatly miss one of my other coworkers, Monalisa. Monalisa was the only permanent worker in the office besides my supervisor. She was always very welcoming and made it easy to enjoy my time at 4Property. Her kindness and constant support significantly enhanced my internship experience, and I am grateful for the opportunity to have worked with her.
On my last day, my supervisor brought the whole office out to an Italian restaurant. I really appreciated this gesture as it was a great way to say goodbye and recount memories from my stay in Ireland. I feel very grateful for my supervisor, who helped me so much throughout my internship. He helped me gain familiarity with accounting software such as Xero, which will be beneficial when seeking an internship for the summer of 2025. Additionally, my supervisor helped me gain confidence in my professional skills by trusting me with important tasks over the summer. His mentorship extended beyond just professional skills; he also shared invaluable insights about navigating the workplace and building a career. This guidance will leave a lasting impact on me, shaping how I will approach future opportunities.
As for what defines “success” in Ireland, I believe this question has a few answers. For example, a “successful” intern in Ireland would be one who got along with the other workers in the office and always aimed to be the best worker they could be. Relationships with coworkers are very important in Ireland, and getting along with them can make or break your success in the office. I personally enjoyed this aspect of working in Ireland. I think having good relationships with coworkers makes work more enjoyable and therefore motivates people to work harder. In my situation, the friendliness of my coworkers made me less nervous about contributing to the company. Because this was my first professional experience in a business setting, I believe I would have been less confident contributing had my coworkers not been so kind. Their willingness to offer guidance and support whenever needed was incredibly reassuring and made my transition into the workplace much smoother.
However, relationships with coworkers are not the only things that define a successful worker. I tried to be a successful intern by being as useful as possible. I believe that you can gain knowledge from any experience, so I tried to help with as many tasks as I could. This can be a fine line since you do not want to pester your boss for work all the time, but I made him aware that I was always open to trying new tasks and jobs. I believe that my boss appreciated this effort from me, and as a result, I think I got the most out of this internship that I could have.
Overall, I will never regret this experience. I will always cherish the memories that I have made throughout my time abroad. Ireland is a very special place. The friends that I have made along the way definitely made this trip what it was for me. Seeing famous Irish sights, going out to eat, and sharing stories from our work days with my new friends is something I will never forget. On the other hand, I am also extremely grateful for what this internship has offered me professionally. This morning, I had my first interview for an internship for the summer of 2025 and the recruiter was extremely interested and impressed by my time abroad. My time in Ireland was an incredible blend of personal growth, professional development, and unforgettable memories.