Hello, my name is Eric Barbrack. As you can see from the title of this post, I will be spending this summer in Dublin. In Dublin, I will be working for a company called Elder Home Share. For Elder Home Share, I will be improving the design of their website and designing more websites in the future for the new services my boss will provide. As an Information Science student at the University of Pittsburgh, there is no better opportunity than getting to test my design skills in a manner that actually allows me to leave an impression on the place I will work. Because of this, I am thrilled to be working in Dublin this Summer.

I chose to participate in the Dublin International Internship Program for two reasons. For one, I have a lot of family whose roots are from Ireland. I thought it would be cool to experience the work culture my great grandparents once dealt with and maybe see some of the sights or experience some of the things they once did. As for the other reason, I think that an internship is the best use of time over the summer. During Fall, Spring, and Winter I get plenty of time working in classroom environments. Here, I get to actually experience what it’s like to work for a company in Ireland! How many other chances in my life will I get to experience something similar to this? After asking myself that question, it was obvious to me that I needed to make use of the time I have now and experience something new.

I do well in school, and it is my full intention to being the same hardworking mentality to Elder Home Share once we start. Most of the work experience I have gained in my life has come from working in the food industry. I have bar-backed, hosted, ran food, bused, served, and bartended. And each time I learned a new part of working in a restaurant, learning was always the same. There simply was no shortcut or easy way to do things. I would have to do it, mess up, keep on doing it, and repeat until my performance was excellent. I will attack this job with the same tenacity I have given any restaurant or bar that I’ve worked in. My goal being to learn something about the working world!