¡Hola a todos! My name is Julia McAlonis, and I am so excited to be participating in the International Internship Program in Madrid this summer!

I am from Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, and I am an incoming senior at Pitt majoring in Marketing with a certificate in Public and Professional Writing. In the future, I hope to find a marketing job in brand management. At Pitt, I serve on the board of Club Triathlon as the PR chair and am also a member of the American Marketing Association. Most of the rest of my time is spent at my off campus job at a local Pittsburgh bar and restaurant. In my free time, I enjoy running and working out, playing piano, traveling, drawing, cooking, and learning Spanish and Portuguese! This will be my first professional internship in my intended field, but I have been working since I was 16 in a retirement home for elderly people, as well as various restaurants. I learned many transferrable skills in these jobs during high school and college that will aid me in my internship in Madrid this summer, specifically interpersonal communication, conflict resolution, and meeting deadlines.

I always knew that I wanted to study abroad during college, as well as complete an internship. I chose the International Internship at Pitt because it is the perfect opportunity to pursue these two goals at the same time. I also have been learning Spanish in school as well as on my own for years. It has always been my goal to speak, read, and write in Spanish fluently, and I feel that living and working in Madrid will push me much further towards this goal by interacting everyday with native speakers. I will be living in the center of Madrid with a family with 3 young daughters. At home in Pennsylvania, I am the oldest daughter with 3 younger sisters, so I am familiar with this dynamic. It may help me feel just a little bit at home while I am away to live in a similar family dynamic. I am so excited for this experience, to learn about the Spanish culture, and to immerse myself in the language as I experience day to day conversations with the family as well as in the workplace. As I am pushed further towards fluency in this program, I hope that my confidence in my language skills grows, and that I would not let my hesitation towards making mistakes hold me back. I believe that my Spanish will improve much more if I push myself instead of giving into the fear of making mistakes. Additionally, in the past, I have assisted in English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I found it very rewarding to help others in reaching their goals. I have considered pursuing a Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) certificate after I graduate from college. Engaging with native speakers during my time in Spain will improve my interpersonal communication skills and better prepare me for pursuing the TESOL certificate and a job in an ESL classroom.

Growing up, I watched my dad’s career grow within an international company in which he communicates with his teams across the world. This has provided him with many opportunities for travel and different cultural experiences as he works across the globe. Seeing his example and the opportunities that were provided to him, I knew I wanted to experience working for an international business in my career, and international marketing has always been a topic that has intrigued me. It is an integral part of my favorite marketing topic, brand management, particularly when working a brand that must cater to a global audience and align with different cultural understandings. I have an interview on Monday for a sales intern position with the prospective company that I have been placed at called Joivy, a property management company who has a market presence in Spain, Italy, France, Portugal, England, Scotland, and Luxembourg. I hope to learn more about not only Spanish corporate culture, but also how they operate and communicate as an international company with a diverse market. I hope to gain a deeper knowledge of the surrounding countries as well, as part of the position involves conducting market research.

I feel truly blessed to have the opportunity to pursue this experience and improve my Spanish, build relationships with my new coworkers and host family, gain experience working in an international business, and explore Spain! It’s hard to believe that it’s finally time to embark on this adventure!

Un abrazo,

Julia