Hello! My name is Tristan McKeough, a rising junior in the College of Business Administration at the University of Pittsburgh majoring in both Global Management and Marketing. My international internship in Seoul, South Korea will be with a company called Adventure Korea.
Whether on campus at Pitt, near my hometown of Abington, PA, or on any adventure I partake in, I have always been drawn to two things in particular. The first, photography, as well as being creative, has no doubt had an impact on my choosing to pursue a degree in marketing. The other, is the simplicity of exploring. New places, familiar sights, the unknown, I love to explore any areas I find myself living in or near. This, coupled with the marketing internship with Adventure Korea has made me extremely excited to discover what the next few months will hold.
Academically, I hadn’t known exactly what I wanted to do until more recently. I have known since entering Pitt that I was interested in Global Management. I have always loved traveling, as I said before, I love to explore, I love learning about history and different cultures, so I knew that business in relation to other countries was always going to be a good option for me. It wasn’t until the past two semesters that I really started to take an interest in Marketing. This stemmed from finally taking the Intro to Marketing course, which I found very interesting, but also taking a position for a period running a few Instagram accounts for various clubs I was involved in. This led to me realizing that maybe I did really enjoy the Marketing aspect of business, and that this might be the right path for me to pursue.
Why Choose Seoul?
I chose Seoul, South Korea as the location for my international internship after weighing the other options and choosing based on the best option for my future career goals.
In addition to my Global Management/Marketing plans, I am also currently going for a Japanese Language minor and am planning to spend the entirety of the 2025-2026 school year studying abroad in Kobe, Japan. Seeing as South Korea is nearby to Japan, I thought that it would share some similarities in the way their business is conducted as well as the workplace culture. While not an exact replica by any means, Korean food, culture, traditional music/art, and customs are much more similar to Japan’s than any of the European countries offered for internship locations. I also took into account what location would be the most different from my life here in the US when deciding on Seoul.
Besides the reasons listed above, I also had a slight bias towards Seoul because of its size, modernity, and popular culture reach. For me, an internship in a city the size of Seoul seemed like an opportunity I wouldn’t want to turn down. I also am simply drawn towards the prospect of such a huge city, with so much to explore. While I am not a massive fan or K-dramas or K-pop, the popularity of them, as well as the technological prowess of South Korea were taken as perks of the location.
Professional Goals
During this wonderful opportunity with Adventure Korea, I hope to gain a few new skills, hone previously acquired skills, and put what I know to the test. Below are some of my professional goals for this internship, as well as some personal goals.
- Get out of my comfort zone
- Sharpen my marketing knowledge (promotion, advertising, design, client outreach, etc.)
- Network with fellow co-workers and employers in addition to others in the industry if possible
- Improve cultural awareness
- See as much of South Korea as possible
As this internship will be my first professional full-time experience, not to mention in a foreign country, I will be looking to expand my knowledge and gain as many new applicable skills as I can during my time on this program. I have taken mainly introductory classes during my stay at Pitt, so I don’t have incredible prior experience working in a real marketing position. Because of this, I plan to soak up as much as I can from the get-go so that I can refine it over the 2-month period. Hopefully by the end of this internship, I will have a good method sorted out that I can take back to the States and put to use in my future endeavors.
Thank you
I am very excited for this experience and I cannot wait to share it here alongside everyone else.
