My third week in Dublin was busy, but fun! I started my new placement at AllGo and so, far it’s going well! I like the laid back and welcoming environment of the office. I have one American co-worker Jonathan who is from Ohio State and also living on the UCD campus! Now, I feel less alone working on the same team as another American I can relate more closely to and navigate the new office culture with. Jonathan and I have been tasked with conducting compliance screenings on 7,000 of AllGo’s clients. We have a collective weekly goal of 500 clients per week and a daily individual goal of 100 clients. We are starting with level one security checks which involve verifying the company structure, industry, banking information, and country are legitimate and up to AllGo’s compliance standards. Each security check can take 5-10 minutes depending on the complexity of the company. So we are quite busy during the day working towards are daily goal. I struggle to motivate myself to work without a financial incentive, so having a high daily goal pushes me to work hard everyday. Due to the simplicity and repetitive nature of the level one compliance checks, the work is quite mindless. So I often use the workday to discover new music and podcasts that I listen to all day while working.
At first, the in person structure was an exhausting adjustment as I was used to sleeping in and working from home all day. But, I have adjusted by prioritizing sleep and making a solid breakfast with lots of caffeine in the morning to energize me for the long day ahead. It also doesn’t help my energy levels to (willingly) walk 4 miles to and from work every day. I have always enjoyed long walks and the weather in the morning is a nice breezy 60 degrees. Walking helps me reduce my anxiety and clear my head. Though walking 8+ miles a day is tiring, I appreciate the positive impact it makes on my mental health. Being so busy and navigating a new city can bring emotional challenges that I work to overcome with self care and exercise. I love how walkable Dublin is! I always have an easy and safe time walking anywhere from campus. I truly wish more American cities were this walkable and when I return home, I’ll miss the walkable infrastructure of Dublin.
After work on Tuesday, I went to Blackrock with Eliza from Pitt! Blackrock is my favourite part of Dublin! It’s an easy 40 minute walk from UCD campus and has an amazing outdoor market and a peaceful coastline. Eliza and I sat outside by the water and enjoyed snacks while watching the sunset. We people watched and took observation of how common it is for Irish people to leave their dogs unattended without a leash. But, I have noticed how well behaved the dogs here are! It takes a lot of trust and discipline to let a dog roam freely by the ocean. The gentle sound of the ocean waves and the distant squawking of birds was incredibly calming after a long and overstimulating day in the city. I’m so thankful for all the new connections I have made with fellow Pitt students through this program and I look forward to maintaining these new friendships when we return to Pitt this fall!
On Friday, my friends Liv, Faith, Shwetha, and I left Dublin to fly to Edinburgh, Scotland for the weekend! Edinburgh was breath-taking, I felt chills on my skin as I gazed up at the majestic castles surrounding us. Our first day involved a lot of walking around and site seeing! The food in Edinburgh was amazing. We also did a lot of shopping and found a cheap vintage shop were I bought a belt and a pair of sunglasses!
My first experience staying at a hostel was rather… interesting! Sleeping in a bunk bed in the same room as 17 other people was a first for me, but I didn’t mind it too much. On the downside, I did a horrible job packing about 10 minutes before we left for the airport, so I (conveniently) forgot to pack shower shoes and more than one pair of socks. I have definitely learned my lesson to stop packing so last minute and the importance of shower shoes/sandals for hostels. I have two trips upcoming, so I now feel prepared for what to expect and pack for hostels in the future.
Another mistake I made was only booking one night in the hostel for my friends and I. We did no research on the going out scene in Edinburgh and assumed we could go out all night and arrive to the airport the following morning. So, we arrived to the airport at 2am and slept on benches and chairs for 6 hours until our 9am flight. That was another interesting experience I hope to never go through again (my back still hurts)! But, I’m glad I wasn’t alone in this struggle as my friends Faith and Shwetha were right there next to me. Soon enough, we were put out of our misery and finally boarded our flight back to Dublin!
I had such a fun time to Edinburgh and I grew closer to my new friends! I look forward to going to Barcelona and Amsterdam with them in the coming weeks.
Internship Reflection: Problem Solving with Incomplete Information
I have not struggled with ambiguity in directions during my time at AllGo thus far. My manager, Laura has maintained clear and open communication and I feel confident going into work knowing how to complete my tasks! The only uncertainty that my colleague Jonathan and I are struggling with is technical difficulties with the software, Orbis. We use Orbis to collect data on each client that is crucial is verifying their information. Orbis will often shut down for 30 minutes to 2 hours at a time. This is quite frustrating as we have to sit and wait for the software to come back up with no estimate of exactly how long it will take. We are still expected to reach our daily and weekly goals despite these hurdles. This adds pressure to the workday as we scramble to comb through each compliance check with frequent interruptions. To combat the stress caused by the slowness and unreliable nature of Orbis, I take walks while waiting for the outage to resolve to reduce anxiety and regulate my stress. I also communicate with Laura and the rest of my team about the duration of each outage to hopefully seek technical support.
I have great support at AllGo and I look forward to advancing up to level 2 compliance checks next week! I also have a trip to Barcelona with my friends next weekend that I’m so excited for!
