These past six weeks in Sydney have been some of the best of my life and is an experience I will never forget. While I have been here, I have had the pleasure of interning with Hoops Capital, the organization that owns both the Sydney Kings and Flames professional basketball teams of the NBL and WNBL, respectively, and taking a sports management class. One of the biggest soft skills I have been able to develop during my time here has been my communication skills and my creativity and critical thinking. Working in my internship was an interesting and a bit of a challenging environment to adapt to at first, but it helped me majorly improve my communication skills. I worked in a much more casual office space than most, but I also had to be profession and work on and give presentations to other organizations who worked in a more formal environment. Additionally, I worked with many different age groups for my internship. When I was in the office, I was working with other adults, but occasionally I would work at a school on the court, and would work with elementary students, middle schoolers, and high schools, and I had to learn to adapt my communication style to each of these audiences.
The skills I have learned during my time here in Australia will greatly help me in my academic future as well as my professional future. I have learned how to think more critically and out of the box in new and challenging situations, which I believe will help me out academically when I hit roadblocks and, in my future, professional career. I feel much more confident in myself and my work since I started here and I am excited to continue to grow as a person, student, and professional. I have also gotten to learn more about people and different cultures while being here. This has helped me develop as a person, work on my communication skills, and in general take more notice to the details, whether it be with Australians or other students from around the United States. Finally, a couple of takeaways I have from this trip is to keep trying new things and not be afraid to step out of the box/comfort zone. I can incorporate these into my remaining time at Pitt by branching out more in my classes and extracurricular activities, as well as continuing to grow as a person for my future.
