My time in South Korea with Adventure Korea was a great experience overall. Looking back on my time there, it was clearly a spark which helped me grow both personally and professionally. Being in a foreign country, and not just traveling there, but actually living and working in one was something that took me out of my comfort zone everyday. From the second I landed in South Korea, I was on my own and had to figure out the communication, transportation, and social norms of a new country. 

I saw a lot of growth in myself throughout this opportunity. Professionally I was able to work on a lot of skills like teamwork, collaboration, and adaptability which I can apply anywhere in the future back home. I also learned a lot of industry specific skills like what goes into designing marketing material, what goes into search engine optimization and how to write a good article. I also did a lot of market research and research on competitors strategies which I will be able to apply to future jobs since companies are always looking to know how they can improve. Often looking at your competition gives you a good idea of the direction you should move in.

Personally I became more open to following opportunities that came my way, I got better at teamwork, time management, networking, and holding an audience. I worked as a tour guide multiple times for groups from high school students to adults older than me. Keeping their attention and making sure that I was talking confidently was key in these situations. I also had to verify everything that I said was correct, so I was able to learn a lot about researching, preparing a script, which is similar to writing a speech. I had multiple meetings on behalf of the company with potential clients when I went to a b2b convention which put me on the spot. I had to know all the possible details about the company, our programs and offerings, and I had to have good interpersonal details to hold that audience for the duration of the meeting. These helped me personally grow and professionally grow.

All of these skills I will be taking back with me to Pitt. I plan to use them in my next summer internship and I plan to continue to build on them throughout my college years and rest of my life. These are all things that can never be fully complete, you have to keep building on them as much as you can.

Some of the biggest takeaways from my program are that I should stay open minded when I explore different cultures, countries, and as I go through life. There were so many times when I could have just gone home after work and done what I would usually do when I am home in the US. I took the opportunities that I had in these times to go out and explore the city around me and I am grateful that I did this. Sometimes it was just taking a bus or a short walk around our housing, but other times I went a bit further. Pretty much each time I tried to find a new place in Seoul that I had never seen before. I was of course able to take cool pictures and find cool shops or restaurants when I did this, but ultimately each place led me to learn more about myself as well. I may stumble upon an area which I never would have gone to and come to realize that there are shops selling things I never thought I would be interested in. Sometimes it tested my explorative side and endurance, but whatever it was, there was always a new challenge and area to find.

In my future career I plan to take all these skills and things that I learned about myself and apply them to the job I have to do, the people I work with, and all situations that I may come across. These gained skills, abilities, and knowledge are not South Korea specific luckily. I am able to carry them home on the plane and bring them to every job I work and every table I sit at. I am extremely grateful and thankful that I was able to do this program. I underestimated the impact it would have on my life both personally and professionally, and I can say that I believe it was worth it in every aspect it impacted me.