Post-Trip – Conclusion Prompt: Describes the growth you see in yourself personally, academically, and professionally. Identifies the takeaways from your program and how you plan to bring them to Pitt and in your future career

Over the course of 8 weeks, I lived in Dublin, Ireland, working an international internship as well as exploring the city and surrounding parts of the country. During my time here I have grown as a person both personally and professionally. I have enjoyed my time immensely. I think an experience like this one is one that is incredibly valuable. Throughout this experience I have gotten to expand on my social, emotional, and cultural competence in a way that I have never been able to do before. There is truly no other way to immerse yourself so fully in a different culture, than to be apart of it for a period time and live within the community and people that are from there. The nature of this experience, being short-term and in a new environment, fosters the ability for people to push themselves to do new things and this was definitely the case for me. Knowing that we only had a specific amount of time allotted to be here, I made sure to make the most of my time and interactions, attempting to squeeze every ounce of knowledge out of the experience as I could. 

At the beginning of my time here, I was a bit fearful and worrisome. I think a big transition like this, no matter how excited you are, can be intimidating. You are in a new place, with new people, a new job, and a whole new routine. All of your comforts are suddenly gone. My initial thoughts when I arrived were, “wow, this place is beautiful” and “oh my gosh, can I be here for two months and be handle it all?” You experience a lot of different emotions very quickly, and I began to question my abilities. Now of course, it is all over and I can’t believe how fast it went by and I wish that I could do it all again. I am proud of myself for being timid about this experience, and still doing it anyway. It is always hard to live outside of your comfort zone, but it is also incredibly rewarding. 

Once I was able to settle in to my routine and lifestyle here, I fell in love with it very quickly. Dublin is an incredibly friendly, accessible, and welcoming city, making it a place that was easy to call home almost immediately. I got very lucky to be able to live with three awesome roommates who became my best friends here, and I am so excited to stay friends long after this trip. Before moving in, I was not certain of who my roommates would be. My best friend and I both applied to this program together and we knew that we were both going, but we didn’t know if we would be put in the same housing. We also knew that if we were together, we would be placed with two other students and while we knew some girls from Pitt that were going on the trip we weren’t for certain. My roommates ended up being my good friend, and these two other girls from Pitt that were such a perfect match. They were kind, sweet, funny, and considerate and we became close friends over our time here. I am so grateful for them. I was nervous about making friends and feeling comfortable with the people that I was going to live with but I was excited to challenge myself. I enjoy being social, but I tend to get in my head and anxious about it. Living with two people who I did not know very well helped me to trust my social abilities and that kindness will take you far. It was a great comfort having my close friend there as well to lean on when necessary. 

The work experience that I gained while in Dublin was incredibly valuable. Like many European cultures, the Irish professional attitude is different than that of American culture. My work environment was a small office, working daily with about seven other co-workers and thirty service users that shuffled in and out everyday. With a smaller staff it was easy to get to know everyone quickly, and gain their trust as a newbie. The pace of work was a bit more slowed down than I was used to and made the environment in the office feel much more welcoming and less full of pressure. I really enjoyed working within this group to learn how to grow in a professional setting and getting a slower paced, personal, experience that made working feel valuable every day. 

My time in Dublin was a true learning experience for me and a part of my story that I will carry with me forever. I was able to push myself in ways that I didn’t know were possible, meet people that changed my outlook on the world and everyday interactions, and spend time becoming more of an independent and well rounded individual. I am so grateful to this city, this program, my internship, and everyone that was apart of my journey in Dublin.