Hello everyone!
My name is Kayhaan Farahbakhshian, and I am a rising junior at Pitt’s College of Business Administration, studying Global Management and Marketing! I am from Sudbury, Massachusetts, but since arriving in Pittsburgh in the fall of 2024, I fell in love with the city and the time that I’ve spent learning here! This summer, I’m excited to embark on the longest trip of my life, spending 8 weeks in the capital of Spain as a part of Pitt’s International Internship Program. This is my first professional internship in my working career, but I have spent time working in the hospitality and retail industries (shout out to Lowe’s store #2375!). Outside of work, some of my activities at Pitt include being an active member of the Beta Phi Chapter of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity, where I serve as the Brotherhood Development Director. I am also an active member of Pitt’s chapter of the American Marketing Association, where I am one of the vice presidents of the annual Regional Conference. Both these roles have allowed me to build skills in event planning, team coordination, and more, which I am thrilled to be able to apply in a professional setting.
One of the biggest aspects of the Pitt business school that drew me here was its amazing global opportunities, which stood out among the other universities that I had applied to. The principal among them was the International Internship program, as I had never seen or heard of a school offering students the chance to apply and participate in internship programs abroad, only traditional studies. And among the study-abroad opportunities for internships, the one in Madrid stood out the most. I have been studying Spanish since 6th grade, and recently completed the course Advanced Grammar and Composition, and I am finally able to apply my Spanish skills in a professional setting.
From a personal point of view, I last visited Spain during my senior year of high school, where I participated in a language exchange, first hosting a student at my home in Massachusetts for two and a half weeks before staying with him and his family for 2 weeks. That was one of my first international experiences, and it opened my eyes up to just how different cultures could be, even in two well-known countries on the global stage. During my time spent in the small town of Grado in the province of Asturias, I had my eyes opened to the small town way of life in Spain, but only had the chance to spend about 2 days in Madrid, the majority of which were spent doing typical touristy activities. Now, with this opportunity in Madrid, I get to live almost as a local, speaking as much Spanish as possible on a day-to-day basis while living in a homestay, which is more than I can ask for on a personal level.
Academically, this trip provides assistance twofold, both for my degree from the Frederick Honors College and the College of Business Administration, giving me a jumpstart in credits and international opportunities to learn. I’m thrilled that I was able to stand out as one of just three students from Pitt traveling to Madrid on this program this year, and I can’t wait to see what it brings to me academically. Depending on the program, it could influence my decision to minor in Spanish or take the language further, but this amazing opportunity will already do so much to enhance my speaking and writing skills.
Finally, from a professional standpoint, the main reason why I chose this program was because of the chance to intern abroad, something I had never even considered up to the point of the application. So few students can say that they studied abroad, and even fewer can say that they had the privilege of working abroad. I feel very lucky and honored to have this chance to represent Pitt abroad and learn as much as possible while I am in Madrid. I hope to be a sponge in my office all summer, learning anything and everything that I can about the world of consulting and market so I can have tools in my toolbelt to use in my future job and internship searches after college.
I leave for Madrid in just 2 weeks, so I’m going to spend my remaining time with my family and my dogs, as well as doing a lot of packing in preparation for the trip. Once again, I’m so excited for this amazing opportunity with Pitt, and the chance to blog the whole time so everyone can follow along!
Almost in España!
