Hey y’all! I’m Madeline Sherk, a rising senior at Pitt who will be spending my summer interning in Dublin with the International Internship Program. I am a dual psychology and gender, sexuality, and women’s studies major planning to pursue a career in the fields of social psychology research or clinical work. After graduating from Pitt, I hope to attend graduate school in either a master’s or doctorate program. 

I have spent this year working as a research assistant for the Identity and Intergroup Relations lab within the psych department. In my time there I have gained a lot of valuable experience working with participants, running labs, and coding data. In addition to this, I have also been a resident assistant for two years. This past year, I have had the opportunity to RA for the Gender and Sexuality Living Learning Community. I love my relationship to my residents and am excited to go back next year! Finally, I spend my summers and breaks working as a server at a family restaurant back home in Lancaster, PA. The job can be challenging, but I love being able to interact closely with customers. It is this job that really showed me my love for working with people and how I can have a positive impact on their lives. 

I found that these working experiences have impacted me much more strongly than within the classroom. It allows me a better understanding of what my career could look like  and allows me to explore more options within my field. I am excited to add onto these by interning abroad. I am excited to have the opportunity to spend my summer in a different country and culture which is sought after in study abroad programs while having the ability to gain real-world experiences in an internship. This feels like a unique opportunity that I knew I had to grab at the chance to experience. 

         I chose Dublin as the city for my program because I have always been intrigued by their strong history and identity. A lot of media that has impacted and influenced me including books, music, and TV shows have Irish origins. This initial connection to Ireland has led me to want to get to know the culture on a deeper level. I think this can best be done by spending an extended amount of time there rather than viewing it from afar. Having the opportunity to experience the country long term will give me a much fuller understanding of the country. 

During my summer in Dublin, I will be interning at the European Institute of Women’s Health. It is a small non-profit focusing on policy development for women and family health in the  European Union. I am excited to  learn more about their current research and education projects alongside how they are being used to implement development to healthcare access.  

My main goals from this internship are to gain a better understanding of what I want to pursue in my career and understanding how a professional workplace functions outside of academia. Whether I find the field of this internship aligns strongly with my ideal career, has no overlap, or exists someplace in the middle, I will consider this opportunity to be a success in my personal career development. This will also be my first position outside of Pitt that aligns with my career. It will be important for me to gain insight on what working will look like in the near future. Since my internship will also be primarily remote, I want to develop my personal time management and drive when working independently. Hopefully by the time I am posting my final blogs, I will be able to report back and say I have gotten 

Outside of school and work, I can often be found spending time with friends and annoying my cat, Theo. I also love reading and listening to new music. I’m currently reading Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth and listening to Hayley Williams’ Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party on repeat. I also enjoy creative writing and hope to keep up with the habit of creating while abroad this summer. I love to explore new places by checking out vintage shops, used bookstores, and small coffee shops. During my time in Dublin I am also excited to find concerts, explore museums, and get out of the city from time to time to explore the east-coast of Ireland.

I hope this gave you a glimpse into who I am and what I hope to  accomplish in my time abroad. See you in Dublin!