Wow, how time flies! As I am writing this, we are already entering our third weekend here, and it is still hard for me to believe that I am in Australia. It just does not seem real. Maybe because I have yet to have a chance to just sit back and relax, or because the culture is so similar to the US, but either way, I still have’t received the culture shock I thought I would.

The campus here is similar, but also different than back home. We have been living at UNSW, the University of New South Wales, which is located in Kensington, NSW. There is not much in this particular neighborhood, but in the neighborhood next door, Randwick, there is a strip of stores, shops, my favorite place ever, Yo-Chi, and a grocery store called Woolworths. Yo-Chi is a frozen yogurt place, but not just your average frozen yogurt. Though they only have a few option of actual frozen yogurt, the toppings selection is ginormous, and amazing! At home, there is also a strip of restaurants and stores, but no frozen yogurt or grocery store sadly.

In terms of the university itself, it is different from home since they call their campus a village, and most dorm style living is actually apartments, ranging from 6-8 people. My roommates and I also had the unfortunate luck of having cockroaches in our kitchen when we arrived on the first day, and had to live with them for the first two weeks. We were finally able to move out a few days ago, but it is has been hectic staying in the bug apartment. Most nights, we were eating out, since cooking was not much of an option because of the roaches. Yet, the pro of eating out was that we were able to try new places, and the con was that we spent a lot of money. However, since moving into the new apartment, we have been able to cook and buy groceries without the fear of bugs getting to it. They have an Aldi here, so I feel like I am back at Pitt when it comes to food shopping now. The main grocery store in Pitt is Aldi, so I am familiar with the flow of things and foods I like or dislike from there. Freshman year, I would have to bus if I wanted to leave campus, and I am having that same deja vu now whenever I have to travel someplace. To get to the grocery store or other local places, we take the bus, but for most other things, we mainly use the light rail to get to and from class or if I wanted to head downtown towards the Opera House. As for commuting to my internship, I start with the light rail, but then have to take the train, and then transfer to a different train.

It took some time to adapt, but I am finally getting the hang of my class schedule and internship commute. I have classes on Tuesdays from 1PM-6Pm and Wednesdays from 9AM-12PM. The class I am taking is Sports Marketing, and it is a great opportunity for me to fulfill credits for my Sports Management certificate, but also learn about the different sports in Australia. On Tuesday mornings, my roommates and I will explore a little bit or try a new restaurant before class and on Wednesday, I will sometimes work remote after class, or explore on my own. Last weekend, I went to the Royal Botanical Gardens, and it was gorgeous. The garden had so many different trails to walk and it was right next to the Opera House, which was stunning. This past Monday night, we also had the chance to sleepover at the Taranga Zoo, and wow was it a great experience. Though I was woken up a few times throughout the night by the lions growling and the chimpanzees fighting, I was glad that I went and I was able to see such beautiful animals and learn new fun facts!

As for my internship, I have that Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and like I said before, sometimes Wednesdays. I work 9Am-5PM Monday and Thursday, and 9AM-1PM Friday, and if I work Wednesday, it is usually 1PM-5PM. Since my internship is in Olympic Park, I have to travel about an hour and twenty minutes to get there so I usually have to leave by 7:20AM. I am working for Hoops Capital, which owns both the Sydney Kings men’s basketball NBL team and the Sydney Flames women’s NBL team. My supervisor is the manager for Business Development & Premium Seating, and I work under her. The office consists of about twenty people or less, and each department has double the work since they are responsible for both men’s and women’s teams. I am lucky enough to work on the Prospectus for the Sydney Kings right now, which is a formal, legal document that provides details about an investment offering or business project. In this case, I am making a powerpoint that details all of the premium memberships the Sydney Kings have to offer for the 2026/2027 season, and this will be sent out to all fans and corporations to attract their interest in becoming premium ticket holders. I will eventually be doing the same for the Sydney Flames too, but the Sydney Kings have a larger fan basis and more to offer.

In the sports industry, I think it is vital to have good communication skills as well as time management. In the office, it is crucial for the different departments to collaborate with one another to ensure that game days run smoothly and efficiently. Operations always has to communicate with the general manager, and seating is always talking to our finance department and operations as well. There is a lot more that happens behind the scenes then people actually would expect and I find it extremely interesting to see the process from start to finish. There are definitely a lot of deadlines to be met and multiple tasks to be completed all within a short period of time so honing in on time management definitely matters in this industry. I would argue that creativity and customer service also go a long way in this industry, since you work on marketing the sport to fans and need creative ways to engage them and attract their attention. Many people call asking questions and it is important to give them a thoughtful and smart response to ensure you have their interest. I had the opportunity to attend Sydney’s State of Origin game, rugby league game between the NSW Blues and Queensland Maroons. Between Sydney and Melbourne, they have been rivals in rugby for decades and settle it once a year in a game best of three. Overall, I have been loving my time here and can’t wait to see the finished product of my Prospectus for my internship and explore the city more!