Hello everyone! While I am sitting at Helsinki airport waiting for my flight, I thought I would take this opportunity to reflect on the amazing experience I have had over the past eight weeks.

First, I want to give a huge shoutout to the Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs (NRIEP), where I was awarded the McCloskey Scholarship. Without this scholarship, I would not have been able to come to Berlin and live out my dream of working abroad. I would also like to thank the College of Business Administration for helping make this trip possible. Without both of these opportunities, I would not be writing this right now.

This experience has been an action-packed eight weeks. I worked at Catalyst Institute for the Creative Arts, and I am so grateful for the experience. While it was not directly in my field of study, I feel like I have grown so much. I became less shy about contributing ideas and solutions in a professional environment. I was able to improve my technical skills in Google Sheets, create dashboards, research new EU laws, and honestly just push myself outside of my comfort zone, which was something I really needed.

Personally, I think this experience changed me the most. Before coming to Germany, I was nervous about traveling alone, eating at restaurants by myself, or even exploring a city without other people. By the end of the trip, I was exploring Berlin almost every single day, often on solo adventures. I visited museums, palaces, parks, cafés, and neighborhoods that I probably never would have experienced if I had stayed inside my comfort zone. I learned that some of the best experiences happen when you simply decide to go for it.

This trip was also a huge personal turnaround for me. Before leaving for Germany, I had so much anxiety about whether I had made the right decision or if everything would work out. Looking back now, I cannot imagine saying no to this opportunity. Not only did I gain valuable professional experience, but I also met some incredible people who made this experience even more memorable. Those friendships are something I hope to continue long after this program ends.

Academically, I also learned a lot about myself. While I do not think human resources is the career path for me, this internship reinforced my interest in accounting. My favorite projects involved researching laws, solving problems, building spreadsheets, and organizing information. Those experiences helped confirm that I enjoy analytical work and have made me even more interested in pursuing a career in tax accounting, where I can continue solving complex problems and applying new regulations.

Professionally, I learned much more than I expected. I gained experience working in an international office where communication and teamwork were essential every day. I also had the opportunity to observe how German worker councils interact with human resources, which was interesting to compare with labor relations in the United States. It taught me that there is rarely one right way to communicate with people. Every person has a different communication style, and being able to adapt to those differences is an important professional skill that I will continue developing throughout my career.

This experience also changed the way I think about success in the workplace. I saw firsthand that productivity is not measured by how many extra hours you work, but by the quality of the work you produce during the time you are there. That is a mindset I hope to carry with me into my future career.

When I return to Pitt, I plan to apply everything I have learned during this experience. I have gained valuable experience managing deadlines, balancing work with travel, communicating with people from different backgrounds, and becoming more independent. I also want to encourage other students to study abroad if they have the opportunity because it truly is an experience that is difficult to describe until you live it yourself.

I am sincerely grateful for this opportunity. Through this adventure, I was able to work abroad, which was an invaluable experience. I explored the history of Berlin and learned more about the events that shaped Germany throughout the twentieth century. I also had the opportunity to visit Poland, Czechia, and Hungary, countries that I honestly do not know if I would have visited otherwise. Every city taught me something different, and every experience helped me grow into a more confident, independent, and open-minded person.

Thank you again to everyone who made this experience possible. Your generosity gave me an opportunity that I will remember for the rest of my life, and I hope to carry everything I have learned into my future at Pitt and throughout my career.

Auf Wiedersehen, Berlin, and until next time.

Ciao.