I’ve been getting a barrage of e-mails asking me “When are you going to post another ‘Internship Ideas’ on the blog?” Okay, so that is not true, but don’t you agree that it is time for another? I thought so.
Well, today’s was worth the wait. Why? Because we are for the first time ever in “Internship Ideas” featuring one of our students who interned in another country! That’s right, senior Communication Studies student Lisa Colasanti completed an internship in Dublin, Ireland, this past summer! I asked her to tell us about it.
Lisa at the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland
Q: Where did you intern and what do they do?
Lisa: “I was an intern at Cycling Ireland in Dublin. They are a government organization that regulates all the cycling in Ireland. They manage cycling clubs, approve and support cycling events, provide insurance to all licensed riders (any one can get a license by just applying and paying a fee), and things of that nature.”
Q: How did you find this internship?
Lisa: “I did it through a program called Global Experiences. My older sister had done an internship through them in London and loved it.”
Q: Why did you decide to intern there?
Lisa: “I’ve always wanted to study abroad and I decided it would be much easier to go during the summer and figured an international internship would really boost my resume. I wanted to go to Ireland because I’m half Irish and have always felt really close to that part of my heritage. I had never been there and its one place I’ve always wanted to go and living there for three months was the perfect solution. Global Experiences placed me in my internship after looking over my resume and talking to me about what I wanted and what I felt about some of the options.”
Q: What did you do on a regular basis at your internship?
Lisa: “I had a few projects that I worked on through out my internship. My first job was to set up social networking for them, they had a twitter but none of them really knew how to use it, so I would update it daily or every other day as news about cycling came in. I was there for the Tour de France and there were a few Irishmen in it so that was a big thing to tweet about. I also started their Facebook page. Within a day we had 100 likes. I would also keep that updated and taught them how to use it. I put together a presentation for the CEO, Geoff, about advertising on Facebook, which to me was the most interesting part since I’m really interesting in advertising. I also worked on a kind of yearbook that had all the current leisure cycling clubs in it. They have a lot to inquires about leisure cycling and keep giving them the same information in terms of clubs so they wanted a yearbook that had all of them organized by province. I designed the initial stages of it but it wasn’t completed by the time I left but I’m told it should be done by late January. I also did some of the typical intern work, like logging mail, printing licenses, answering phones and checking emails. I also able to go to a few events which was very exciting.”
Q: What did you learn from this internship?
Lisa: “I learned a lot during my internship. Leaning how advertising works on Facebook was definitely the most interesting, it’s almost like an ebay system. Working in a professional setting for the first time was a great experience.”
Q: What advice do you have for other students looking for an internship?
Lisa: “I think that getting an internship is one of the most important things you can do in college. It’s pretty much a requirement if you want to get a job after college these days. It can also be a very fun experience. I still talk to the people from my office. I also think that international internships are a great choice. Not only do you get the work experience but also the experience of another culture. Ireland was a fantastic place. I miss it every day. The people are so nice and it is absolutely beautiful. One of my friends (we were all from America working at different places) said that the US is like regular tv but Ireland was HD tv. If you do go to Ireland, you HAVE to travel. Dublin is a great city, but the true beauty of Ireland is the country.”
Thanks, Lisa! It sounds like an amazing experience! Fun fact: the place where Lisa is posing in her picture (the Cliffs of Moher) are actually the “Cliffs of Insanity” from the movie The Princess Bride! How cool is that? And, you’re welcome for getting movie lines stuck in your head for the rest of the day. Here are a few to get you started:
“As you wish.” or “Aaaassss yooooou wiiiiiiiiiiish!”
“Inconceivable!”
“You’re trying to kidnap what I’ve rightfully stolen.”
And of course…
“Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”
I really like your article, Lisa. Keep up your personal development!