Hi Everyone!
As sad as it is to say, this is the final post of my semester abroad in Sydney, Australia. Without a doubt these past few months have been among the greatest of my life thus far, in which I was able to grow so much and experience parts of the world I had never dreamed of being able to go to.
During my time in Australia, I not only had the opportunity to gain new knowledge through my classes and experiential learning, but I was also able to further explore my professional passions and expand my network by completing an internship in the real estate industry. Outside of the academic and professional world, I was able to familiarize myself with a new city, which I fell in love with, and also made my way up Australia’s eastern coast as well as around the south island of New Zealand through various trips I went on. I was able to check countless items off of my bucket list such as bungee jumping, skydiving, attending an opera at the Sydney Opera House, as well as snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef where I was able to see all the characters from my favorite childhood movie, Finding Nemo. In such a short span of time, countless memories were made and plenty of lifelong friendships and bonds were created which goes to show how high quality friendships don’t necessarily need long spans of time to form.
Not many students study abroad during their time in college, let alone, complete an internship during their studies in a foreign country. Any professional experience you can get is without a doubt beneficial towards future jobs, however, professional experience in a foreign environment is a real eye-catch. Through interning abroad, you get to develop your cross-cultural communication and cultural competency in addition to gaining experience from your daily assignments and workplace interactions. I believe now that I have completed this internship, it will be a key point I touch upon in all future interviews for positions I am applying for. This experience shows I can successfully work within a diverse group of individuals, and collaborate and learn successfully despite the obstacles that come with immersing myself in an environment completely foreign to me. Not only do these skills carry over into my professional life, but my academic life as well. On campus working as one of the business school’s International Student Ambassadors, I will be able to relay my experience to other students and encourage and persuade them to study abroad themselves through hearing about my experience and its benefits first hand. In my opinion, global experience is invaluable and something all students should take advantage of if available to them.
Through a semester of happiness, joy, excitement, fear, sadness, and growth, I can confidently say that I came out of this experience a much different and improved person than who I was coming into it. I faced fears of mine head on, pushed myself out of my comfort zone, encountered obstacles I was able to overcome and learn from, as well as learn to seize and live in the moment. I would like to thank Sydney, Australia for the great home it was these past few months, and I truly mean it when I say this isn’t a goodbye, it’s a see you later Australia.
Cheers!
Logan Ryan
