Over the past four weeks, I have spent my time in the amazing city of London, learning and interning. This city has taught me so much about myself, and even about different cultures around the world. While in London, I have taken a class in the department of Communication and Social Influence called Urban Communications with Dr. Abbe Depretis, where we ventured around the city and learned about the way London communicates with its citizens and tourists. Surprisingly, the culture shock is a lot more than you would expect, but after three weeks, you feel like you are at home.
To me, the hardest part of this experience has been my internship and transitioning into a completely different work culture. I am currently interning at Outward Bound Trust, a United Kingdom based non-profit, which focuses on helping teenagers and young adults to explore themselves and grow as individuals while exploring nature. I am working in their Events and Fundraising office based here in London, but their main offices are located in Northern England. So far, it has been an amazing experience, and everyone is so willing to help me learn and grow as a young professional over the short amount of time.
I am currently a research intern there, so I am helping develop further plans and expand the network of individuals that the organization will work with in future years. This organization is one that I already hold close to my heart and I hope that I can continue to work with them when I return to the states this upcoming semester.
For anyone reading this who is questioning whether or not they should study abroad, do it, even if it is only for a few short weeks. This experience so far has helped me grow into a stronger, more independent student and young woman. I also have learned how to budget (a little bit) and I even get to explore to other countries such as France and Italy. I have learned so much, I cannot wait to continue experiencing all that London has to offer and explore more of Europe.
Being able to study abroad is by far one of the best experiences I have had in my college career and this next month is going to fly by! I cannot wait to be back in North Philadelphia with everyone but until then follow my adventures on Instagram!
This blog post was written by Mackenzi Hockensmith, Conference Coordinator.