Spain Internships With Academic Credit | From 2-24 Weeks

This experience has helped me develop my understanding of how an organization operates in every way possible. During my internship I helped with market research in Mexico for companies that would be good prospective customers. I chose to participate in this remote internship because it allowed me the freedom to work from home, while getting involved in a field I love with an international company. Reflecting on the experience, I'm most proud of my professional growth and all the knowledge I gained. I feel really good with this experience and how much it has helped me in a professional and personal way.

"This internship has solidified my plan to work in the field of psychology. It felt really empowering being able to apply my knowledge from college into real time psychological practices. During my internship I worked with children of all ages. I was there to try and keep the children entertained and happy, engaging them in discussions, board games and good behaviour. My role really benefited the organization by allowing members of staff additional support in managing their workload and not spreading themselves too thin. On a broad scale being able to speak Spanish is going to be a massive help in my future career. More importantly, learning how to work with children and young teens is incredibly beneficial. My favorite memory from the program was the first time I saw the kids I would be working with actually start to understand and listen to what I was saying while working together. When they started to listen and pay attention, it felt like I had really achieved something"

I would recommend Intern Abroad HQ to anyone. They were so incredibly helpful throughout the whole process of applying, interning, and reflecting post-internship. I have absolutely no regrets with interning through Intern Abroad, which gave me the life-changing opportunity to live and intern in Spain. With this experience, I was able to learn and grow an immense amount and build relationships with some of the most welcoming people in the world! At my internship placement, I was able to develop my Spanish language skills while learning how a healthcare nonprofit in Spain functions. I was also able to immerse myself in the Spanish culture, allowing me to learn and grow in more ways than one. I am forever thankful for having had this opportunity.

After coming home from Spain I immediately wished I could go back. My internship in Valencia was so amazing and I truly got so much out of it. I learned about the field I want to go into, got hands on experience, and did this all in another country. I arrived in Spain extremely nervous because I never left America before but as soon as I went to my orientation I knew it would be amazing. The staff and everyone was so helpful and answered all of my questions. I also had the opportunity to meet other students from other Universities who became great friends throughout the trip. My host mom was so nice and even though there was a slight language barrier I felt comfortable in her home and she helped me with anything I needed. I recommend this experience to anyone looking to intern abroad.

I completed a 2-week Marketing & Communications internship in Valencia, Spain. The city was a beautiful place that I completely enjoyed living in and exploring. The internship itself, however, was not worth the money that I paid for it. The internship promised that its students would learn about marketing, website design, copywriting, graphic design, etc. In my placement with the Villarreal soccer club, none of this was mentioned. Instead, I spent my first week researching the club and its programs, which makes sense but is also something that I could have done at home prior to leaving for Spain. My second week was spent researching the team's past players and writing articles about their soccer careers. I did most of the work from an office in Valencia, and only visited the team's actual office in Vila-real once, where I was put into a back room and told to continue my research, making the trip a complete waste of time.

Then, when I reached out to my main contact with IAHQ, complaining that this placement had given me nothing in terms of experience or learning new things within the communications industry, they simply said, "Well, you did only sign up for two weeks, which is considered an 'introduction period. Tough luck.'" No internship that I have ever had throughout my four years of college was an 'introduction period.' That's what college classes are for. That's not what an internship is.

From my experience in Valencia and meeting other interns from all over the world who were also interning with IAHQ, very few of them were having a good experience with their placements. One of my friends was a PT student hoping to go into nursing, and they placed her in a gym to observe workout classes. Another intern in the medical field was placed in a women's monastery. He showed up to his first day of the internship and was told he couldn't go inside, men were not allowed. So, as a result, he spent his first of three weeks without an internship as IAHQ scrambled to find him a different placement.

Therefore, it seems to me that this program is not actually listening to the wants and desires of their interns, who pay a huge sum to be a part of this program. They also don't do their research into the companies they are placing their interns with. Additionally, they have very poor communication. Before leaving for Spain, I had no idea what my internship placement was, even though I had emailed weeks before leaving asking for more information.