Intern Abroad with a Startup this Summer

I had an amazing time working at a startup consulting agency in Madrid, Spain. I was truly immersed in the culture and loved the workplace environment. My bosses were incredible, but the most meaningful part of the experience was definitely the people. I got to perfect my spanish while talking with my coworkers, and make lifelong connections with people across the world. Living and working day-to-day in a new city is phenomenal, especially during a freshman or sophomore summer. Being exposed to an entirely different environment at that point in college is a rare opportunity, and it genuinely shifts your perspective on the world in so many ways.

I had such a great experience with Sage Corps this summer in Amsterdam. Going into the program, I was really excited about the opportunity to intern abroad, but I honestly ended up getting so much more out of the experience than I expected.

I was able to work with a startup in Amsterdam and gain real experience in sales, business development, marketing, and working in an international environment. I learned a ton professionally, but I also grew a lot personally. Living in a new country for two months definitely pushed me outside of my comfort zone at times, and I feel like I came home much more confident, independent, and open-minded because of it.

One of my favorite parts of Sage Corps was also the people. I met so many great people from different schools and backgrounds, made some really close friends, and loved having a group of people to experience Amsterdam with. The events Sage Corps put together were always fun, and it was also really nice having people from the program in Amsterdam who were there to support us throughout the summer.

I’m extremely grateful that I had the opportunity to be a part of Sage Corps. It gave me an amazing internship experience, great friendships, and memories from Amsterdam that I’ll honestly never forget. I would definitely recommend the program to anyone who wants to gain meaningful work experience while also pushing themselves to try something new and experience living abroad.

I spent this past summer interning in Madrid with a biotech startup, and it ended up being one of the best decisions I made in college so far. Sage Corps placed me somewhere I could explore the commercial side of biotech, which is exactly the direction I want my future career to go, and I don't think I could have gotten that kind of exposure anywhere else, let alone abroad.

The internship itself was awesome. I was trusted with meaningful projects, got exposure to how the leadership team operated day to day, and walked away with a much clearer sense of how a small company actually functions behind the scenes.

What set Sage Corps apart for me was how much support came alongside the placement. I had one-on-ones and check-ins throughout the program, so I never felt like I'd just been dropped in a new country and left to figure it out alone. At the same time, Sage Corps still gave us a real taste of Spain: living in Malasaña with the rest of my cohort, a tour of the Bernabéu, a day trip to Toledo, and a cooking class where we learned to make traditional Spanish dishes. My favorite part was probably the Madrid city center tour, where our guide pointed out Moorish architectural influences on certain buildings and explained how far different cultures actually reached across the peninsula.

If you're considering Sage Corps, my honest take is that you'll come away with a legitimate internship on your resume and a summer abroad you actually enjoyed living through. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

My summer abroad with SageCorps was truly the experience of a lifetime! I had the opportunity to live in Barcelona, immerse myself in Spanish culture, and gain hands-on professional experience with a local startup. It was a dream come true and something I will always be grateful for.

SageCorps takes the time to match each student with a startup that aligns with their major, career interests, and personal goals. The team was incredibly supportive and genuinely wanted us to have the best experience possible, both professionally and personally. They also planned several activities that allowed our cohort to explore the city, experience the culture, and make unforgettable memories together. My favorite was our day trip to Sitges, the cutest beach town just outside Barcelona!

This experience pushed me outside my comfort zone, helped me grow professionally, and gave me friendships and memories that will last a lifetime. I can't recommend SageCorps enough to anyone looking for an exciting, meaningful internship abroad!

My Sage Corps experience in Barcelona was one of the most meaningful experiences of my college career. The program gave me the opportunity to live and work abroad while gaining hands-on experience at a startup, where I worked on sales, business development, outreach, research, content creation, and marketing projects. I appreciated that I was given real responsibilities and the opportunity to explore different areas of the company, which helped me better understand my professional strengths and interests.

Sage Corps also did a great job creating opportunities for us to experience Barcelona beyond our internships. Our City Managers, Pamela and Mikel, were incredibly kind, welcoming, and helpful throughout the program. They gave us great recommendations, made the scheduled events fun, and most importantly made me feel safe while living abroad. Some of my favorite experiences included our guided tour of Park Güell and our day trip to Sitges. These experiences gave us the opportunity to explore, learn more about the culture, and make memories together as a cohort that I will always cherish.

Living abroad challenged me to become more independent, adaptable, and confident. I returned home with new professional skills, meaningful friendships, unforgettable memories, and a clearer sense of what I want from my future career. I would absolutely recommend Sage Corps to students who want international work experience while also immersing themselves in a new culture.

My experience with Sage Corps was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had in college. I interned in Madrid, Spain, as a Business Development and Sales Intern, where I worked on customer outreach, sales, market research, social media, and client relationships.

One of the biggest things I gained was learning how to adapt to a new culture. At first, I struggled with the different communication styles in Spain, but over time I became more comfortable and learned how important it is to be open-minded and adaptable.

I also loved the experiences outside of my internship, especially the Toledo trip, group dinners, and Bernabeu Tour. Getting to explore Spain while meeting other students made the experience even more memorable.

I would highly recommend Sage Corps because it gives you the chance to gain real professional experience while immersing yourself in another culture. It pushed me outside of my comfort zone and helped me grow both personally and professionally.

This past summer, I interned in Lisbon with Sage Corps. I'd like to start off by giving a shoutout to André Maurício, as he was so helpful as a city manager, especially when I was under the weather. Other than that, I didn't have the best experience. Internship-wise, I was working only with two other employees that were in a romantic relationship. This was a tough situation, and I didn't feel that I could communicate with them. There was a power imbalance as this was the entire company. Though many startups are similar, there were too many factors that added up to make it just a terrible experience. They hadn't had an intern before, and it showed. At the end of the internship, after previously-signed contracts and many difficulties, my food stipend was even reduced. My commute was an hour longer than I was told, and at SageCorps they do not give you funds for transportation. I did not receive much help while expressing my concerns from SageCorps, and had to stick with it. I did my very best, and was incredibly upset when one failure I had resulted in an entire stipend cut in half. My apartment was infested with silverfish, of which I did not receive help from SageCorps for either.

I loved the city of Lisbon and my city manager André, but would not recommend this program for the expensive price that it is and the low support you are given.

I am so incredibly grateful for the amazing experience I had abroad last summer in Amsterdam! Through Sage Corps I was able to work as a data analysis intern for a startup in the area, where I not only gained professional experience, but got to work on a project in machine learning for the first time, which was something I was interested in. The highlight of my summer was definitely all of the wonderful friends I made that were in my program. I had so much fun being able to connect with so many great people, and it taught me the value of saying yes to everything. We traveled and explored together, and even though I was working a 40-hour week, I definitely felt like I was able to create those meaningful relationships and try out so many new things. Wouldn't trade the experience for anything. I really had a fantastic time and would definitely encourage anyone on the edge of studying abroad to go for it, even if outside your comfort zone. I loved Amsterdam and the Netherlands because everyone was so kind and the environment was so laid back, but being able to travel to other parts of Europe was thrilling and new for me, and I really enjoyed being able to take in different cultures. Highly recommend!