AIFS Abroad: Intern Abroad in England

Last summer I interned in London through Global Experiences and had a wonderful time. I knew that I wanted an international internship and GE made the process much easier than if I had attempted to find a position on my own. I had 3 skype interviews that they helped coordinate with 3 very different performing arts based companies before choosing. I throughly enjoyed my internship and working every day, and would honestly love to go back and work with Jamie Wilson again.

Besides being placed, GE helps take care of all the essentials. I was housed just 5 minutes from Kings Cross Station, which is just about as convenient as you can get. The housing wasn't exceptional but it was a great alternative to attempting to find a flat on my own and the small living quarters were worth it for the security of the building and its location.

All of the day trips that were coordinated by the program were really fun and a nice opportunity to get out of the city. I ended up traveling away from London almost every weekend and it was great having 3 preplanned, already paid for day trips that I didn't have to coordinate.

My only advice is make sure you are on top of everything on your own. GE is great at providing you the materials, but you really need to be on top of everything and be in communication with them as much as possible. I made this mistake and almost didn't get my visa in time. But if you're self motivated and willing to check in a lot, its not problem at all.

I loved every minute of being in London and only wish my internship lasted longer. Global Experience made the whole process so much easier than if I had done it on my own and I would happily work with GE again.

I worked for London’s largest drug organization. It is a huge company that supports people of all ages and all backgrounds with drug and alcohol addiction. The branch I worked in specializes with young people in the Kensington and Chelsea borough ranging from 14 to 25 years old. In the nature of drug and alcohol addiction, many clients come to our services with other prominent issues, often housing, legal, sexual safety, emotional and physical trauma. They have a holistic approach and values the importance of helping clients in all these areas as well as addressing their drug and alcohol addiction. While these clients are going through difficult periods in their lives, they are all so kind and grateful for our services. It is amazing to see how positive they are despite the hardships they have faced. On the day to day, I have a wide range of tasks ranging from working on the website to meeting with clients to help them improve their resumes, find jobs and become physically active. There’s never a dull moment in the office!

I loved my internship and learned so much about the field I am passionate about. I would never would have found this internship without GE. Going into the program I did not know what I wanted to do with my life, they talked me through what I wanted to do and the next steps to take.

Living in London was also amazing, there is so much to do and amazing people to meet. I am so happy that I choose GE and London!

The experience I've had in London with was, to me, an absolute delight.
The GE staff were pleasantly wonderful. They brought me in through the process from the beginning to the end and was always available when needed. London was extremely exciting and had so many things to offer that it's difficult to feel like you've experienced it all in the 2 months I've stayed there. The first trip we had was to the Harry Potter Studios in London which was where I got myself a fake pair of Harry Potter glasses. I didn't look very much like Harry Potter but I tried. I went to a few more GE events like watching the musical 'Wicked' which brought about some inspiration to practice my soprano. A complete failure but I did it privately so no one really knew. In finding places, I had to often follow my phone GPS around and master the London underground stations. The London Underground, once well known, made you feel like you could easily enjoy the endless events and activities in the city whenever you felt free. Festivals, shows, massive parks, bars, theaters, museums, shopping, libraries, etc. would spoil you for choice. There's just so much to do.
I've learned quite a lot at work in London. I understood the work environment in my field (architecture) and took the most out of what I could of my internship. The environment was certainly different to what I was used to when I was doing my bachelor's degree in college and also a little unexpected. I sometimes had to work a few extra hours and on weekends also but I wasn't too troubled. I can certainly say that the experience helped me to reconfigure and reshape my future goals of my career.
I had decided to apply to a London grad school course and gotten accepted so I was quite excited to know I'd be able to come back to London a little later. So, two months later and I couldn't keep away. Back in London for a bit of part time work before I prepare to enter grad school where I was really happy to meet the GE consultant Chrissie and the new GE supervisor Grace alongside Mellisa who was directing my session alone back in Spring. Melissa was always available for help whenever needed and tended to plan the events well with a very satisfied group. I also got to meet the new interns for summer who all seemed happy in their first day of work. During the internship you'll get to meet a lot of new people who'd soon become your friends if you had not made friends with them online beforehand.
To finish, I'd say I had no regrets. To go through the experience of it all was quite unique and not often will you get a chance experience the same again.

The most stressful part is learning the ropes of a new city but this quickly became the most fun and rewarding part. I finally got a routine of waking up, going to a near by Starbucks and then catching the bus to work. Then after work I would either meet up with people somewhere to explore and/or shop or go home and hang out in someones room. I even made friends at work who would invite me out to things. At first you do all the touristy things and feel like any other foreigner, but after a couple weeks you really begin to feel like you live there and that's when me homesickness faded away and my time started going by too fast rather than too slow. I couldn't have asked to learn more at my job and everyone was so understanding of the fact that I was new to the city. I also made so many great friends from the program; some of which already flew down to visit me at school last year!

Everything from the application process, to job placement, to getting housing set up was a totally smooth and easy process. And once in London, Melissa (the on-site GE coordinator) was really invested in making sure we got the most out of our time abroad with helpful seminars, networking mixers,and fun weekend outings. It was really great having her in my corner in a place so far from home.

Overall, I had the best possible summer in London. Living abroad was exhilarating, the internship was great and helped to kickstart my job search once I got back home, and I made some great friends with my fellow interns while there. I definitely would recommend this experience.

My summer internship with Global Experiences during the summer of 2012 was immense. It was a fantastic opportunity to see what it is like to live and work in one of the most vibrant cities in the world. The people that I met were welcoming, intelligent, and interesting. The staff could not have been more supportive. In addition to having an incredible time, I also was able to work hard to build up my experience, which was enough to help me get into masters and doctoral programs.
I could not recommend Global Experiences more.
They work hard to tailor internships and find the perfect placement for each individual intern. I have never heard of a company like it - and would not change my experience for anything.

My Global Experiences internship was the perfect transition from university to the real world and getting to do so in a city like London was amazing.
My internship allowed me to put the marketing skills I learned in school to use and I was able to really appreciate the industry in London.
I fell in love with the city and am currently still living and working here, and I definitely think my Global Experiences internship helped me secure my current job here.

I was enrolled in the internship program where I worked at a UK company. It was an awesome experience and really makes my resume stand out.
The only downside was the one actual class I did take from the school. But, if you enjoy writing 3,000 word essays than this is your university!
This was by far the best semester of college, and I didn't want to go back home! I definitely recommend studying abroad, you won't regret it!