The Education Abroad Network (TEAN): Internship in New Zealand

Interning through TEAN is the best choice I've ever made. If I lived any closer to New Zealand I would have stayed with my company for a full time job. An intern abroad experience is a unique way to gain work experience in which hiring companies love to see! My company was absolutely fantastic. As a marketing major, I was unsure of what specific kind of marketing I was interested in. I decided to click the "Public Relations" option when matching with a company to work for because it is something I was previously on the fence about, and I found that I love it! I truly enjoyed talking to people on the phone, getting ready for events, setting up interviews, talking to magazines, and specifically speaking with young chefs in Auckland that we would later write a press release on. I learned how to write reports, press releases, and how to design a social media page to target customers of clients we worked with. I learned so much about myself; what I am interested, and what I am not so interested in, and that communicating with others actually brings me joy. TEAN gave me the tools I needed to feel comfortable as an intern while allowing me to be on my own as well. Our four day intro helped me to make friends in my program and understand my surroundings in Auckland, and The Great Barrier Reef Excursion I went on provided by TEAN after my internship was the absolute perfect way to end a few months of hard work! I cannot say enough about how much I loved being an intern through The Education Abroad Network.

When I first watched Peter Jackson's adaptations of The Lord of the Rings at age 10, I knew I had to visit New Zealand. How could such sweeping plains, craggy volcanos, and verdant farmland exist in one small island country? However, because of the stresses of traveling so far, I knew this would not be an easy trip to plan or execute on my own. What is a sad nerd girl to do? Luckily, I found my answer in TEAN; not only did they help with my travel and living arrangements, they offered me the chance to work for college credit and live in my dream city, Wellington, for two months. I had the opportunity to get real-life, cross-cultural work experience at Shakespeare Globe Centre New Zealand, a partner of the Globe in London that specializes in educational outreach for secondary school children. Aside from my 40-hour work weeks, I was able to explore the country that had fascinated me for so many years during my spare time. It took a few bouts of severe homesickness and many trips to the coffeeshop by the office, but in between searching for Hobbits and those ever-elusive Kiwi, I found a better, stronger version of myself along the way. I'm forever thankful to New Zealand and TEAN for allowing me the opportunity to live a dream and plan for my not-so-distant adulthood, all at the same time.