Why did you decide to intern abroad with Adelante Abroad in Seville, Spain?

Eric: Well, I first did a three month internship in Florence, Italy to finish up college, and during my time there I met this girl, who would turn out to be my wife. She is from Seville, Spain and didn't speak English, so I thought, "Why not live there, learn the language, work with a soccer team, and meet her family?" So that is what I did, and I have to say that it was the best decision I have ever made.

What made interning abroad a unique and special experience?

Eric: Seville in itself is a very special place. They have a very beautiful culture full of singing and dancing that can be seen at any bar, or street for that matter. The fact that I knew people from the city made it very easy to get around and find all the good spots to eat and so on. The main thing that made this trip so special is the fact that I got the chance to live with my then girlfriend and meet her entire family. I was also lucky enough to be there for Semana Santa and La Feria, the two events that make Seville so famous, and now I understand why. If anyone has the chance to visit Seville for one of these "fiestas", you will not be disappointed.

Living in a country that is obsessed with soccer, also gave me a chance to work with one of Seville's two professional soccer organizations, Real Betis. This was all set up by Adelante, and for a soccer fanatic like myself, it was a dream come true.

How has this experience impacted your future?

Eric: Since going to Seville, I have learned to speak Spanish almost fluently, something I would have never achieved just trying to learn it in a class here in the United States. To anyone that is learning Spanish, you really need to go somewhere where they speak the language all the time to really gain an understanding of it. In two weeks in a different country, you'll learn the language more than you can in a semester at school.

Along with the Spanish skills, the fact that I worked with a professional soccer team in Spain has helped find jobs, get interviews, and so on. I can honestly say that I would not be where I am today, if I had not gone to Spain.

And last, but not least, living in Spain helped me solidify my relationship with the woman that is now my wife. We lived in Spain for about a year and then decided to move back over to the United States. We just moved out to Denver, CO on a whim and we are finally getting settled down and starting the next chapter in our lives.

What position do you hold at Adelante Abroad? What has your career path been like so far?

Kimberly: I am the Director of Programs at Adelante Abroad, so I get to work with all our candidates once they are screened and accepted into our programs. This position also requires that I travel to each of our Program destinations at least once every 2-3 years, which is getting harder to do as we add more cities! No complaints here though: who wouldn't want to "have" to go to Madrid or Costa Rica or Scotland?! Career path seems so far away since I have been doing this now for 15 years, but a key component to landing where I am now was living and working in Spain.

I graduated UCSB and then began travelling, since I wasn't able to study abroad during college. That trip lasted about 9 months, and then I eventually went back and settled in the south of Spain, which was my favorite place visited during my original travels. I did try working in a non-international education setting for a while, doing a stint with the California Angels baseball team and after that, with franchise company, but my heart was always in things international.

What are the core principles Adelante Abroad strives to achieve?

Kimberly: Our main core principal is affordability. We want to provide a quality internship and abroad experience, without a lot of bells and whistles. For this reason, we do not send thousands of candidates abroad each year: each person will create, with us, a customized program that will change their lives in ways that simply cannot happen "at home".

What separates Adelante Abroad from other internship providers?

Kimberly: This company has always, and pretty much only, offered international internships. This wasn’t something added on to an existing program for an extra fee, or lumped in with a semester abroad program to make it sexier. We have earned the accurate title of “international internship specialists”. And as mentioned earlier, we are the most affordable program out there, and we are very proud of that. What also separates us from other providers is our long list of participating companies abroad. We work hard to cultivate that list and it benefits our intern abroad candidates directly. We find each of our candidates an internship in their desired sector, based on their field of studies, past experiences and language level. We put them in rigorous classes and find them their own room in clean, safe, centrally located housing. We have local staff that live full time in all of our program cities.

What does the future hold for Adelante Abroad?

Kimberly: Ongoing tweaking of existing programs, all of them are strong, so that the experience for our candidates is solid, and meets their goals. We want to lead the conversation in the higher education community that these kinds of experiential programs are not a luxury; rather, they should be a required component for any undergraduate / graduate degree to remain relevant.