Alumni Spotlight: Chelsea Grieger

I attended Central College, and while applying to go abroad I didn't know that I wanted to do an internship. I wanted to go to London, but after hearing about the great experiences students had while at an internship, I knew I had to get an internship as well! Some of the best opportunities for internships are found in London. Not only did my internship boost my resume, I was also able to interact with the locals. A lot of what I learned about London, I learned while working at 4Children.

My activities varied depending on what needed done. I worked in the publications department at 4Children, so a lot of press releases needed to be updated to the website. I would check for any errors in the press release and then put them online. I worked with a lot of their websites, updating what needed to be changed. During the first few weeks of my job, I attended 4Children's launch of a new program where there were many Members of Parliament present! Other than working on the website, I did a lot of clerical work: I worked with spreadsheets, sending emails, and I even organized their publications cupboard for two weeks. But the main thing I took away from the experience was my social interaction from my coworkers. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

There are so many ways my internship has affected my future. Personally, my confidence in my abilities grew tremendously. I came back knowing that if I could handle a job abroad, I could definitely get a job in the US. Also, my internship gave me the confidence to explore the unfamiliar city. On my first day, I had to navigate my way through the tube to make it 45 minutes to my internship site.

Professionally, my internship opened a lot of doors to other internships. My job abroad was my first internship. Since then, I have successfully completed three more internships. After my graduation this year, I will be a paid intern at Central College to write press releases (similar to what I did abroad). Without that internship in London, a lot of my achievements today would not have happened.