Frederik ‘Fred’ Verbogen participated on his Collabriv program from February 2013 until July 2013, when he returned home to Belgium to become a father. He is 25, studied Communication Sciences at the University of Antwerp, Belgium and works at the moment for an Australian international marketing and sales company, Appco Group.
Why did you decide to intern abroad with Collabriv?
In my last year of University I felt I was missing out on something. I decided to spread my remaining courses at the University over two years, start to work and get myself traveling. My parents gave me the traveling vibe with a 5 week trip through the southern parts of Africa. After I also traveled in Europe, South America and South East Asia. And then it came to me: why wouldn’t I try to live abroad for a while?
I did interviews for marketing internships in Indonesia and Sydney, Australia. Neither of them worked out and I started focusing on looking for a job in Belgium, when all of a sudden an international internship website sent me a message that my profile fit a program in the San Francisco Bay Area: Collabriv. The CEO, Dwight Wilson, and I had a very inspiring and energetic interview and a few weeks later my application was accepted. My dream was there and California felt mine already.
What was the best place you visited outside of your intern abroad city?
In the beginning of July we all had a week off. Five of us took a few extra days off from work, rented a car and left on a road trip! We visited Los Angeles, Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon and San Diego. This excellent trip was highlighted by our stay at Las Vegas, where the American show continues 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. But the best part of our time in Vegas was a daytrip to the Grand Canyon. Deep, vast, overwhelming, breathtaking … Even now I can’t find all the words to describe what I saw there or how I felt by this powerful proof of natures’ force. Another example of a place where I completely lost myself was Yosemite National Park, where I was silenced by the beauty and graciousness of how our planet developed itself.
Where was your best photo taken and what was it off?
The best picture I took was a ‘selfie’ of me and my home stay brother (who is spending a few days in Belgium with me this summer!) at the Rainbow Track in Yosemite National Park. The pic was taken above a waterfall, on a natural stair between the fall and a wall of rock. The sun also falls onto the water creating a rainbow beneath us. It’s a great picture that shows natures’ beauty and the love I felt for my homestay family, with whom I still skype 2 or 3 times a month.
What made this intern abroad experience unique and special?
The diversity of the program! It encompassed so much more than just working and studying. The ten of us built strong relationships with each other, the Collabriv staff, our mentors, our homestay families and with all our new friends in California. I now have a large, solid international network to which I can turn to for advice and help at any time.
There are two relationships I want to emphasize, though: my homestay family and the team I worked with. From the moment I stepped into Sonja, Tanja and Niko’s house I was embraced and truly made a part of their family. The professional team I was a part of was a powerful mix of experience of my mentors, Dwight Wilson, Ken Otter and Micheal Pope. I also appreciated the energetic enthusiasm and creativity of my fellow team members: Burcu from Turkey, Tiara from Singapore and Nkatya from Zambia.
Next to the relationships and professinal network I was able to build, I also got the chance to travel and discover the San Francisco Bay Area, California and beyond. Outside of work and travel, I volunteered with “Soccer Without Borders” - an organization that helps young immigrants and refugees to integrate into the community and the schools via sports. Thanks to my local network, I had the opportunity to train these guys. I also played soccer with a group of Turks every Wednesday along with Ahmet, the Turk who was a part of my Collabriv team. All of these opportunities made the program so much more than what I ever expected it to be.
