Growing up in the Army, travel has always been Dan Elias Bliss’s life. Even after going to eleven different schools and living around the world, his wanderlust couldn’t be cured. At Global Experiences, Dan writes about the world, careers, interns’ stories, and travel.
What is your favorite travel memory?
My favorite travel memory has to be my internship abroad through Global Experiences. I had a journalism internship in Stockholm, Sweden and it was the best professional experience I could have ever wished for. Every minute in Sweden felt like a dream come true. The people were incredible, the city was beautiful, there was always something new to experience, and I had never been happier.
Interning in Sweden helped me grow professionally and personally. I gained more confidence, improved my writing skills, and walked away a better person. Without a doubt, I can say Stockholm was the best experience of my entire life.
How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?
Working at Global Experiences has been an extremely interesting and rewarding experience. I came in as an intern, but over the course of a few months, I became a full-time employee. Originally, my skillset was primarily writing, but at GE I’ve been able to expand my skill set and learn so much more. My SEO and marketing skills have grown leaps and bounds. I've been able to learn so much and at the same time bring my original ideas to the table.
What is the best story you've heard from a return student?
At GE, we all love hearing about our interns' experiences. In my role, I'm lucky to not only hear about every intern's journey, but also get to write about them. I've written a bunch of student experience blogs that highlight an intern's journey from beginning to end. It's hard to pick a favorite because every intern's story is unique and special.
One that really stood out to me was a summer intern in Barcelona named Ryan. He worked extremely hard to make sure he could go on the program. Interning abroad helped him follow his dream and take positive steps in his career. I got to write a student experience blog about him, and it was great to hear how much the program changed his life.
If you could go on any program that your company offers, which one would you choose and why?
If I had to do the program all over again, I would choose Stockholm every time. I loved the city so much, and it really was the perfect place to intern. I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything in the world.
However, if I got to do the program a second time, I would go to San José, Costa Rica. San José has some great opportunities and sounds like an exciting place to intern. There’s a lot to explore and experience in San José that is much different than what I’m used to.
I’m a big believer that interning abroad is about stepping outside your comfort zone and experience something new. Stockholm forced me to do that, and I think San José would provide a similar experience.
What makes your company unique? When were you especially proud of your team?
From the tailored internships to the career coaching, and so much more, there is a lot that makes GE unique. However, I think the thing that separates us most is how much we care about each intern. We’re not here to find any random internship for an intern. We’re here to find the perfect internship for each intern. Each member of the GE team works to make sure that every student/young professional has a once in a lifetime experience. From what I’ve seen and experienced, there isn’t a company out there that cares about their interns as much as Global Experiences does.
What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?
I don’t think there is one factor that causes a company to be successful. However, I think a lot of it comes back to caring about each intern and treating them as an individual. In our business, you have to understand no two interns are the exact same and they’re all looking for different experiences. We have to continually remember that in order to be successful. Caring about each intern doesn’t just mean we’ll provide incredible experiences, but it also ensures we’ll have more students and young professionals come to us looking for similar experiences abroad.
