What is your favorite travel memory?
I spent almost a year in East Africa when I was 19, working on a marine conservation project on Mafia Island in Tanzania, as well as teaching English in Kenya and Uganda. It was an incredible experience, one of the most beautiful places that I've visited in my life, and I'd love to return there to visit old friends too one day.
How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?
I feel much more a part of Barcelona than before. Through my work with Connect-123, I've gotten to know the city really well, as well as amazing people from our host organisations and event locations. My Spanish skills have also really improved and I feel a lot more confident in both my daily life and work, especially when living in such a friendly city.
What is the best story you've heard from a return student?
Any story where a student returns home feeling more confident in themselves, inspired by what they've learnt and excited about all the possibilities that their internship experience has opened up to them is a fantastic achievement for us. When I'm able to write references for students who are then interviewing for their dream roles in human rights law firms, the senate, tech companies and incredible PR firms, I'm even more pleased!
If you could go on any program that your company offers, which one would you choose and why?
I'd love to go to Cape Town. I've not yet been able to meet our amazing program coordinator Carla there yet and I'm always really envious hearing about the incredible events that our students get to do there, like going on safari and visiting beautiful vineyards. I love hearing about the different internships that students can do there too, in human rights and community service organisations, as well as in healthcare, business and more.
What makes your company unique? When were you especially proud of your team?
I'm really proud to work with a team that cares so much about finding amazing experiences for our participants. I think what makes us so unique is that we really take the time to find out about that student's interests, experiences and hopes for the future. We can then better match them with a placement that's going to help them grow, reach their learning objectives and achieve their future goals.
We also want to make sure that participants enjoy all aspects of their internship experience, not only their placement! We love planning fun social and cultural events, offering catch ups over coffee and supporting with their professional development too.
We also want to make sure that participants enjoy all aspects of their internship experience, not only their placement! We love planning fun social and cultural events, offering catch ups over coffee and supporting with their professional development too.
What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?
I think the biggest factor in a successful company is the culture. When people actually enjoy coming to work, feel comfortable sharing ideas, and feel valued, they do better work. I'm really lucky that we have that here at Connect-123 and it's something that we also advise our students to look for when they begin searching for jobs after returning home.