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Collabriv

Why choose Collabriv?

At Collabriv, we believe that global collaboration and global leadership are the critical skills of the 21st century. Yet universities rarely teach these skills, and most young adults worldwide start their careers not knowing how to work with their global peers.

We intend to help change that. We invite you to join us.

Join us in San Francisco. Join other talented, diligent, committed people from around the world. Join the Collabriv community of host companies, educators, homestay families, advisors, friends, social entrepreneurs, and staff for 6-18 months that will change the course of your life.

Website
collabriv.com
Founded
2012

Reviews

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Pedel
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Think internship...Think Collabriv!

There many things i enjoyed during this Collabriv internship but there are three things that are outstanding.

1)Bay Area Experience: If you are thinking of going to the USA then please stay in the Bay Area. Not only is the weather favorable, but you meet the most diverse and amazing team on the planet ever! Also you get to visit the HUB SOMA at any time of your convenience. The HUB is this amazing space in SF that has brilliant social entrepreneurs in one space. You will not regret living in the Bay Area

2) The Home stay Experience: Some might say this is a hit or miss. For me, i enjoyed the company of these amazing folks who welcomed me into their lives. And the wonderful thing is even when i left, i still feel a very much part of their lives!

3) The leadership Training program: If the Bay Area and home stay experience isn't enough to change you positively, i guarantee that this leadership program will. It will prepare you for the work you are doing and what comes next after the internship is over. The instructors are great too!!

Lastly i would like to acknowledge the staff at Collabriv who just the best cheerleaders and the people i worked with at Rising Sun who worked hard to bring out the best in me.

If you think internship in the US(or in the world for that matter) definitely think Collabriv

What would you improve about this program?
Collabriv started a mentorship program at the beginning of the internship although it kind of died out toward the end. I would love for it to be revived and fully functional as i got a lot of advice through it at the beginning.
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Frederik
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

The giant leap forward

When I arrived I was part of my home stay family, the community and the
Collabriv team right away. I explored my own limits, the limits of my team members and discovered an arsenal of new possibilities and opportunities.

Working in Berkeley, studying in San Francisco, living in the Bay Area, traveling in California and beyond, it was all part of the experience and I still dream of those days.

Nowadays I work for an international marketing and sales company, thanks to my international Collabriv experience, and coming back with my own family and live in the Bay Area again is a big dream for me.

A great family, an extraordinary team of mentors, a lasting friendship with many and an international network are only a few gifts I received and so much more will come to me in the years coming.

Collabriv gave me a once in a life time chance and I took it with two hands, and so should all of you!!! The people in San Francisco and the Bay will see me again, I hope they will see you too!!!

Read my full story
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Nora
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Not an ordinary internship abroad but an amazing international experience

When I came to the San Francisco Bay Area I head my doubts about home stay, and the other people I would meet. But the great thing is that I only meet wonderfully helpful people and had many important experiences which contributed to my personal and professional growth.

The collabriv team took care about us and organized outstanding trips to the various beautiful sights in California - so was our trip to Yosemite something I will never forget.

Furthermore in this program you will make friends for a lifetime - you will work and spend your free time with people who are in the same situation as you and you learn how to act in an international and very inspiring setting.

So I can honestly recommend this program for everyone who is at least a little adventurous and wants to improve his or her social and professional skills.

Thanks Dwight for giving me this amazing opportunity!

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Nkatya
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

No matter where you're from... Your dreams are valid.

This was the best decision I ever made at a personal and professional development level.

First and foremost, it is called an internship, but I found that the types of the projects we worked on are considered managerial level anywhere else in the world. Despite my position as an intern, I had the rewarding opportunity to do meaningful work that left an impact and my ideas were taken seriously - it felt like I was contributing to something big and that's really important for me.

More exciting, was the platform to grow my understanding and practice of authentic leadership in a multinational work environment. I received world-class leadership skills through the Leadership program with Saint Mary's College of California. Nowhere in the world will you get this chance to do an internship and be awarded a Leadership Certificate from a prestigious US University.

I am convinced that this part of California is one of the most beautiful places you will ever visit. You have the mountains, the beaches, world-class universities and Silicon Valley all in one place. The San Francisco Bay is the center of world innovation!!

The highest compliment I can pay this program is that my company loved me so much that they paid me to stay for an extra 1 year. Awesome!!

Read my full story
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Feifan
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Best CEO Ever

Mr. Wilson (CEO of Collabriv) has changed my overall impression of CEO due to his kindness. Whenever I encountered a situation, he is always being there to offer the best he can, which has make the program such a joyful experience.

Beside that, Collabriv really becomes a mile stone in my career development because of its unique setting with the leadership course ,the internship, my home stay family, and the beautiful Bay Area, San Francisco. This has become a lifetime experience to me, and I am sure it will become yours too.

Alumni Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with verified alumni.

Frederik ‘Fred’ Verbogen

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.
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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.