Panrimo

When I was an undergraduate student, I was ambitious, to say the least. I double-majored in Nutrition and Psychology, I was President of multiple organizations on campus, and I worked at my university counseling center. I had wanted to be a psychologist who worked with clients who suffer from eating disorders. As I was preparing for my junior year of undergrad, I knew I had to begin organizing my internship as part of my Psychology degree. As I watched my coursemates around me, I noticed a disturbing trend- they were arranging internships based on convenience. While I recognize that convenience can be a big factor, the point of an internship is supposed to be challenged, to be motivated to continue in the field, or inspired towards something else. When I came across Panrimo, I told them what I had wanted to do, thinking there was no way they could find an internship for something that specific. I was left dumbstruck when they found my perfect internship; an opportunity to fill the role as a Volunteer Assistant Psychologist on a new eating disorder unit at St. John's Hospital in Edinburgh, Scotland. I thought this was too good to be true. I remember thinking it was too good an opportunity, that it must be an elaborate scam. After many hours of investigating, I had to accept that it was indeed real. I got to not only sit in on clinical ward discussions with the care team but also contribute pertinent patient information as well. I was able to co-facilitate therapeutic sessions focusing on topics such as mindfulness, nutrition, art therapy, stress management, and emotional regulation. I had the opportunity to be able to provide support during meal times, periods of the day patients found to be particularly distressing. My internship experience was unique because I felt like someone thought that I was capable of doing more than intern cliches, such as make photocopies or fetch coffee. The work I was doing was a valuable clinical experience I don't think I could have had anywhere else. My advice to future participants is to trust yourself. For anything. Trust that you will be overwhelmed. At times, in an intense hospital environment, it can feel like you have gone from 0 to 60 in a blink of an eye, but in time you will catch up. Trust that you might not know everything, and that's okay. If you knew everything already, then this internship was not the challenging experience you needed. Trust your capabilities, your ability to learn, and most of all, your perspective. After I completed my internship, I left my new home feeling it wasn't "good-bye," but "See you later." That feeling turned out to be accurate. After a few years, I ended up coming back to the UK. I came to York to complete a Masters in Public Health and afterwards now work as a Health Science Researcher for a local company. I don't think I would have the life I have now if not for Panrimo and their amazing opportunity of a lifetime.

Panrimo afforded a small provider experience to access the American Business School in the heart of Paris. This short-term summer program was great to accomplish some business courses in a condensed format. The pre-departure support was great and I appreciated the a la carte option since I was a student on a budget. My only complaint was that the on-site support was not as reliable as I would have expected. Other than that, I was very happy with my program.

As cheesy as the title may be, it is the honest truth. My time in Prague was perfect. I completely fell in love with city, the people, the culture... Everything about it was a perfect match for me. My neighborhood was extremely safe and residential but also close to the city center. Our flat was clean, modern, safe, and huge (I had my own bedroom and bathroom)!
Panrimo made the process as easy as it could possibly be. All of my paperwork was a cinch to complete with the help of the advisers (Thank you, Michael!) and they made me feel completely prepared and safe. Panrimo also has advisers in Prague for you to ask any questions and attend trips, give advice of where to go, help with travel... really anything you could possibly need.
The city itself is magnificently beautiful and has a small/communal sense about it, despite the fact there are over 1 million residents in Prague. I walked everywhere and city transport made life so easy (and I am one to get lost very easily).
I was able to travel to 10 different countries and a handful of cities within the Czech Republic.
This experience was everything I had hoped for and I wish I could do it again! I really could write a book about how amazing and magical Prague is, how much I would like everyone to visit it, and upload all 5,000 pictures that I took while I was there.

The placement process for Panrimo was frustrating. There was a lack of communication and a mix up with the length of my program. I had originally applied and paid a deposit for a 16 week program and found out three months later that I was only going to be interning for 12 weeks. I was not placed at my internship or given my housing placement until two weeks before I left for Madrid. Once I arrived in Madrid my onsite coordinator was very helpful in showing me my apartment and how to get to the city center. I lived on the outskirts of Madrid quite far from where I worked, about a 35 minute commute. I also lived alone, which was great when I had friends come visit, but bad when I was alone when my bathroom flooded or when my power went out. My internship at Bike Spain Tours was great, all my coworkers were very kind and accommodating. I learned a lot from this experience and definitely gained an even stronger sense of independence, but if I did not already have experience living in Spain I think I would have felt very isolated.

My time in Prague changed me for the better, entirely! Panrimo's support before, during, and after my program took loads of stress off of me so I could better enjoy my time abroad. Strolling the cobblestone streets of Prague instilled in me an appreciation for living on such old land that so many Greats inhabited before me. My perspective of life shifted as I became more aware of how big and diverse the world is! Without the help of Panrimo and their wonderful advisors, I would have never had an opportunity such as this. I felt as though the program was organized and clear and I was comfortable knowing I had the support, feedback and advice of my Panrimo advisors and coordinators at my disposal. Because Panrimo is a smaller, more intimate study abroad provider, I felt like I was important to them. This was also a comfort because I know it is possible with larger providers to become lumped and lost among hundreds of other study abroad students. There were a handful of other Panrimo students with me there and we did participate in planned group activities sometimes, but I also felt like I had the freedom to take trips of my own and create my own schedule, which was very nice!