Program Reviews

I participated in the Dublin Summer Internship program in the summer of 2019. I interned for a small startup company called Restored Hearing. My co-workers and supervisors at my internship were some of the friendliest and most receptive people I have ever encountered. I definitely developed many of my professional skills, but I also progressed as a person. This experience was a great opportunity for me to see the world and decide how I want to live in it. The time I spent traveling around Ireland and Europe was absolutely life changing and I made many great friends along the way. This experience influenced me to change my ideas on what career path I want to take. I actually plan on going back to Ireland for Graduate School and pursuing a degree in international business.

During my program, I completed a research project in the folklore archive of the Chilean National Library. Through this internship, I was able to further narrow down what sort of career path I wanted to take and what kind of work environment I want to be in. The placement process for internships was a little last minute (within a couple weeks of the program starting) because IES was going through staffing changes, but ultimately, everything ended up working out and the program went smoothly.

Chile is also an amazing country to travel to for its natural landmarks alone. Things like the Atacama Desert and Patagonia are just a short plane trip away and the Andes Mountains are visible at any point in Santiago! IES also took us on field trips to several places around such as La Moneda (the main government office) and Valparaiso!

The program was also relatively affordable compared to other summer study abroad programs, and IES does give financial aid if needed.

Overall I had a fantastic experience, and I would encourage anyone who is interested to take advantage of the opportunity to work and study abroad!

I didn't really know what to expect when going into this program because it was my first time ever going abroad. I was super nervous about safety concerns abroad and the community in general. IES Milan was super helpful and everyone was super welcoming. I was placed in an internship that aligned really well with what I wanted to do. The staff in Milan were also super accommodating to people who wanted to change internships. The accommodations that we received in Milan were also very nice, we were placed in safe neighborhoods that were close to the inner city. Everything in the city was extremely accessible and I had time to travel to other parts of the country which was really fun! I didn't know anyone going into the program but I got close to my roommates and traveled with them making lifelong friendships.

IES Abroad Nice was one of the best decisions I have made in my life! I have never had the opportunity to live and become so submerged into another culture prior to this summer. I have always lived in Michigan and while having the opportunity to travel to various places, I have never been gone from home for so long. Walking to class every morning (even though we had class at 9 or 9:30 everyday which is super early for me) by all of the pastry shops and walking to the Mediterranean ocean after class to sunbathe was literally a dream. In addition, the credits from my classes transferred back to my home school, so I got course credit which was really amazing. This program is super unique, too, because you also get the chance to live in Marseille (another town in France) and to travel around Morocco with the other people on the trip. I got super close with all of the other students as well as the director or the program, and look forward to returning to Nice very soon!

About 13 years ago, my family and I moved to the United States as refugees. Growing up, I've always wanted to work for a non-profit that focused on refugees and migrants. That is why I chose Global and International Studies as my major, and it's been the best decision. Getting the opportunity to go to Spain was unbelievable for me. As an intern at Bienestar y Desarrollo Association, which is Spanish for Welfare and Development Association, I received a very warm welcome since the first day, and never felt like I did not belong there. As the first non-Spanish speaker to be hired as an intern, it was an honor and I also never felt like an outcaste or out of the loop. Co-workers who did not speak English would still greet me and make me feel very comfortable. That is what I appreciated the most. The work environment was very comforting, which made communicating much better and easier. I was never scared to ask for help or anything.
Through all the professional work, coffee breaks, and simply speaking with other co-workers, without a doubt, I grew both personally and professionally at ABD. As an intern, in many places, you can end up having to do the same task for a very long time, which gets very boring and tedious. However, I was given various tasks, and that allowed me to challenge myself and get out of my comfort zone. Some of the things I had to do were new to me, but was very educational. It was interesting because the tasks mainly depended on the project that was being created at the time or the main focus, and so my responsibilities include, but not limited to, searching for possible funding opportunities in the EU, possible partners for collaboration, assisting with creating projects (Food Relations and COOLtoRISE), and proofreading/revising documents. Also, because the work environment was much more relaxed as opposed to the US, where everything is more scheduled and at ABD, it was more at flow, I was able to find my pace and work comfortably. I was able to get a lot of tasks completed. I am very proud of all the work that I did, and I hope that my work was very beneficial and helpful to the organization. The two months I spent in Spain were definitely amazing and Barcelona will always have a special place in my heart.

I didn’t want to be that person who said study abroad changed my life, but now that I’ve studied abroad......

This summer (2019) I had the incredible opportunity to travel abroad with IES to Amsterdam. Making it to Europe has always been a dream of mine, and when I saw the immerse and customizable curriculum that IES has to offer, including a course on Intersexuality and its history in Dutch medicine as well as a gendered approach looking at 17th century art history, I knew this program was right for me.

Since pre-departure, the IES Staff made the process incredibly easy — consistent emails and working alongside the study abroad office kept me ahead of schedule and prepared for in advance of boarding my flight.

This communication remained if not flourished as the program began and I was starting my summer in a new country. The summer went by quick (sad), but by the end I can say that I left with a completely new cultural perspective, an expansive amount of knowledge, a ton of new experiences (and photos!), and of course 20 new friends.

I thank the IES Abroad Faculty for the incredible experiences I got to live out this summer, and hope that the many prospective students of the program have an amazing time in the upcoming semesters!

I learned so much on this program! I now know more about the Chilean health system than I do about the United States system. I got 60 hours of hospital observation, including seeing many surgeries and the birth of a baby! All of my experiences in the hospital were completely in Spanish, which made it very intimidating at first. However, by the end I could understand everything happening around me and I loved it! I also made friendships that I know will last for the rest of my life. The IES Abroad center staff was so kind and genuinely cared that we had a great time, and I loved my host family. The city of Santiago now feels like a second home to me, and I can't wait to go back some day. I would recommend this program to anyone who wants to improve their Spanish, learn about medicine, and have a summer full of adventure!

My summer internship with New York IES Program was beyond incredible. Before the departure, I didn't know what to expect, but I knew inside of me that this experience was going to change my life forever. And it did. I got on the plane nervous, scared but excited for what was waiting for me. Without any doubt, I can say that I'm not the same person I was when I first arrived in New York. The challenges that I had to face everyday shaped me as a student and as a human being. At first, it was difficult to live in the Big Apple - so many things to figure out. But as time went by, I became more confident. The IES staff helped me every step of the way -they have been always available and supportive. I am and always will be profoundly grateful to them for giving me this incredible experience.The IES staff has played a crucial role in finding the perfect internship placement for me: as and Art Historian student, working in an Art Gallery in Soho was a dream come true! I couldn't think of a better place where I could have interned. The people who worked with me at the Gallery made me part of their team from the frist day, and taught me so much! They included me in all of the activities of an Art Gallery such as setting up a new exhibition, meeting the artists, cataloguing, working with social media, editing pictures, finding new contacts and so much more! I felt I was learning something new everyday. Living and working abroad changed my life and my perspective of the world we live in. I definitely recommend this experience to anyone who wants to follow their dreams and pursue their career goals - you won't regret it!

Getting out of the U.S. to live, work, and play in a new country is an incredibly valuable experience. And, as a musician, there are few better places to jump headfirst into other than Vienna. IES Abroad did a nice job of easing us into the culture and the city, but did not hold our hands too much. Our time there was largely our own to spend as we please. I enjoyed taking German classes with a wonderful teacher that IES selected, and some of my favorite memories were exploring the city as a "class".

As an intern, what you get out of your work experience is what you choose to take from it. I wasn't in the most ideal situation, coming into Vienna without an internship placement, but the staff with IES did a great job of facilitating an interview and getting me into the workplace as fast as possible.

Interning in Rome was the most life-changing experience for me. I got to intern at Livitaly which is one of the leading tourism companies in Italy that specializes in giving small tours all around the country. Through this internship, I got to learn so much about Italian culture and was able to absorb it all in. Through this amazing company, I was able to see Rome and Italy in general in a new perspective. Not only did I learn to adapt to a new work environment and culture but I also learned a lot about myself and improved my cultural intelligence. The internship seminar was also very helpful and insightful. I gained worldwide skills that you can't learn back at home, and I was also able to attend networking events and met professionals who come from all over the world and found themselves working in Rome. Overall the people working for IES are what really makes this program great! Without them, I would have never experienced something as phenomenal as this. If you're looking for your chance to elevate yourself professionally, definitely come and see what the world has to offer you!