API Intern Group Reviews

I never heard about Dream Careers until one day I googled summer internships and found this program. After applying for the program, improving my resume, learning interview techniques, applying and accepting an internship offer, would I have thought this summer program would have been anything like what I experienced. Not only did they help me prepare for everything before flying out to D.C. but once I got there the staff never stops helping.

The Internship:
I interned with the Washington D.C. Metro Police Department. The first week at this department was rough. When you apply for their internship you pick your top 3 choices for what division in the department you want to intern in. I was lucky enough to get my first choice; however, I ended up being moved around a couple times my first week because of staffing concerns. I did not know what I should do and was really frustrated. Luckily the dream careers staff helped me through it and encouraged me to speak to the department about my concerns and thankfully they understood and worked with me. I was able to move to a division that was in charge of monitoring the city and getting officers the right information which I thought was awesome and very rewarding. The officers I worked with were great and gave me some good advice and as I left I was told I am allowed to come back as an intern if I want to. Overall I was satisfied with my internship experience.

Events:
Besides going to work, we had program events to keep us occupied and to explore what D.C. had to offer. We went to a new restaurant every week which was awesome and of course because I love food. Then on the weekends there were some great events as well. We explored the monuments, toured museums, went to a baseball game, and even had a perfect spot to watch July 4th fireworks. Some of the best events came at the end of summer when we spent the weekend at Virginia Beach and going to Kings Dominion amusement park as well as ending it all at our dinner dance cruise on the Potomac river. The events this program has to offer were amazing and you do not want to miss out on them.

Seminars:
We had career-development seminars every week. Usually there was a theme for each weeks seminar so that we had something to focus on. The guest speakers were unbelievable and really were able to connect their professional and personal experiences with ours and did a great job helping us to grow personally and help find our passion.

Housing/Location:
Being housed at George Washington University meant we were blocks away from all the monuments, nightlife, and of course the metro system so that we can have an easy time getting to work.

I would recommend this program to anyone interested in interning in Washington D.C.

This past summer I did the Dream Careers program in Washington, D.C. My internship was at Carpenter's Shelter, a homeless shelter in Alexandria, Virginia and I was the administrative intern to the volunteer coordinator. As an administrative intern, I completed various tasks including contacting volunteers either via phone or email, updating the online volunteer database, creating online meal calendars for volunteers to sign up to volunteer to serve a meal at the shelter and I created a volunteer satisfaction survey using Survey Monkey. I had a great experience both at my internship and participating in program events such as a twilight tour of the White House and the monuments, a tour of the capitol building and congress, visits to the Smithsonian museums and a dinner and dance cruise on the Potomac River, just to name a few. It was great getting to be a tourist around D.C. and live in a city I had never been to before while also gaining valuable workforce skills. I also met so many people I otherwise would not have met from all across the United States and internationally. I'm grateful to have had this opportunity and I encourage other students to do it as well. Doing this program will be the best summer of your life and allow you to put everything else on pause and focus solely on your internship and all the fun opportunities Dream Careers programs have to offer. Because of my positive experience, I am now a part of the Dream Careers family and am working for them on campus as a campus ambassador. If anyone is interested in this program, contact me and I can help you get started!

When I first approached Dream Careers, I was looking for a program where I could travel and still get work experience and academic credit, but what I got was way more valuable. Today, the workforce is getting harder and harder to enter, and as an ambitious college student soon to be graduate, I found myself without any "real world" experience under my belt. Dream Careers helped me discover what I liked and disliked about possible jobs in my current field, helping me narrow down what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I was shaking hands with important people, shaping my work ethic, and making friends and memories in the process. I still remember waking up until 4 in the morning with one of the girls from the program. We had fallen into conversation and kept talking until one of our alarms went off. We didn't realize it was so late and we still made it on time to work at 8 the next day! The Dream Careers staff was also like a family. We laughed together, cried together, and had some very interesting conversations. I never expected to make such a deep connection with these people. Nothing compares to watching the sunrise from the steps of the Lincoln memorial. It was hard to part, but I've made plans to see some of my new friends soon, and I'm still on very good terms and in touch with many of my previous co-workers. This was by and large the best decision I've ever made.

I found each and every dimension of my programme stimulating, interesting, challenging and fun. The actual intern placement could not have been better. I was with a small company, mentored by the boss personally and welcomed into what was a family atmosphere. I was given tasks more relevant to my skills and interests, including the chance to learn about things the company did when I got interested. I was given projects to assess and recommend how the business could improve and included in external meetings. Away from the job, I took an accelerated spanish language course, which was very well run and supported my daily work. The organised social events were always fun and included new activities. However, it was the ability for me to organise some events myself, such as an intern football league, which I thought exceptional. From my base in Medallin I travelled to numerous locations and developed confidence to meet and get to know other travellers as I ventured north and south.

"Maxy, I've been telling people Colombia is a wonderful place, but after all these years, you are the only one who believes and came here."--quote from my first Colombian friend. I have never imagined how I would feel at this moment after spending two months in Colombia. I made the decision to come here based on my curiosity of South America, my intention of learning more Spanish, and my passion of Latino culture and history.

I still remember when I first posted on Facebook, telling my friends that I arrived in Medellin, many people messaged me to take care of myself, asked me if I feel insecure, or immediately told me that I was crazy. I slept through my entire flight, woke up when all Colombians were singing, cheering on the flight, the lady sat next to me smiled at me, said," you must be confused honey, we are just the happiest people in the world!"-- this was my first impression of Colombia!

I want to write here to tell my friends around the entire world that this country doesn't deserve the stereotype it has, it went through all those difficult years and the people there are truly optimistic and HAPPY. At this moment, the world needs to look at this happy land with a new perspective because I believe people in our generation should be more open minded in order to break all the wrong stereotypes from the past. (You may start from here: it's colOmbia not colUmbia) I'm kindly ask, please take some time to read its history and news, or google image its cities before you make your judgements toward Colombia. I just went through the immigration right now, and the customs said I could take a picture of his smiling face as he should be the last Colombian I talk to before I leave! Colombia, I sincerely love you for all the great things you brought me.

It is a life-changing experience, I was well-treated everyday and I absolutely love the country and the people. Don't need to go there with an expectation, because Colombia will surprise you everyday. Be outside as much as you can, spend time exploring the city and nature and talk to lovely Colombian people!!

When I initially left for Colombia, I had no clue on what to expect especially given the stereotypical views of Colombia that I had been accustomed to. Once I reached there however, it is amazing on how off they were! A small example: with the little bit of Spanish I knew, I introduced myself to one of my roommates and asked him to show me around my first day there. He, thankfully, spoke English. Without any hesitation, he accepted and showed me around. I needed to do some grocery shopping and was not sure if my credit card was going to work or not. He offered to pay for my stuff (even though he barely knew me!) The people there are the most amiable and friendly people you will find. I did not mind being at work by 7.30 am everyday because of the sense of family I had there. I even somehow befriended some local vendors whom I greeted every morning and bought breakfast (pastel de jamon y queso) from. It's definitely a very welcoming environment.

Another thing that definitely hit me was how developed Colombia was for a third world country! The part of Medellin the intern group lodges interns is called Poblado. The malls, the beautiful view, the fact everything you need is pretty much within walking distance of you; all these factors were definitely a big plus for me while I was there.

Colombia has so much to offer! While I was there I went para-sailing, rock climbing, cave exploring, horse-back riding on top of mountains and so much more! I am also a little better at salsa, merengue and bachata now :)

The only downside I will say was that Intern Latin America was not as proactive in the beginning at organizing get togethers and other social events for interns to meet each other. Nonetheless towards the end that changed quite a bit which is something I would like to see continue. My internship was very valuable to me as it helped me better shape my career goal. I also felt very valuable to the team I worked with as one of my designed projects is actually in the process of being implemented! There is nothing that provides a more fulfilling feeling than that!

Oh, I was also lucky enough to experience the FIFA world cup in a football loving country. It is definitely something very unique.

Life in Medellin was really rewarding for me.Travelling all by myself to such a far away country with little grasp of the Spanish language proved overwhelming,but only for a short while.I adjusted very well to living in Medellin and made a lot of friends from the program.I also got to learn a bit of Spanish from the local paisas and in that way I made even more friends from Colombia.The support from the Intern Latin America group was outstanding as there was always someone there when we needed help or just someone to talk to.

When I applied to this programe, back in September of last year, I of course shared the same concern that a curious pre-applicant may also share. Firstly, this is too good to be true, surely it is a scam? Secondly, is Colombia safe? I shall attempt to address both points in my review.

Colombia, for me, is a country of opportunity. A country which is working tirelessly to enhance its reputation on a global scale. On a daily basis I experienced no shortage of youthful graduates emigrating in order to take advantage of this. Colombia is a beautiful country, steeped in tradition, culture and curiosity. In thirteen weeks I was blessed by the generosity of its people, while simultaneously being proven that Colombia is indeed a place where I can establish myself as an individual with ambition. I had no issues with safety or any concerns whatsoever in my time there.

With regards to the Intern group, I myself was at first sceptical, but this is a company with one ambition, and that ambition is to empower the younger generation. If you can afford to part with the money, then you will embark on a journey that you will never forget.

I would speak highly of every aspect of my summer, organised by Intern Hong Kong.
Day of arrival was very well organised by IHK as I was picked up straight away and taken to my apartment, something that would have been much more difficult if I had to organise it myself. The accomodation was well situated, less than a minute to the MTR, and many shops and restaurants located nearby. The welcome pack was very useful, especially as they contained the pre-paid SIM card and Octopus card for travel. This meant that I could get settled in straight away.
The work aspect was equally as good. I enjoyed every day during my internship, and I learnt a lot.
The social part of Intern Hong Kong was particularly amazing. There were events constantly being organised, whether it was a weekend trip to Macau or a quick dinner after work. I definitely saw and did much more in Hong Kong than I would have done had I gone alone/without the IHK support. I formed great friendships with many of the other interns, and the variety was very interesting. And when organising our own events, such as weekend treks or going out for dinner, the Intern Hong Kong team were very helpful with suggestions and tips.

I would say one of the benefits of going on a summer programme, is that when you arrive there are other people who have already experienced Hong Kong for a couple of days/weeks/months and therefore you get straight into the culture and life of the city. The time absolutely flies by and I would have happily stayed out there for longer. Both Hong Kong as a city and The Intern Group as a company have created a great lasting impression and I would highly recommend both !

I recieved a placement at a small boutique, lifestyle PR agency in Soho. As the company was so small I had the opportunity to learn a lot in a short amount of time. As my internship progressed I was also given more responsibility, and towards the end of my program was given the responsibility of training new interns.

My daily duties included, completing coverage checks in both print and online media, scanning and filing coverage. I was also able to help plan media events and previews and got to attend many of our client events.