Program Reviews

This past summer, I spent three months in Phnom Penh. I learned an overwhelming amount about Cambodian culture, politics, and society. While living in the city, I immersed myself in daily life including shopping at the markets in my neighborhood, trying different foods, and exploring art and landmarks such as Wat Phnom. Through my time here, I gained a greater sense of independence and a broader sense of the global climate.

MCO paired me with an internship at a clinic in Phnom Penh where I learned about clinical healthcare, neglected tropical diseases, and the Cambodian healthcare system. I also met with partners within the city to complete a status report on antibiotic resistance in Cambodia and to create an educational pamphlet about the topic.

I was very satisfied with the living arrangements MCO found for me - my apartment had all basic amenities and was a very comfortable. After getting over the heat and humidity, I found it very easy to acclimate to the environment and would love to go back!

I spent three months living and working in Phnom Penh, it was the most challenging, yet amazing, fun, eye-opening experience of my life. Miranda provides excellent support in finding a placement and the application process for that placement too, including interview tips, reading over your CV and cover letter etc. that support continues once you reach Cambodia. Laura was amazing in helping to show us around, how to communicate with the locals, even showing you how to get to work. The travel advice she provides is also great. If you have any questions or need any help throughout your time, they are both super accommodating. I fully enjoyed my work experience, as well as the opportunity to travel around Cambodia and Vietnam during my time there. Going abroad also opens you up to meeting some amazing friends for life who I am still close with today.

Having been to Thailand and Vietnam, I knew I wanted to go back to SE Asia soon. So when this opportunity came, I jumped on it. After interviewing with a few places, I decided on where I wanted to work and Miranda helped to coordinate things so everything would be good to go when I touched down.

Cambodia is very unique country with kind people and a long history. I wanted to experience something that differed greatly from the US and that’s just what I got! Traveling was manageable and I was able to utilize time off and weekends to see a bit of SE Asia.

Prior to landing in Phnom Penh, I had no idea what to expect in terms of how my life would unfold professionally, personally and academically over the span of 6 long months. As I am inching towards the completion of the program, saying “yes” to this experience - essentially the unknown - has proven itself as one of the most worthwhile opportunities I’ve taken in my life thus far (and I don’t say that lightly). From the initial interview to settling into the workplace, I’ve been supported by the program coordinator and felt comfortable with reaching out anytime. Living and working in Cambodia during my first long-haul trip overseas has taught me crucial lessons in many aspects including independence, advocating for oneself in the workspace, as well as what it truly means to overcome challenges. Not only have I gained immense clarity in regards to what I need to thrive in building a career in journalism, but I’ve made connections that will last a lifetime! The culture, food, people and history of Cambodia was exciting to explore in both professional and personal outlets and I couldn’t have felt more welcome. Overall, the experience was well worth it, and if you have the chance to, take the leap of faith. You just may be surprised by what lies on the other side.

When an opportunity to travel and work in another country presents itself, take it if you can! Moving to Cambodia with minimal prior knowledge could not have gone smoother. I made new friends, tried new foods and seen so many cool things! Along side adventuring around a new country, I’m also interning for a marketing consulting agency. I’ve learned a lot about myself and what I want from my workplace. I’ve successfully dealt with conflict in the workplace, took on event planning with my team to plan cambodia’s biggest food festival, assisted with content creation for offline and online communications, and I’m growing more every day just by going out and interacting with new people. I’m also learning that your experience is what you make of it, so work hard and live it up!

I've always been the typical teenager. The one whose dreams and aspirations blinded her reality. At that time, my reality consisted of school, home, sleep rinse and repeat. I'd always beg God, the universe or whoever is in charge up there to get me out of the boring life that I once knew. Sure I had good times, but I've always strived to do something bigger.

I've always had a wide range of interests. From medicine to business to fashion, I never truly knew exactly what I wanted to do. I was stuck in a state of oblivion when it came to future plans and a future career. That is until Miranda Mullet messaged me. Working with Miranda and going to Beijing has truly been one of the best experiences I'll ever have. She personally made the whole process work out smoothly. From a quick visa process to unpacking my bags in my new apartment in China, she's always taken time out of her busy schedule to help me with everything and anything I needed.
Upon arrival, she sent a driver to pick me up from the airport to my new apartment, where I met up with her. She welcomed me with a hug, a warm smile and my room key. The following day she gave me an orientation where she took me to my internship, showed me how to take the metro and introduced me to other interns who later became good friends of mine.
Coming from a city, NYC, I never found myself worried about transitioning to Beijing. It's a fast-paced city with bright lights and gorgeous skyscrapers. However, for someone who is not from a big city, I think they'd adjust pretty well by the way Miranda caters to their needs.

I worked as an entrepreneurial and design intern at a company called "PAPP’S Tea". My main job consisted of writing franchise agreements, managing the company's social media accounts, writing articles about the company teas and editing some of the company's photos for various websites. PAPPS Tea is a tea company that's famous for their tea blends. The working environment there was warm and altogether very fun! I believe that Miranda is a bit picky when it comes to which companies she'll send interns to because she wants them to get the best out of the job and overall enjoy the experience.

China was an amazing experience. Every now and again, I'd always reminisce about ordering actual delicious Chinese food and traveling to the temples. I'd do it all over again! I truly recommend this program to everybody because working in Beijing in a once in a lifetime experience. It definitely gave me an insight on what I want to do in the future. Thank you, Miranda, for everything!

After a long and fruitless period of trying to garner experience in the UK I stumbled across the idea of internships overseas.

I had a wholly positive experience in China and would definitely recommend it to anyone like myself who was just struggling to get onto that first rung of the career ladder.

The internships provided by MCO were certainly more engaging, enriching and educating than any of the other financial based programs (with a different company) which was operating out of the same accomodation.

The product design consultancy that I worked for was small, but I felt like my opinions and knowledge were respected and taken on board. This certainly alleviated some fears I had before leaving for China that I'd just be doing menial grunt work.

Beijing is a whole different beast of a city compared to what I've experienced before. It was always fun to point out to people there that I had come from a country (Scotland) with a quarter of population of Beijing!

You can muscle by without much of the language, but a little goes a long way. The weekly classes certainly help you get on the horse, but trying to use it with random people as much as possible is definitely the fastest way to learn.
On one of my last nights out travelling in the Huangshan area, I had a very memorable experience where I was being served in a restaurant by two ~8 year old sisters and their amicable mother. They thought my Lonely Planet phrasebook was the greatest text they'd ever laid eyes on, and kept offering to buy it. I probably learned more Mandarin laughing and flicking through that book with them that evening than I had in my last 2 weeks in Beijing just working.

I chose China as my destination for an internship as I set out wanting to get outside of my travel comfort zone. I certainly got that and I think I will definitely return in the future.

From the moment you land in Beijing to your last day at work, Miranda makes sure you make the most out of your time with MCO.
She facilitated a smooth visa process, even with my non-US passport, and ensured I was well equipped for my time here in Beijing.
Additionally, her network expands far beyond the employer you get paired with. I met people from a vast array of industries, and made connections crucial to my career development. Furthermore, I got to go to a lot of interesting events, ranging from gallery openings, to fashion shows to tech talks.
In times of distress, Miranda also makes sure you're well taken care of, and when she couldn't take care of stuff personally, she always had referrals that could.
The program also provides weekly Mandarin classes, which were enough to get me comfortable enough to explore the city on my own.
The accommodation was in an accessible area; right across the street from a Subway station. It also housed the other MCO interns, and interns from other programs, which helped with making friends from all over the world.
Being immersed in Beijing was unlike anything else I have ever experienced, and my time here has undoubtedly helped shape my future career plan.
I would recommend this program to anyone interested in expressing their creative side in in one of the most dynamic cities in the world.

Growing up in one of the biggest and most culturally diverse cities in the US, I didn’t get as big a culture shock from Beijing as I thought I would. English is incorporated as a second language into a lot of public signage, similar to how Spanish is in the States. I studied Chinese for four years in high school, so I came with a pretty strong background with the language. Improving my language skills was a primary reason for me coming to China.
As for my internship experience, it was a mixed bag, partly due to the nature of the industry. My background is in 3D animation and visual effects. I got a great opportunity to work at an animation studio, but they were at a down period and I didn’t have a lot of work to do. Although it wasn’t a great professional development situation, all of my coworkers spoke almost exclusively Chinese and taught me a lot about the language and culture (we eat a lot of hot pot). They truly welcomed me to China and demonstrated the generosity of the Chinese. I’ve had many jobs and internships in the past - the feeling of working is the same. Work fast, please the client. Little room for creative, personal, and professional development, which seems the point of an internship. My advice to past me is that if I want to experience a country, not to come for work.
If anything I can take away from this experience, it’s that China’s ad agencies and animation studios are no different than the State's’ small studios. I’ve more confidently confirmed that maybe I should be taking my career in another direction.

PROS:
-Picked up from airport
-A lot of notifications about local/networking events
-Given a train card (it's cheap anyway, but it's one less thing to worry about)
-Wifi included
- Sometimes entrance fees to events are paid for, if Miranda is also going.
- Subway is SUPER convenient, one of my favorite things about Beijing.

CONS:
- Chinese classes were a bit too basic for me. No textbooks or advanced study material. If you have a background in Chinese, the most convenient way to learn is to go out and talk to people. Eavesdrop on the subway. Attend embassy events or quiz nights (that aren’t exclusively foreigners!) Ask the street vendors what things are called before you buy them. Be inquisitive, make mistakes, and learn from them. And stay out of the foreigner bubble - if you came to experience another culture, get out into the world (but of course, have movie night with your foreign friends).
- The company is currently going through some changes, which leaves room for mistakes that can be stressful to deal with when trying to adapt to a new environment.

Thanks to MCO I was able to work abroad in Beijing's hottest place, Sanlitun! There I was able to work at a wonderful marketing job and meet tons of new people. It was a wonderful experience for my first time outside the country.

MCO helped me adjust to life in the bustling city of Beijing, with helpful and professional advice, as well as the opportunity of attended many different and unique events. I got to try a lot of new things and see a totally different culture. As an international business and marketing, this experience was very helpful into finding out what I want to do in life and with my major.