Hello! My name is Ally, and I am a rising junior Markets, Innovation, & Design major and dance (and maybe Spanish!) minor from Readington, NJ. I’m so excited to be in Dublin this summer, and I will be using this blog as a way to document all of the experiences I am going to have!
There are many reasons I decided to apply for this program. I love traveling and seeing new places, but I had never left the country before this week. I was always so busy with competition dance and figure skating that I did not have time to travel anywhere over the summer when I was in middle and high school. So, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to not only get outside of the US for the first time but to fully immerse myself in another culture, especially since I am Irish. I’ve already had such a great time exploring Dublin, talking to locals, and learning as much as I can about Irish heritage. Another reason I was drawn to the program was that it was a perfect opportunity to learn about a new subject while also doing an internship. I did an internship last summer with Make-A-Wish, and I absolutely loved being in a professional environment, but I realized that I wasn’t really interested in a career in a non-profit and that I’d like to be involved in that type of work in other ways down the line. For that reason, I am excited that Connect-123 was able to pair me with an internship in Marketing & PR, a field I’m very interested in pursuing after graduation, while also learning about sustainable cities in the real estate class, which is something I haven’t gotten the chance to explore in other classes yet. I am so happy that I decided to do this program – although I was very nervous in the weeks leading up to the trip, I am already having such a great time and making so many new great friends in the short three days I’ve been here. I think we have such a great group of people and I’m so excited to see how the rest of the summer unfolds.
The internship I will be completing is with Burrell Marketing & Publicity. They are a consumer & lifestyle PR company that’s located about 20 minutes from UCD. One of the things they pride themselves on is offering a fully integrated approach to traditional, digital, and social media marketing campaigns with activation, measurement, and evaluation. I can clearly see this through the research I’ve done on the company, especially from even following them on Instagram. They are constantly active, promoting their clients’ products and reposting different influencers opening the PR packages they receive. I’m particularly excited because although they are a small staff of 6 full-time employees, they work with big global brands that I use in my day-to-day life, like Neutrogena, Aveeno, and fashion brands like Pretty Little Thing and BooHoo. The interview I had with my supervisor, Rebecca, went very well, and she said that they have a very open and supportive work environment, which I am really looking forward to especially in an office of all women.
Today was our first day of the real estate class. It felt a little weird having a first day of classes in June, but our professor was great and was really knowledgeable. We talked about what sustainability is, and I realized that it is much more than just environmental sustainability, but also social and economic, and all of it relies on governance. We also had a really interesting conversation about how the education system works in Ireland, and I learned a lot of things that I didn’t know before. It’s interesting to hear about how other countries operate and compare them to the US, both to celebrate the things we’re doing right and criticize areas we are falling behind in (such as the SDGs we discussed in class). We also started talking about what makes a city, and I’m excited to learn more about the topic next class and begin our readings.
We also got to go to EPIC today, the Irish Emigration Museum. I never realized how many people around the globe have Irish heritage. It was particularly cool to me to watch the map that was displayed on the screen which showed a time-lapse of countries turning “green” over the years as Irish people emigrated to them. Although some of the reasons why people left Ireland were sad, I still found it really cool that so many people around the world are all connected by one thing. I also thought the concept of having an emigration museum was something I never thought about before, and I loved how EPIC stands for “Every Person is Connected.” It made me think about my own Irish heritage. I don’t know exactly how/when my family emigrated from Ireland, but it made me proud that I am a part of something that spans so widely around the globe. Finally, it was fun to visit the museum with the whole program, because it was the first time we had an excursion all together. I’m looking forward to traveling more and learning about Irish culture and history throughout the summer!
I feel like a lot of my nerves about this trip have been settled after just being here for a few days. I was nervous that I wouldn’t find good friends in our group, that I would get lost trying to use the bus, that I wasn’t going to like my class, and that I wasn’t going to get into a good routine. However, after taking the time to get settled, get some groceries, and start to explore Dublin a little, a lot of my nervousness has gone away. I feel particularly comfortable with the friends I’ve made here so far, so that is a huge relief, and it makes even the scarier parts more enjoyable. Right now, most of my nerves are around starting my internship tomorrow and getting there using the bus on time. I also really want to learn how to access the bigger gym, and I am looking forward to getting into a routine because I don’t do well without structure and I like having a plan for my days. I’m very excited about our first excursion this weekend to Wicklow, and I’m even more excited to get into my internship tomorrow and see what projects I’ll be working on for the summer. In the future, I’m going to leverage the knowledge I’ll gain through this experience in both my professional and regular social lives, as not only am I gaining experience in the workforce, but I’m also immersing myself in a new culture and learning more about putting myself out of my comfort zone.
Finally, here are a few things I’ve learned so far in my few short days here:
- Irish people are very nice! The driver from the airport and every FreeNow driver we’ve had make conversation, joke around with us, and give us recommendations of where we should go out to eat or drink. It’s very different from the US!
- Accents can be hard to understand if they’re talking fast
- Don’t sit in your room, get out as much as possible and do new things with different people
- Save money! Eating out can really add up, and the groceries here feel like they are a lot cheaper than in the US (either that or I’ve just never had to buy groceries for myself before). It’s so easy to make yourself a meal and it saves so much money
Although it’s been a long three days, I’m feeling incredibly grateful for this experience already, and I’m so excited to see what else Dublin has in store!
-Ally
