{"id":2354,"date":"2014-07-29T10:58:59","date_gmt":"2014-07-29T14:58:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/questromworld.bu.edu\/studyabroad\/?p=2354"},"modified":"2023-03-21T14:51:47","modified_gmt":"2023-03-21T14:51:47","slug":"luc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/questromworld.bu.edu\/studyabroad\/2014\/07\/29\/luc\/","title":{"rendered":"Luc Durrett, Sydney Management Internship"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Luc<\/a>Interned in consulting with Happily Organised, Spring 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

I arrived in Sydney, Australia on January 8th to start my two-month internship downtown just a couple days later.\u00a0 The company I worked for was called Happily Organised, which is a business organising consultancy founded by and comprised of only one person, who became my mentor through the first two months abroad.<\/p>\n

Although the office was officially in the Central Business District, over half of the days were spent traveling to client locations either to meet them for the first time and hear about their technological or workflow problems or to revisit clients paying for ongoing projects.\u00a0 For one recurring client we visited weekly, the work consisted of sifting, reorganising, and simplifying the client\u2019s Customer Relationship Management system, which is a web-based application integrating contacts, calendars, and email.\u00a0 For each other client, though, there were an infinite number of ways to resolve business organising concerns. The challenging, and perhaps most engaging, part of the job was effectively communicating technology-based solutions to people who generally were not all that tech-savvy.<\/p>\n

The client-facing position was not only an invaluable work experience for future endeavors, but also exposed me to a large sample of Australian ways of life, lingo, and perspectives through the clients with whom I worked.\u00a0 Another aspect of the internship opportunity\u2014which I wouldn\u2019t have preferred any other way\u2014was working in such a small organisation\/start-up.\u00a0 Immersion in every client account gave me exposure to and experience with many skills that are proving their worth already during my first month back in the US.\u00a0 While the expectations and level of responsibility were quite high, it served as the perfect first step to understanding the work-life perspective in Sydney prior to starting the semester at University of Sydney.<\/p>\n

\"Luc<\/a>My advice to anyone planning to study in Sydney (or anywhere abroad, for that matter) is to explore everything about the neighborhoods in which you\u2019re living and working.\u00a0 There are so many hidden gems to be found: shops and cafes on back alleys, small events known only to locals, and anything of the beaten path.\u00a0 The mid-semester break trip I made to the Great Barrier Reef was a solo vacation, which turned out to be a huge turning point in my perspective during my time abroad.\u00a0 Traveling solo encourages (and almost necessitates) your mingling with locals and fellow travelers, finding friends, and taking part in spontaneous adventures.\u00a0 During that mid-semester break, I even became friends with a potential business connection for work in Sydney after my senior year of undergraduate studies.<\/p>\n

Do not pass up the opportunity to get involved with the campus life and organisations.\u00a0 Not only does it provide a good environment in which to meet Australian students, but it also can lead to your discovery of lesser known places to see and things to do.\u00a0 If you remain as mentally and socially open as possible,\u00a0 the study abroad internship experience in Sydney will be the time of your life.<\/p>\n\n\t\t