Reflecting on My Virtual Internship
By: Andrew Orner, CAS ’22
RACI – Buenos Aires, Argentina
I am sad that my experience interning at the Argentine Network for International Cooperation (RACI) has come to an end. I learned a great deal from my colleagues, contributed to important projects intended to shed light on the state of civil societies around the world, and honed my Spanish language skills.
The most significant personal impact of my internship on my capabilities was an improvement in my conversational Spanish and capacity to translate documents rapidly between Spanish and English. I worked in a team of translators that was tasked with translating documents that would be shared as part of a survey of civil society organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean. These translation assignments were particularly exciting for me because I took an advanced Spanish course at Penn focused on translation in my sophomore year. It was exciting to be able to put to use the specific skills that I developed in that course in a real-world situation. The work of a translator underscores the complexity and importance of cross-cultural understanding. Each language, and indeed each culture, has unique unwritten rules for communication that make word-by-word translation inadequate. I am proud of the level of detail and nuance that I was able to bring to each of my translations.
One related and similarly exciting opportunity part of the Virtual Internships Abroad Program was my Spanish language course. In each session of my one-on-one sessions, I worked with an instructor to hone my speaking skills across a range of tenses and topics. My favorite session was when my instructor asked me to tell a story. Inspired by recently reading Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, I told an abridged narrative of Alexander Hamilton’s life—all in Spanish. I feel much more confident speaking after these sessions and I am very proud of my progress. I am now committed to redoubling my efforts to achieve fluency.
Perhaps the most valuable thing that came out of my VIA experience had nothing to do with skills building. Instead, I found the experience to be clarifying for me in terms of what I want out of a career. My time at RACI confirmed my strong desire to pursue an internationally focused career. Working with my colleagues in Argentina was a novel and enjoyable experience. It was tremendously gratifying and exciting to work with individuals that shared my interest in international issues and the importance of robust civil societies for spurring and sustaining positive change. While I wish I had more time at RACI, I am excited to take the experiences that I had at RACI and move forward in my career.
The Virtual Internships Abroad (VIA) program provides self-directed and motivated Penn undergraduate students the opportunity to gain a fully funded professional work experience over the summer with a global employer, with the added convenience of working remotely.