9,544 Miles
By: Maria Jose Rodriguez Velazquez, CAS ’23
Maria Jose with her team during a coffee chat.
Israel Plan Organization – Shanghai, China
If you were to visit each of our team members, you would have to trek a whopping 9,544 miles. Your trip would start in Philadelphia, where you would take a 10-hour flight all the way to Germany. This would be followed by either a very, very long drive or another 10-hour plane ride to Shanghai. However, despite the miles between us and harsh time differences, I feel as connected as ever with my internship team.
Some can view distance and virtual communication as a shortcoming. However, this summer I’ve chosen to see my virtual internship as an opportunity to explore the world, while still getting valuable professional experience. After all, a virtual internship means you aren’t limited to one physical location. This got me thinking, why should I complete my internship tasks locked away in a room, when I can do them traveling the world? So after being back home in Mexico for the first four weeks of my internship, I decided to travel to my favorite country ever: Germany. I am grateful for my team’s reception of my announcement, which was followed by a long round of questions, comments, and good wishes.
Working in Germany as a Mexican at a Sino-Israeli non-governmental organization (NGO) perfectly captures the global perspective a remote internship can give you. My time at my internship has allowed me to understand the structure and lifestyle of working at an NGO and to learn more about Chinese culture. It has also allowed me to improve in two languages, German and Chinese, and introduced me to four amazing, vastly different co-workers who have shared their career experiences and tips with me. And all of this did not occur in the same shared space, but through computer screens across three continents.
My virtual internship experience has allowed me to do what I love to do the most; travel, learn languages and find ways to make things better. It has been exciting to find ways to connect with my team virtually. My all-time favorite idea has been our Coffee Chat session. As we were all sitting down, drinking coffee, juice, and water (as drinking coffee at 10 pm did not seem like the best idea), we had the chance to get to know each other better. We shared our backgrounds, and discovered shared affinities, which included (not so shockingly) languages! Overall, I am so grateful for my team and I am eager to hopefully someday visit the office!
The Global Research and Internship Program (GRIP) provides outstanding undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to intern or conduct research abroad for 8 to 12 weeks over the summer. Participants gain career-enhancing experience and global exposure that is essential in a global workforce.