GRIP, Internships Abroad How to Find Your Niche

Nextentia - Medellín, Colombia

My current internship in Medellín is at a start-up called Nexentia that works to provide calcium encapsulation products to a range of clients both human and animal. Nexentia is a small subdivision of the greater Corona Corporation, a national powerhouse in Colombia that has products in ceramics, paint, mining, and construction materials. I love the concept of Nexentia because it's a pivot from the traditional missions of the company and a recognition that innovation has to be at the forefront of the overall progress of Corona.

With this context in mind comes my involvement with the company. I serve as a Data Analytics and Marketing Intern where I serve to help streamline and simplify the data processes of the company. This comes with a huge amount of responsibility that I was not expecting when I got the initial GRIP decision letter. My initial thoughts when I received the letter were: Will this align with my career wants? Will I enjoy the work? Will I be able to advance my skills? I can happily report that all three questions have been answered and more with the internship changing my opinion on what I want out of a career.

From a lot of thinking in and outside of this experience, I think I want an internship role and job where I can be creative within the framework of the job description. At Nexentia, I am tasked with creating a centralized database where the members can easily access current information and see projections for current and future periods. Despite the specificity of the task, I can create and manipulate the spreadsheet however I see fit. I love having this level of trust in me and it empowers me to put out a good product for the sake of the company. When looking forward in my life, I want to be able to have this same level of involvement and freedom in the operations of the company because if a start-up can take that level of chance on a third-year college student, why can’t a big firm with a recent graduate? This internship has given me a huge amount of perspective and I hope going forward I find roles as fulfilling at this.