Virtual Internships Abroad A New Type of Summer Abroad

My plan? Live and work in Italy for 2 months. What happened? A pandemic!

I’d known about my acceptance to the Global Research & Internship Program (GRIP): Arts & Hospitality in Florence, Italy program for less than two weeks before it was canceled. I had asserted my flexibility and open mind as an avid traveler in my GRIP application, but I was devastated! I was worried that I’d never have the opportunity again. However, instead of adapting to a different culture and exploring a whole new world as GRIP had promised, I returned home to an unexpectedly parallel experience: adapting to learning virtually and COVID-19 changing life as we know it. A transformative experience abroad WAS possible and it was possible from my room!

This summer, I interned with Australian Opal Cutters as a Finance Intern, diving headfirst into the Australian tax system. Australian Opal Cutters is a long time family-owned jewelry business based in Sydney, Australia. The relaxed Australian culture harmonized perfectly with a virtual setting. Given that my workday began 16 hours after Sydney, Australia’s, my CEO was perfectly comfortable with allowing me to work independently with full access to their software and records.

First, I compiled more than 10 years of financial statements of Australian Opal Cutters and its owners into an Excel spreadsheet, creating their first comparative database of their financial history. Next and most difficult was understanding how the end of year reports had been formed in the past in order to prepare a draft for 2020. This involved becoming familiar with Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet reports and navigating their Xero accounting software. Once I understood how most cumulative values came to exist, I could begin drafting key values of 2020.

The most surprising lessons from virtually interning abroad have been the insights of working remotely. While I would have loved to have simultaneously worked AND been surrounded by amazing cultural experiences, a virtual experience directly reveals your personal interests and passions by holding your motivation accountable. Working on my project without the glamor of travel and still distinguishing my favorite parts was an invaluable experience. I recognized that the intrinsic fulfillment of a task was the most accurate indicator of what I desired in my professional future. If I could enjoy something during a worldwide pandemic, I could enjoy it anywhere!

So while I still have high hopes for Italy in the future, a virtual internship abroad transformed my freshman summer into the summer of multi-tasking and self-discovery. I simultaneously took a class, started a local mask business, and got a new cat! And this fall, I can’t wait to explore and connect with all of my new interests. Lastly, a quick tip ... Eastern Standard Time (EST) actually exists in Australia too and is almost 12 hours different. Triple check your acronyms;)