Programs Abroad:
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Semester Abroad (SA): University of New South Wales
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Global Research & Internship Program (GRIP): Aravind Eye Hospital Intern in India
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Wharton International Program (WIP): Travel to Italy
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Wharton Global Modular Courses (GMC): Travel to Brazil
Ask me about...
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Traveling on a budget (FGLI student)
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Traveling somewhere that you don't know the common language
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Finding a church abroad
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Traveling alone
My Experience Abroad:
In India, I got firsthand experience seeing what it's like to work at a large hospital system. I spent time working with administrators on my specific volunteer management program, and I helped with a few random projects such as editing content for the hospital's new website.
In Australia, one of my classes was designed around a group project where we worked in teams to design a business from scratch. We constructed a business plan and presented our ideas to a team of judges. I worked with the most amazing group on this project, and I learned important communication and teamwork skills that help me when I work on group projects back at Penn.
Other Highlights:
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During my semester abroad at UNSW, I took only one or three classes at a time. Because of the unique scheduling opportunities, I was able to manage my time so that I could travel all around Australia. I traveled to cities all over the country, including Melbourne, Perth, the Gold Coast, and Hobart. I loved traveling alone because I had complete freedom to be impulsive and pursue random adventures. In Perth, I went to Rottnest Island and got to bike around the entire thing, seeing beautiful coastal views, seals, and quokkas!
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In India, I interned at Aravind Eye Hospital, where I worked with staff in the administrative office to design a more structured program for interns and volunteers to improve their experience and productivity. We took a few day trips outside of Madurai, including one to Pondicherry, a city that was central to the operations of the French East India Company for nearly 300 years until the mid-20th century. We did a bike tour of the city and saw the ways French architecture and culture influenced this Indian city. We visited a church, an ashram, a market, and Auroville, an "experimental township" set outside of the city of Pondicherry designed with the goal of creating a utopia.
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On the WIP Trip to Italy, I had the opportunity to visit Florence, Milan, Rome, and Venice, where we visited companies and universities, learning about the business and business education environment in Italy. We also visited places like the Vatican, the Colosseum, and the Uffizi Gallery, ate at magnificent restaurants, and took a gondola ride in Venice.
