GRIP: Business in Sydney, Australia One of the more surprising challenges I encountered during my internship was learning how to take initiative in a professional setting. While the office environment has been incredibly warm and supportive, I initially found it intimidating to approach team members directly and ask for tasks. I always considered myself a…
GRIP: Business in Sydney, Australia If you told me back at Penn that my Google Calendar would be fuller on weekends in July than it ever was during the semester, I would’ve laughed out loud. Just like I would’ve never imagined myself celebrating Christmas with scarves, mulled wine, and the most Christmassy German treat, Stollen,…
GRIP: Business in Sydney, Australia Dear Pre-GRIP Isabella, You looked at your signed GRIP commitment contract, thinking, “What did I just get myself into?” As you made your travel and internship placement arrangements, you processed that you were actually spending this summer away from home. Not just an Amtrak ride away, but a 22-hour plane…
GRIP: Social Sciences and Humanities Research in Auckland, New Zealand During my first week in Auckland, New Zealand, our student cohort visited Waiheke Island, where we stayed at a Marae and participated in traditional rituals within Māori culture. To enter the Marae we needed to be introduced by our guide, who already formed part of…
GRIP: Social Sciences and Humanities Research in Auckland, New Zealand My internship in New Zealand took place at the University of Auckland, where I dove into historical research on German intervention in Samoa between 1900-1914. What began as a project on colonial dynamics quickly expanded backwards into the 1870s, as I traced how racial hierarchies…
SA: University of Otago Sophia, one of the Semester Abroad Correspondents, shares her experience abroad during the Fall 2025 semester. Follow along with the group of correspondents on our blog and look out for their images on the @pennabroad Instagram feed. Just in the past weekend alone, I’ve accomplished two things I never expected would be a part of my abroad journey:…
Contact Ask Me About… My Experience Abroad I found that my courses at the Universitat de Barcelona furthered my academic goals as both a Political Science and Hispanic Studies student. I took two political science classes, the EU: Political Institutions and Introduction to Public Law, which were invaluable experiences. These courses helped me develop my knowledge…
Contact Ask Me About… If other students ask me just one thing about my experience abroad, I’d tell them about celebrating Christmas in July. Coming from the northern hemisphere, July has always meant sunscreen, iced tea, and maybe a beach trip, not scarves and Stollen. But in Australia, July is mid-winter, and the city embraces…
Contact Ask Me About… I intentionally chose the same destination—Australia—for both of my consecutive Penn Abroad programs. This decision gave me the unique opportunity to spend an extended period in a new country and explore its culture from multiple perspectives. Through the Penn Global Seminar (PGS), I was introduced to Aboriginal communities and visited remote,…
Contact Ask me about… Other students should ask me, “How was it like not being home for almost 6 months?” As an international student studying in the US, I have navigated the complexities of being away from home for extended periods, but this year was particularly unique. I had not been back home since after…