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My internship with the Consulate of Spain

My internship with the Consulate of Spain

October 28, 2019 at 12:00pm

Name: Carolina Echeverri Valle

Hometown: Bogota, Colombia

What is your major? International Relations and PRAAC (Public Relations, Applied Advertisement and Communications); Global Learning Medallion Student & Millennium Fellow ‘19

Where did you intern? Spanish Ministry of Education, Consulate of Spain

What was your title? Intern

How did you get your internship? I started looking for internships on Handshake and applied to various ones. The one I got was the one I least thought that I would get. However, Isabel Green from the Honors College contacted me saying that someone from the Spanish Ministry of Education wanted to interview me.

What were you doing there? I monitored the applications to the Language and Culture Assistants in Spain program managed by the Consulate of Spain. The program includes going to Spain for 8 months to teach or assist in teaching English. I reviewed applicants’ materials and accepted assistants into the program. 

How does your internship connect back to your coursework? I think it taught me how students in one country want to go and immerse themselves in another culture in order to teach and learn about the differences and similarities between people. The program provides a great opportunity to travel, learn about different cultures and different people, which is what I learned in my global learning courses: Introduction to Sociology and Studies in World Religion.

What is the coolest thing about your internship or that has happened during your internship? Definitely tabling on behalf of the Consulate of Spain was the highlight of my internship. I loved being able to explain to students the program that we offer with the Spanish Ministry of Education and getting to meet people with my same passions and interests. 

What have you enjoyed most about your experience? Meeting all of my co-workers and my boss and learning about the opportunity to do this program. It was a big responsibility to support this program, and I loved that they trusted me to do so.

What have you learned about yourself? That working in Spain is a dream of mine, and that I can go to Spain to help teach English. Likewise, that I prefer to have more jobs that require a lot of interaction jobs, rather than office jobs.

What advice do you have for those beginning the internship process? Be yourself when you are getting interviewed. Show your boss what you are capable of doing. And give 100 percent to all tasks that you are assigned. Also, be on time, detail oriented and hard working.

How has the position increased your professional confidence? I think that since this was my first internship, I grew immensely as I learned many things about the working environment, and I was able to network, which led me to my current job at the German American Business Chamber of Commerce.

How has the internship expanded your professional network? It helped me network with other European companies and consulates, and that is how I learned about my current internship. Networking is essential in today’s world and having the opportunity to do so is rewarding.