The final chapter

Dear Readers,

This is the last chapter of a story that started a year ago when I moved to Boston for my Industrial Placement. This story really started years ago when I started to think about the American dream, that dream of living the United States of America for an extended period of time to have that experience that many described as life changing.

 

I remember this moment like it was yesterday, I was sitting in a lecture hall at GCU on my first day of university and the Business Society came to introduce themselves and one of the members mentioned a year long IP he just finished in Boston. The way he described it and seeing how easily he could talk in front of a lecture hall just made me say 'I want to do what he did'. And that was it the beginning of my journey of making my American dream happen during my undergraduate degree.

My first year flew by and then it was the start of my second year and came the time for me to decide where I wanted to apply for my IP. I applied to a few places in Glasgow but my n1 choice was Nu in Boston. I decided that the positions they offered fitted me, so I applied, went through the interview process and that was it, the beginning of my American adventure. 

My Beantown adventure started just over a year ago and I honestly can not believe how fast my time in Beantown has been going. Arrived in Boston June 28th last year on that warm and humid day. I cannot believe how far I have come and how much my time here has shaped me as a working professional and how much it has shaped my personality. Over the past months, I have been asking team members and people I met in Boston how I have changed and they all said the same thing, I become more confident in my work and the way I express myself. 

It's hard to put words on this experience and say exactly how it has shaped the person I am today, a year later. If someone told me just a few year back that by 21,  I would have lived in 3 countries, made friends for life and meet people that have shaped, built and believed in me the way people have over the past 3 years of my life, I would simply not have believed them. My life has now a purpose and I am not afraid of what is coming next. So I don't know how to say thank you to those who have made such a positive impact throughout my journey. 

It's words like the one a colleague wrote last week that make me stronger and when I realized how much the past 12 months have shaped me. It's been an unbelievable experience 
"It is rather easy to praise your commitment to perfection, constant love of learning, ability to follow through, pride in your projects and willingness to help the extended family of Career Services. " 

The few words I will be able to use is that I lived a dream, my dream, my American dream and that not one day will go by with me regretting to go through this incredible and toughtful experience despite all the bumps that were on the road to my dream. 


So thank you Boston & Northeastern University for making my experience spectacular!



Thank you for joining me on this journey, and I hope to see you all really soon!

Best,

Alexandra 

Special time in Boston & finalizing projects ~ week 49

Dear Readers,


I hope you are all doing well, the past two weeks have been flying by and I have been able to finalize some of my projects and I have also turned 21 this week!!

My Industrial Placement is coming to end here in Boston, and I have to admit that I have been thinking a lot about my growth over the past year as well as thinking about what is the future holding. I have been reflecting in the past couple of weeks about how transformative this experience has been not only professionally but also personally. I have realized how much I have been growing through this professional experience, I have learned to manage my expectations of others and what others expect of my work. I have further been able to acquire technical, personal and business skills, including team working, communication, leadership, time- management and business awareness in the higher education sector.  I have been able to understand what is important to me, recognize my weaknesses without hiding behind them but by embracing them, I have been striving for balance,  but also giving and sharing with others.  I strive for perfection by dedicating myself to my work.

It is hard to believe that this journey started 12 months ago but I couldn't have come as far if it wasn't for the support and love of friends, family, and co-worker.

So with that being said, I will make the most of the last 10 days working at Northeastern and will catch you next week for the final chapter of my adventure in Beantown.

Thanks for reading,

Love,

Alexandra

Where is time going? & last month at Northeastern ~ week 47

Dear readers,

I hope that you are all doing well, as I am starting to write this blog entry, I have to admit that I am starting to realize how little time I have left in the US and at Northeastern.
This week has been challenging on a personal level, however, my work has been quieter. Don't get me wrong I still have a lot of work to do as I am entering the last month of my placement in Boston.

As I mentioned in previously in my blog, I have recently worked on creating a complete workshop for Northeastern students returning from a global experience and that want to know to share, sell & network with their global experience.
Creating a workshop has most certainly been a learning process. Creating this workshop I have learned about managing content and learning to make sure that the content is explained right as I will be here to lead the workshop. I have had to explain my vision not only verbally but in writing so that anyone that reads my work would understand the purpose and concept of the workshop. This week I have been putting together the materials that the students should get during the workshop but that would also be available online as a resource, as I am not entirely sure of how often this workshop will be run throughout the year. As I was talking with a colleague our thoughts were that they would go off the feedback from the first group of students as well as the demand that they get.
In the little time that I have left at Northeastern, I will create some of the marketing materials and social postings that will be used to promote the event.

I have learned a lot about my learning style, and how much I can actually create without restrictions, this project has been helping me to create, reflect and learn not only from the Northeastern community but also from my own experience here. This project proved me that I should be more confident in my work as the staff in both departments as really liked my idea and is encouraging me throughout the different steps of this process.

I have further been continuing to do some research for the coordinator in preparation of their different upcoming trips in various countries. By doing the research and contacting some of the employers I realized the consequence and direct impact of the US administration. This directly impact the work my team is doing as the visa are getting more challenging and furthermore some students are concerned with the idea of leaving the United States.  This is challenging as our work end product is to see students going on a global placement.

I can really not believe that this time last year I was getting ready for this unbelievable and life building experience!


Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed and I will be back here really soon to share the last couple of weeks with you! And I have to say that the next couple of weeks are going to be filled with work but also celebrations and trips. 

Love,

Alexandra