Use the summer as a chance to gain work experience abroad

Once you get to college, the concept of a long summer break slowly disappears as we all try to find things to do. This is for our personal learning and benefit, often in the hope of making our resumé stand out from the herd. Luckily, going to a big school brings a larger range of opportunities at our disposal, opportunities most of us sadly don’t take advantage of enough.

I learned Purdue offers numerous study abroad programs. This kills two birds with one stone. You get to move forward in college while experiencing a new country. But is going to class in a new country really an experience? When do we get to begin learning outside the classroom, challenge ourselves, and apply everything we learn in a limitless environment?

This brought to light AIESEC Purdue, an organization that partners with AIESEC committees around the world to send students abroad for volunteer and internship opportunities. AIESEC is partnered with the UN to set up projects that align with their global goals of social entrepreneurship, environmental awareness, and youth empowerment.

I got to speak with some of the previous exchange participants and the impact these programs made on them was unique. Not to mention this is quite possibly the only time in our lives we could go for something of the likes.

Matt Benfield, Current staffer at AIESEC USA on a trip to Ukraine

“What appealed to me most was the notion of being a part of something real and making an impact. The chance to learn from your mistakes rather than your GPA.”

Faiz Feroz, sophomore in Aeronautical Engineering

“It was a very exciting cultural experience that made me value the vast differences that a person can experience when engulfing oneself in culture to culture.”

Samantha Ivaturi, junior in Neurobiology and Physiology, in Ghana

Chandrahas Reddy, junior in Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology

“I look back at all these social and professional experiences and am really grateful for the impact it has on me. There are so many stories in Brazil that I have yet to learn. So many more beautiful people I have yet to meet. With two more months left in this amazing country, I look to new experiences everyday.”

The current global goal of AIESEC is 6 week programs aimed to tackle inequality. So when you next worry about how to make the summer great, there’s a whole new world of opportunities to explore. To find out more, you can contact AIESEC at [email protected]