Submitted by Lauren Brooks on the 2022 spring semester program in Paris, France…
If there’s anything I’ve learned from studying abroad, it’d definitely be that having prior expectations can greatly shift the nature of your experience. I’m currently participating in an eight-week internship with the Financial Times in Paris. I’ve just finished my first week and it has definitely been a very pleasant surprise. Prior to my arrival in France, I had a few preconceptions of what corporate culture was from hearing stories of interns from other large companies. It’s not uncommon for an intern to reference a stressful work-life balance, inflexible management, or unstimulating administrative work. While I don’t assume all corporate internships take this form, I knew that there could be less extreme, but similar elements.
Healthy work-life and company culture is something that I prioritize and take note of searching for internships. When I was interviewed by my current supervisor, Nikola Peros, I came to know the Paris office as a small and very friendly community. The work from my understanding would be providing sales support that could tie into their projects with fashion companies.
I’ve just completed my first week and the past few days have blown my preconceptions away. The team has been very supportive and includes me in project planning and status meetings. The team jokes, laughs, and goes out to lunch together. Although they mostly speak French with each other, they speak in English other times so that I can be active in the conversation. This has also motivated me to practice speaking and learning more French. I hope that by hearing French each day in the office with the combination of my French class lessons, I’ll be able to speak in French with them more often. We’re off to a good start! I can’t wait to look back on all that I’ve learned over the course of this internship experience.