IES Internships - Barcelona Summer Internship

About 13 years ago, my family and I moved to the United States as refugees. Growing up, I've always wanted to work for a non-profit that focused on refugees and migrants. That is why I chose Global and International Studies as my major, and it's been the best decision. Getting the opportunity to go to Spain was unbelievable for me. As an intern at Bienestar y Desarrollo Association, which is Spanish for Welfare and Development Association, I received a very warm welcome since the first day, and never felt like I did not belong there. As the first non-Spanish speaker to be hired as an intern, it was an honor and I also never felt like an outcaste or out of the loop. Co-workers who did not speak English would still greet me and make me feel very comfortable. That is what I appreciated the most. The work environment was very comforting, which made communicating much better and easier. I was never scared to ask for help or anything. Through all the professional work, coffee breaks, and simply speaking with other co-workers, without a doubt, I grew both personally and professionally at ABD. As an intern, in many places, you can end up having to do the same task for a very long time, which gets very boring and tedious. However, I was given various tasks, and that allowed me to challenge myself and get out of my comfort zone. Some of the things I had to do were new to me, but was very educational. It was interesting because the tasks mainly depended on the project that was being created at the time or the main focus, and so my responsibilities include, but not limited to, searching for possible funding opportunities in the EU, possible partners for collaboration, assisting with creating projects (Food Relations and COOLtoRISE), and proofreading/revising documents. Also, because the work environment was much more relaxed as opposed to the US, where everything is more scheduled and at ABD, it was more at flow, I was able to find my pace and work comfortably. I was able to get a lot of tasks completed. I am very proud of all the work that I did, and I hope that my work was very beneficial and helpful to the organization. The two months I spent in Spain were definitely amazing and Barcelona will always have a special place in my heart.

My experience studying abroad this past summer in Barcelona, Spain was the most amazing thing I have done so far in my lifetime. I had always wanted to study abroad and did not know it was possible for many reasons. With the help of my advisors at my home institution and my family, I was able to make this dream a reality and the rest is history! I learned so much from this experience and felt myself grow as an individual each and every day. I went abroad alone, but quickly after touching down in Spain I made life-long friends and memories I will never forget. I don't have any complaints from this experience, everything about it was amazing. The staff at IES were my family, and were there for me each and every day. They were our friends, but at the same time respected people that I knew I could go to for help. I traveled to other amazing places on the weekends with the friends I made in my roommates, who quickly became my support system. While I was abroad, my best friend's brother passed away, and I also sprained my ankle badly and had to miss out on some days at my internship. I faced hardship during those months, but my support system in my roommates and the staff at IES were the reason I was able to get through. I learned so much about the world, and about culture and more importantly, that there was nothing I could not do! There is no better organization to study abroad with, or a better city to study in than IES and Barcelona. I will never forget the memories made there, the places I visited or the people I met. GO ABROAD!! It'll be the best decision you'll ever make.

The 2 months I spent in Barcelona were some of the best in my entire life. I was able to get a great balance of working, exploring the city, and meeting new people. I would highly recommend Barcelona as a city to study abroad in. There is so much to do there that it is impossible to get bored.