How would you like to study and intern in London for a semester? Join Westminster’s Undergraduate Semester Internship Study Abroad Programme and you can do just that! The programme is coordinated between the University’s Education Abroad team and Westminster Business School’s Business Experience Team and is a great chance to gain valuable, credited work experience in the UK. To give you a flavour of the experience, we are interviewing participants of the programme to find out what they got up to. Thanks to Melissa Rodriguez for this interview and for sharing her story with us!

Hi Melissa, could you please introduce yourself to our readers?

Hello! I’m Melissa and I’m a Junior at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois majoring in Marketing. Whilst studying for a semester at Westminster, I was a Marketing Intern at Amity Communications, a small but mighty translation company. 

Why did you choose to study abroad for a semester?

I don’t have a precise reason as to why I came to study in London. A lot of people have a list full of reasons as to why they made the journey to this lively city, but I can’t come up with anything aside from the fact that it just called to me, as cliché as that might sound. Maybe Hogwarts was calling? 😉 A very influential reason why I chose to study in London at Westminster Business School however, was because of the internship opportunity that they provide. Having any internship on your resumé is a valuable thing to have, but being able to include an international internship on your resumé is worth even more. Having the privilege of putting international experience on a piece of paper is also amazing. Beyond that, attaining new global knowledge and skills from working abroad was something I wanted to have for myself, an experience I highly recommend. So maybe after all that’s what drew me to London.  

And what about your study experience at Westminster?

Studying at Westminster was an experience itself. Coming in I didn’t have any expectations on what to expect in the classroom. I enjoyed immersing myself in the UK University lifestyle and engaging with other students. Sitting in large lecture halls was something that I got accustomed to, along with the smaller seminar classroom environment. I definitely learned from this that I enjoy the seminar environment: having interaction with the teachers and getting their insights into the topics they teach and simply having one on one conversations with them. The teachers here are definitely here to help you! I also learned things I liked about it and even things I wasn’t so keen about. However, all of that in itself emphasized and enriched the experience I had here. 

Can you tell us more about your internship experience?

Personally, I enjoyed interning at Amity Communications and the experience I had there was special. Before interning there I had the mind-set that I would never like to work in front of a computer screen for lengthy periods of time. However, that is what I found myself doing at Amity Communication as I worked on their email marketing campaigns, updating campaign data, and researching and writing content for the company’s blog. What I learned through this experience was that I did not mind sitting in front of a computer screen and didn’t find myself burning out because of that. I enjoyed the work environment in the office and the personalities of my co-workers that were all different but fun. This ultimately influenced the positive experience I had and helped me to become more confident in the work place.          

Would you recommend the programme to other students?

There are very few chances to study, work and immerse yourselves in a city like London so I would totally recommend this program to other students who are interested in getting this experience.

What were your highlights of living in London? 

My highlights in London included the following: mastering how to use the Tube, meeting amazing individuals who are now long life friends, meeting and working with exceptional professionals, falling in love with the parks in London, enjoying all the amazing markets London has and most importantly enjoying walking everywhere.  London is your Oyster(Card)! When I wasn’t in class or immersing myself in the UK business sector I was talking strolls through Regents Park up to Primrose Hill, gazing at art collections at the numerous National Museums, or enjoying the company of the lovely friends I made abroad.

Do you have any future career plans?

After I graduate next June I plan on getting a marketing or communications job in either a small company, because I enjoyed working in a small company in London, or somewhere within the entertainment business. But we shall see what the future has planned!

Thank you again to Melissa Rodriguez for sharing her experiences with us! To find out more about Westminster’s Undergraduate Semester Internship Study Abroad Programme please visit our Education Abroad webpage or read our other blogs in this series!