Great Experience for My First Time Abroad

With the pandemic shuttering the global opportunities I planned to attend through my college, I applied to GE to try and still go abroad before graduation. I’m happy to say it was a great experience!

I appreciated how GE helped prepare me for an internship by looking over my resume and having me take a quiz to find my strengths and build a cover letter around them. This was a great addition to the program and something I intend to use to apply for jobs in the workforce beyond the GE program. My advisor was great about answering my questions and making sure all of my paperwork was finished in time to depart.

A minor complaint of mine is that GE has no transportation from the airport to your flat. As someone who’d never flown on a plane, didn’t know how tubes worked, and had been up for over 24 hours traveling, it was difficult to navigate from the airport to my flat, even though I’d brought a map of the city to help. The housing itself was quite nice, with air conditioning, private bathrooms, and being right next to a grocery store and having two tub stations nearby.

Regarding my internship, I was with a great company and learned a lot as a content writer, but I did apply for public relations first and journalism second, and though I didn’t mind my placement at all, if future students are looking for a specific job rather than a broad placement, they may be a bit disappointed.

The best part of my program was by far Gregg and Shani, who were very kind and prompt in responding to my questions and concerns. When I got sick during the program, Gregg was great about giving me information on what doctor offices my student insurance covered and what papers I needed to fill out. Also, many of the places Gregg took the group were not tourist destinations, but niche places you’d never know about unless you had someone from the area with you. This was great, and really added to the experience in a way I wouldn’t have gotten had I come to London on my own without GE.

I also enjoyed how Gregg and Shani showed us students a PowerPoint of how we would feel throughout our stay during Orientation—from the initial excitement to understandable fatigue to adapting to your new environment. When I did find myself slipping into the “understandable fatigue” stage, it really helped to know that my feelings were a natural part of going to a different country and would improve—which they soon did.

Overall I would recommend GE as a solid option for building your work portfolio abroad. I never felt like I was in danger walking around the city, and was able to do a lot of sightseeing on the weekends! Considering it was my first time abroad, GE was great about preparing me for what to expect and offer help if I needed it.