Sara Park’s internship story

Sara Park comes from South Korea and is currently in her senior year with EF Academy New York. She did a summer internship with EF Korea where she had the opportunity to learn more about work life and how she can apply some of the concepts she experienced to her future career. She spoke to us in August and explained why her internship provided her with a valuable opportunity.

What is it like studying at an international school?

I really like being a student in an international school. There are so many students from all over the world and as a person that loves to learn and share cultures, it has become a perfect place for me. I’ve become more open-minded and active while I’ve been attending EF Academy. The friends I’ve made are helping me become the person I want to be. Studying at an international school is like not only learning academic skills, but you also learn so many cultures and new things that you can never experience in regular school.

How was your internship experience?

I had a great time during the internship. Everyone was very nice to me and trusted me to do work. They gave me tasks and I felt like an adult. Also, I started to admire how hard the teachers work and the passion for their job. Looking at them and completing my tasks makes me want to work for a company. Before, I told myself that I am not going to work for a company because it seemed boring to me, but after this internship, my thoughts about it have been changing.

What was your favorite project?

It wasn’t really a project, but consulting with new arriving students or current students was my favorite. Since I like meeting new people, I liked to meet the students and talk about their current problems or future plan about adjusting in the new school. I see many students are having a hard time in school or worrying about new schools and talking to them feels like I am helping them, almost like a counselor.

What were you learning during your internship?

I learned to improve my responsibility and focus on the concentration in my work. It also helped me to cooperate with others while helping the teachers. It’s been very rewarding for me to be a helpful person to them.

How does the internship connect to what you are studying at EF Academy?

The academic skills that I have experienced in school have had the most connection with the internship. I felt like working as an intern was similar to studying as a student, because both involve a lot of work and responsibility.

If I point out one subject I see this similarity in, I would say it’s like Korean Literature because I write a lot of things for both, such as tips for newly arriving students. The writing and speaking skills I’ve learned in that class helped me most.

How does EF Academy help you prepare for university and/or your career?

When I was in 11th grade, I had high expectations about going to good universities but I didn’t know anything about how I should get ready. When I was worried about this, my guidance counselor told me “why don’t you go see your university counselor?” I went there the first time, and I got so much help from her. In regular school, there isn’t a university counselor, just a guidance counselor, and teachers. However, university counselors who only focus on students’ university application helped me a lot to draw my future plan.

How will you apply what you’ve learned during your internship to your future career?

From this two-week experience, I’ve learned how people work and how a company is run. In my future career, if I work for a company, I don’t think I would be unsure about how to begin. Also, something I realized is that I like meeting with people more than sitting at a desk working. This experience has given me some ideas of what I want to do for my future career.