Summer 2016: the utopian summer that stole my heart. Instead of stressing over some dream sophomore internship (which really don’t even exist), I decided to pack my bags and head to Cape Town, South Africa to spend 8 weeks with iXperience.
iXperience is a program that originated in Cape Town (now expanded to Lisbon and Berlin), where students from around the world come to take a 4-week class of their choice. The class is then followed by a 4-week internship which allows you to apply what you learned in class to the real world. It’s the perfect intersection of an intensive educational program (without the pressure of grades and exams), an international internship and unparalleled excursions and activities.
During my time in Cape Town, I studied Wall Street Finance which led to an internship at Riscura: an investment decision support company. I was in the office anywhere from 6-8 hours per day, and each day I was assigned a task that was an integral part of what my team was working on. Whether I was running Comparable Company Analyses or doing economic research, I learned a vast amount of different aspect of finance that I still use today.
While I wasn’t in class or at work, I was living the adventurer’s dream. I went sky diving, shark cage diving, surfing, hiking, abseiling, (witnessed) bungee jumping and went on a wildlife safari. I was challenging my fears on a daily basis, which pushed me outside of my comfort zone and created everlasting memories.
8-weeks flew by in the blind of an eye. It was hard coming home from a summer where I felt like I escaped reality, but the truth behind it was that I was experiencing reality. I was experiencing the reality of learning things I was interested in, the reality of working at a company that gave me tangible and impactful work and the reality of being surrounded by the most incredible people, who have now become lifelong friends. It was truly an exhilarating summer that cannot be replicated.
For more information visit: http://ixperience.co.za/
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