How Interning Abroad Changed My Semester and Career Path
As I sat in my room, surrounded by my new roommates, I tried to explain the struggle I was facing: I didn’t know if I wanted to intern abroad. Unfortunately, it took travelling all the way to Florence and starting classes and my internship for me to have this realization.
Setting the Scene
My name is Aoife and I am a communications student at Ithaca College. I am a confident, career-driven person. After getting accepted to study abroad in Florence in the summer of 2025, I was ecstatic about the amazing opportunity ahead of me. Ignoring the advice of some, I decided to participate in an internship placement while abroad. I was confident that the experience would be a great benefit for me and my resume. As I got closer to my arrival date, my excitement only grew. However, once I arrived in Florence and began my program, my confidence began to falter.
I wasn’t sure if the internship program was right for me. I started to see some of the sacrifices that I would need to make in order to be a working student, and I got overwhelmed. I had a very hard time coming to terms with these new feelings. During this period, I was in the CEA CAPA office often, contemplating leaving the internship program. I decided to list out the pros and cons of the program to help me put my feelings into words.
If you find yourself in a similar position as you consider whether you want to just study or study and intern abroad, whether you are looking at applying or you have already been accepted into an internship program—I hope this helps you navigate the positive and challenging aspects of the experience as I saw it.
Me at my internship placement, wearing my new professional clothes.
Benefits
The internship program abroad is an incredible opportunity. A chance to gain experience in your line of work is invaluable. Beyond boosting your work experience, you stand out as a unique student who took on the challenge of interning abroad. It communicates not only that you have the hard skills required for the job, but the soft cultural skills to be a good communicator, collaborator, and thought leader.
A delicious cookie/brownie treat brought by my coworker.
Applying to internships at home can be an arduous task, and CEA CAPA’s personalized placement matching process takes the weight off of your shoulders. You are given the chance to gain work experience in a range of career fields you choose without the struggle and uncertainty of the application process. Beyond job experience, you will connect with locals and learn about how they live, eat, and work. Exploring a new work culture helps give you context for the work environment you strive to be a part of.
Pizza for lunch around the corner from the office.
Challenges
While the program has lots to offer, it also comes with some challenges that can affect other aspects of your experience abroad. 20 hours at your internship per week may not seem like much. However, balancing an internship with classes, homework, and the desire to travel, explore, and learn can be difficult. While other students may have fewer than 12 credit hours, your schedule may seem significantly different. You will likely be interning on Fridays, and you’ll be one of very few who has to. This makes it harder to travel- but not impossible. It can be hard to watch others around you take days off, travel for extended periods of time, sleep in, and enjoy their relaxed schedules.
The street I interned on.
Being a student intern requires sacrifices in your social and emotional life, and it can be very tiring. You will be taking one fewer class in order to intern and take the internship course, which may ease your schedule, but it does restrict your chosen course electives.
Many people use their semester abroad as an opportunity to focus on their personal growth in and out of the classroom. They use opportunities in their city and around the globe to expand their horizons and enrich their life. Being an intern does not close these doors for you, but it does mean you have to be more intentional about how you open them.
Took a brisk walk during my lunch hour.
A beautiful sky at my bus stop on the way home.
My Takeaway
I hope my input can guide your decision and help you acclimate to this experience. I personally believe that the internship program is hard work, but worth it, and I’m glad I persevered and stuck with the internship. While there may be some sacrifices, the payoff is significant. I was very lucky with my placement to get put with amazing people who gave me valuable work experience. Working at a communication agency helped me realize the next steps I wanted to take in my career, and the kind of work environment that I would flourish in. The hardest part of the experience was accepting that my semester would be different than those studying abroad around me – in both positive and challenging ways.
More treats brought by my coworkers.
If you are still struggling with this decision, I can try to simplify:
If you are looking for short-term happiness, choose to study abroad without an internship!
If you are looking for long-term happiness, success, and satisfaction, choose to study abroad with an internship!
Either way, I hope you make the most of this opportunity, and realize its worth beyond the semester you spend abroad. Safe travels, and good luck!
At the end of semester CEA CAPA mixer that I attended with my internship boss.
This post was written by Aoife Hartigan, an Alumni Ambassador from Ithaca College who studied abroad in Florence, Italy.
