Shipping up to Dublin

As I sit here in my family’s suburban Chicago home writing this post, it’s hard to imagine that I will be in Dublin in about 12 hours. I’ll be in Ireland for the Boston University Dublin Management Internship Program until late June, so most of my writing until then will concern travel and culture in Ireland and the rest of Europe. (Note the new banner at the top: Kilkenny, Ireland – home of Smithwicks brewery, “Ireland’s Oldest Ale”.)

When I think about what has lead me to this point experientially and academically, it is not a typical path of the “study abroad student.” I didn’t enter college planning to study abroad –I didn’t want to leave my friends for an entire semester and go to some random country. I think what truly made me want to go abroad is my experiences with Model United Nations at BU.

In the past two years, it became typical to meet people in the fall only to realize they were going abroad in the spring, or for longer than just one semester. In an organization largely populated with international relations majors, it wasn’t atypical for a large crop of upperclassmen to depart for a semester or two.

After really diving into the organization and being on one BarMUN secretariat, I knew I could either lead the next cycle personally, or simply take a break and do the SMG CORE in the fall and go abroad in the spring. Well – as it turned out I did that AND another secretariat, but I don’t regret it.

If I wasn’t going abroad and taking a second business concentration – I could graduate this spring with little difficulty – five classes and maybe one during the summer. However – I think the life experience gained from learning/interning/traveling in Europe will be invaluable.

I’m also of the mindset that unless financial implications are in play, it’s ridiculous to pass up on some of the most unique experiences of your life by graduating early. It’s not all too often that you can focus on learning from such a diverse group of peers and scholars and then spend the weekend being ridiculous with little consequence.

That said – I can’t wait to see Ireland and learn about Europe. Expect to see pictures/commentary within a week or so.