‘Other Perspectives on Business’ As part of the Sydney Internship and Study Abroad Program, Mariam Samuel '20 is taking courses at the University of Sydney and interning at Wheatley Wealth Management.
We arrived in Sydney on a scorching hot day, with a high of 100 and hail! This weather was no deterrent to our expectations, and so far, we have little to no complaints about our time abroad.
Many of the classes at the University of Sydney (USyd) are group oriented. Without the stress of how our marks will affect our GPA, it was a great opportunity to focus on actually working as a group rather than working to get the best marks possible. While I would hate any situation where my group’s performance is an overall blanket grade, it was refreshing to see the types of ideas which spurred from collaboration, without the bickering of grade-related tension.
The class I am in is an information systems class. The class is not as rigorous and encompassing as one at Washington and Lee, but it provided me with the knowledge I would not have received otherwise. There are many other classes taught at USyd which cannot be taken at Washington and Lee. This is a great opportunity to experience other perspectives on business. I would definitely recommend taking at least one class which is not taught at Washington and Lee.
I am interning at Wheatley Wealth Management. This has been the most fulfilling part of my abroad experience. I am gaining insight on a career path which I had never before considered, all while experiencing genuine Australian work-life balance.
A day we had long anticipated, Australia Day is often referred to by the locals as “a dampened 4th of July.” Because we arrived during the summer holiday, we had not had a chance to celebrate with locals. Instead, we celebrated with other American students from Washington and Lee from a different program. This was very exciting and a great opportunity to share perspectives and reflect on how the schools differed.
Now that we have been in Australia for almost a month, we are getting pretty comfortable with the beach trips and sunny skies. We can not wait for the full semester to begin!
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