Bryce Kilburn
2. Describe a day in your life while interning abroad, including details about your workplace, how you get there, your lunch break, and what time you usually finish your work.
A day in my life as an intern abroad was pretty cool! I would typically wake up around 6:45 am to be ready to leave at 8 am. I worked at the same start up as two other people in Sage Corps so we would meet in the hotel lobby and go to work together so that was a huge plus! After leaving the hotel at 8 am I would then walk to the train station which is very reminiscent of the subway in New York! I took the train to the town station which took about 10 minutes. After that I would walk the rest of the way to work which was about 25 minutes. I loved walking because it was through beautiful Sydney. There was a bus, but I would never take the bus because I’m too impatient for the bus! After all of that I would get to work at about 9 am which is my start time. I loved where I worked! My job had the harbor in its front yard so I was able to go on little walks during the day and sit outside by the water and work on my research. I went to lunch at about 12:30 pm everyday, and I would usually go to lunch with my co-workers or with my friends from Sage Corps. Lunch usually lasted for about an hour. After lunch I would go back to work until about 5:30 to 6 pm and then me and my Sage Corps friends would either walk home together or go do something fun in the city!
3. Was there anything that surprised you about working for a startup or important lessons you took away from the experience?
I really enjoyed my experience working abroad! It was very eye opening and I got to learn about so many things that interested me, not only regarding the specifics of my role. I learned things that I liked and things that I didn’t in a real world global company.
Although I have always known the importance of teamwork, this job really gave me a great understanding of how many roles it takes to make a company move forward!
4. What were the most significant cultural differences you encountered while working in Sydney, and how did you adapt to them during your internship?
I wouldn’t say that there were super significant cultural differences. There wasn’t much I had to adapt to. One thing I loved about my internship specifically is that we treated each other like friends and family. The work environment was amazing and made me feel super comfortable.
5. Can you share some favorite activities, trips or memories from the summer outside of your internship?
Oh gosh where do I start! This summer could possibly be one of the best summers of my life! I felt like I was in a movie the entire time! Other than Sydney, my Sage Corps friends and I went to New Zealand for about 4 days which was amazing. The flight was about 3 hours from Sydney and very affordable. One of the most beautiful places I have ever been. On the first day, four of us went skydiving while the other three went bungee jumpin. Our motto for our New Zealand trip was you only live once so needless to say we lived it up! I had one of the best chicken burgers I have ever had in my life so if you ever happen to find yourself in New zealand, Queenstown specifically go to the restaurant Fergburger it’s amazing. In New Zealand we also hiked the mountains, and did multiple scenic drives. On one of our late nights in the mountain I saw 3 shooting stars. Crazy right?
Another one of our trips was to Whitsundays Islands in australia. We flew for about 3 hours. We went to Whitsundays islands for the beautiful whitehaven beach and to scuba dive in the great barrier reef. We stayed there for about 3 days and it was amazing. The second day we were there we went on a 9 hour boat ride / tour which took off to the white haven beach that literally looked like Fiji. We also snorkeled on that boat ride too and we got the chance to swim with nemo and his friends! Also In Sydney we made many great memories, from laughing and talking on the roof top to going out and having a great time. We walked through the botanical gardens, had lunch by the Sydney Opera House, took the ferry to Manly Beach, and so much more!
6. What advice would you give to someone thinking about interning in Sydney in the future?
Do it!!! It will be the best thing you ever do!
