The holiday season is in full swing -- and everyone’s favorite day of family, football, food, and giving thanks is almost here. At the Global Experiences’ headquarters, we asked ourselves, “what part of their international experience would our interns say they were most thankful for?” From experiencing a new culture, to making lifelong friends, and of course an amazing professional experience, there’s so much to choose from.

So, we asked them! It warmed our hearts to receive a wide range of amazing answers from past interns from different career fields and from our different host cities. Read on for 13 testimonials from some of our thankful alum.

For decades, researchers thought anyone could find happiness as long as they could buy whatever their heart desired. Being able to buy the big house, the shiny car, or the next great tech gadget meant you were able to buy happiness. A 20-year study by a Cornell University professor is shattering this idea and shows the importance of investing in experiences over things.

This weekend marks the end of our summer 2018 internship programs - our largest program season to date! One of the best things about what we do and why we do it, is hearing stories and testimonials from interns once they’ve finished their internship abroad program and reflected on their experiences. Hearing how their internship taught them about new cultures, their career path, and life. How they’ve grown, met life-long friends, and much more.

Here’s what 11 summer interns had to say: interning abroad changed their lives.

1 year. 10 international locations. 18 career fields. 28 intern Snapchat takeovers.

Bryanna W., a Junior from the University of Southern California, completed a fashion business internship in Milan this summer! Studying Business Administration, our GE Alumni Ambassador has always known she wants to end up in the fashion industry and used this summer as a stepping stone to her future plans - to own her own fashion company!

Commonly referred to as “The City”, New York City is a true concrete jungle. The largest city in the western hemisphere, New York is teeming with opportunities for those trying to seek advancements in their careers. For Maggie C., a senior at SUNY - Potsdam, New York City was a perfect place for her to explore her major in communications. 

It’s almost our favorite day of the year to eat, drink, and wear stretchy pants. Pre-food coma, there’s always that one family member that suggests for everyone to go around the table to share what they are most thankful for in the past year. Around our office we wondered, “what would our Global Experiences alumni say?”

Going abroad to another city without family or friends was an exciting step for Morgan, our London Art Gallery intern, during our Fall 2017 semester. Studying Political Science with a Minor in Art History, she wanted to get a feel of what it would be like to work in a museum. After completing her internship she tells us, “one career path I was thinking of was to eventually become a curator, and this internship is really good exposure since it is showing me more of the tasks people working in the museum industry perform.” In a city with so much history and a variety of museums and art galleries, why wouldn’t you choose London?!

Any Spaniard worth his siesta has partied in Ibiza. And any tourist worth his tapas has run with the bulls in Pamplona. So of course Elon University junior Ben D. had to cross both of those off his bucket list when he did a Global Experiences program in Barcelona this summer.

When you think of your child’s future career, what do you see? What profession are they in? Are they happy? Perhaps as a parent, the focus is too much on the long-term goal. As important, the focus should be - how can you advise and support your child to get there?