Sophia Marzka, International Internship Program in Seoul, South Korea, Summer 2026
Before this internship, I thought I had a pretty clear idea of what industry I wanted to build my career in. Actually living and working in that industry, in a completely different country, changed that.
It is one thing to study an industry in a classroom or imagine yourself in it based on internships back home. It is another thing to be inside it every day, doing the actual work, and seeing what the day to day really looks like. That experience made me realize that the version of this career I had in my head did not fully match the reality of it. Nothing about it was a bad experience exactly, but it gave me a much more honest picture, and that picture made me start questioning whether this is really the direction I want to commit to long term.
That realization was not easy at first. I came into this program assuming it would confirm my path, not make me question it. But I have come to see that as one of the most valuable parts of studying abroad. I would rather figure this out now, while I still have time to explore other directions, than years into a career that does not fit what I actually want.
At the same time, this experience has given me something I was not expecting: real connections abroad. Coworkers, mentors, and other people I have met here have shown me perspectives on work and life that I would not have gotten otherwise. Those relationships have opened my eyes to paths and opportunities I had not considered before, and I now have people I can reach out to internationally as I figure out what comes next.
So while I came into this program with a fairly fixed idea of my future, I am leaving with something more open, and honestly more useful. I have a clearer sense of what I do not want, a wider network than I had before, and more confidence that it is okay to let an experience like this actually change my direction instead of just confirming what I already believed.
Leave a Reply