In Fall 2022, while studying abroad at the National Chengchi University (NCCU) in Taiwan, Jarrett Horne interned with Panl, a Singaporean consulting firm focused on social impact projects. He wanted to share the following advice with students interested in interning abroad.
How did you find the internship you did with the Freeman Foundation Grant?
Hey everyone! I found my internship with Panl, a Singaporean international development company through a previous employer and a mentor after doing a good amount of networking and notifying them that I was going abroad to Taiwan. I did have about 6 months of previous internship experience in international development, but I think my biggest draw was that I was fully offering my help for the time I was abroad for free (it usually helps)! What the Freeman grant will pay is far more than you'd earn at almost any internship salary over several months, so you have a big advantage in that regard.
What skills did you develop through this opportunity? How did this opportunity benefit your goals?
Being based in Singapore, the company was staffed by from people all around Southeast Asia. My time in Taiwan was my first time living in Asia as a whole, so being at Panl only helped bolster that experience of working in a different culture which is useful to any student in international affairs. Additionally, I got greater experience using tools common to the international development scene like Egnyte.
What advice do you have for those looking for an internship overseas?
My biggest advice again would be to utilize your unique status when looking for internships. I would have cancelled going abroad if I had not gotten the Freeman Grant and others, so when I was researching positions I was honest with those I talked to that I would be able to work for them for free if I got Freeman, but would have to cancel my time abroad and the internship if I did not.
What got me the job in the end was the fact that I could offer my work for free, and that in my interviews I was able to talk about what I had learned in my 6 months of interning at another international development firm. I was lucky to have that prior experience, but also I am quite sure you can find a number of companies willing to take some free help from an Elliott student.
