Ali Lawson Vocation Blog

Study Abroad Blog 5: Vocation

For this blog, please explain how studying abroad (at your chosen school, city, country, etc) contributes to your vocational goals.  Research ways you can be involved, or have a leadership role on campus or in your community abroad.  Please outline at least one thing that you will do consciously while abroad to help yourself take one step toward achieving your vocational or career goals and how it will help you. (eg. seeking out an internship, volunteering in your field, field research, taking a specific class)  What skills do you expect to gain that will help you in your future career?

Regardless of where and what I do service/study abroad, I strongly feel that having experience abroad is a crucial facet of any well rounded educational experience. As we have discussed in class, many employees look for this kind of cultural exposure within their potential students. Through my time in Cape Town, I hope to gain experience with adjusting to different cultural norms and dealing with culture shock. I consider being able to cope with culture shock (regardless of how minor or major) as a valuable trait in any organization.

In addition to this, I hope to gain vocational experience working with organizing marketing plans for the non-profit I am assigned to work at. I will gain tangible skills working with a team in a project management setting, as well as gain exposure to articulating a non-profits message through marketing initiatives. These skills, combined with my study of business analytics, will prove very applicable in my pursuit of a career in project management.