By Sadie Esch Laurent
The BLI grant helped pay for a summer studying and working in Dublin. I interned at a hotel and
took two classes during my two months in Ireland. My main challenge was that my internship
was not as it was initially described. Before starting, I was told certain tasks that I would be
doing and then when I arrived, I was essentially a glorified table busser. This was challenging
because I did not learn anything new and it was frustrating because I was misled on what I would
do with my summer. However, that did not stop me from making the most of my experience. I
was able to utilize multiple BLI habits in this process. Of course, one was to expect challenges. I
went into this experience open-minded, so that I would not be let down by unexpected obstacles
or changes in plans. Additionally, I was able to pause and reflect. During the summer, I
frequently took steps back to review how I was doing. This allowed me to reflect on my classes,
internships, and experiences abroad. Further, I valued differences, especially during my
internship. At my job, my coworkers were from all different places and different backgrounds.
This made my internship very enjoyable, as we got to ask each other many questions and learn
about each other’s stories. This summer abroad was the end of my time as an undergrad, so I plan
to apply many of the skills and lessons I learned from this in the future. I am entering a period of
massive transition, so it will be important to continue to expect challenges and pause and reflect
as I navigate my future. Even more, I hope to focus on the BLI habit of starting small in this next
period. As important as it is to utilize the skills I gained from the summer, it will also be
important to work on my future in small, digestible baby steps.
