Andy is a second year SHU student studying International Business.  This summer he went on the trip of a lifetime working at Camp Carolina in the USA. 

After successfully applying for The Cantor Global Mobility Bursary Scheme, Andy attended the USA Summer Camp presentation on campus at SHU and started the trip of a lifetime!

What did he get up to?

"I spent my summer internship at an all boys summer camp in North Carolina, USA. I spent in total 11 weeks here from May till August which was great as it was a perfect amount of time to fill up my whole summer before I returned to University, I found out about this experience through a visitor at the university from a company called USA Summer Camps/Camp Leaders, I then quickly applied when I found out how much of an awesome summer I'd be having! I spent all 11 weeks working in the office, behind the scenes at camp, which is what I wanted as I did not want to be within direct contact of the kids, however the camp also had a camp store which was open twice a day, I operated this which gave me an opportunity to interact with kids, which I actually enjoyed! I also got the opportunity to partake in a few of the activities that they did at camp, including sea kayaking and horse riding.

The reason for choosing this internship was mainly because it tied in well with my degree choice, I study international business so I jumped at the chance to work in an office in the United States, I also recognised that international employment is very much wanted in today's job market and also because who else wouldn't want to spend 11 weeks living and working in the greatest country of them all! I also didn't want to return home during the summer and have nothing to do, id rather be away working somewhere and gaining experience.

In the office I typically just did 'office work' I mostly answered the phones, speaking to parents and resolving any issues they had and I was mainly the main point of call for the staff members if they needed any issues and help with 'office stuff' I also had the task of reading every single letter that the counsellors sent to the parents, these were called mommy letters and had to be proof read and scanned every week, I also had the task of running errands around town and the cities.

The cantor bursary has helped a lot as during your first time at camp you don't tend to earn a huge wage as the camp has to pay high fees to get you there, the bursary helped fill the gap off the wage that you would earn when returning to camp, if you decided to go as a 'returner' - it also gave you that added extra funds to spend on travelling around America once you finished camp, something I did not do but will return in a few years to complete.

Camp Carolina was a life changing 11 weeks for me, I learned so much about myself and met so many amazing people from all over the world, I've gained confidence and leadership skills and now flourish when doing tasks, it was very tiring and hard work but you push through and reap the awards in the end, you sometimes just have to take a step back and look around and realise where you are and it all hits home, what an amazing place you are in with amazing people, I would return in a heartbeat!

Overseas work experience is an amazing option you can do while at university, it's an amazing life changing experience and you gain so much from it, so many new skills, new found confidence and you get to live in some amazing places and meet so many incredible people, now is the best chance to see the world while you have the opportunities, I hope to gain more overseas work while I am at university."

Inspired? Get global work experience to help you stand out in the job market.  Apply for an overseas internship via the Internships tab in the jobs section of UniHub

Keep an eye out for bursary and internship funding and if you have any queries, please contact the SHU Careers and Employability Team on 0114 225 3940.