Going Global in a Virtual Environment

I’ve always had a passion for travel and learning from a global standpoint. Therefore, I knew that experiencing a new culture was something that I wanted to seek out in college. When COVID-19 hit, my study abroad was cancelled, and I feared that I may never get the chance. This is when I was introduced to Fisher Global Internships, which offered a virtual experience during the summer. I had no idea if I would get a genuine global experience online, but I’m here to report that I left with so much more than I expected from this program.

With the help of Global Academic Ventures, I was paired with Collingridge and Smith Architects located in Auckland, New Zealand. I was their only accounting intern of the summer, tasked with learning to use Power BI and build a KPI Dashboard. I quickly realized that this would be different from any experience that I’ve had before when we began discussing the time zone difference. Most of my typical workday would occur while the rest of the company was still asleep in New Zealand. Therefore, I had to adapt quickly to being an independent worker and taking advantage of the limited time we would all be awake. This gave me an entirely new professional perspective, as I had to learn self-discipline and the best way to communicate what I had been working on in short periods of time.

Each week, we had a full team meeting with the architects as well as my supervisor. This took place on their Monday morning at 9:30am, which occurred on my Sunday night at 5:30pm. It was a great experience to watch the team interact with each other in their own space and taught me a lot about the culture. I learned that Collingridge and Smith Architects places a lot of emphasis on holiday leave to reduce burn out. This way, their employees are more productive in the time that they are present and have more room to enjoy their work. This is something that I hope to bring to my own career in the future, because it was really refreshing to see the passion and care that everyone took to their work. You can genuinely tell that their employees love what they do, versus just “working to work” or “working to survive.” They also take sick leave very seriously, especially with COVID-19 circulating. Employees were constantly encouraged towards good health practices and taking sick leave when unsure.

Along with my weekly team meetings, I had regular one on one meetings with my supervisor. Tiffany Smith is Co-Owner and General Manager of Collingridge and Smith Architects. She was an incredible asset during my experience, who even in limited time made sure that I was always on top of and confident in my work. Not only that, but she also made time to discuss my personal well-being. With the professional conversations we had, we discussed my direct work as well as general lessons on how to be successful in any business. These were beneficial lessons that I’m incredibly excited to take into my career moving forward.

Overall, my global internship helped me advance both professionally and personally. Even in a virtual environment, I feel that I learned and experienced the culture in New Zealand and have a new perspective towards my profession moving forward. That was on top of all the countless knowledge and experience that I gained in the accounting field this summer. Ultimately, I think that anyone who wants a global component to their college career should consider a virtual internship. While this wasn’t my original plan, I left with a lifetime worth of lessons and connections that I look forward to keeping in touch with. I’m incredibly thankful for my experience and look forward to continuing global work in the future.

About the Author: 

Ella Mills is an incoming fourth year in the Fisher College of Business studying accounting. Ella recently interned with Collingridge and Smith Architects based in New Zealand as a management accounting intern. She was able to gain knowledge about accounting and professionalism, as well as how to interact with others in a global setting. Working virtually challenged her with time zone differences and self discipline, which allowed her to gain valuable insight on what it's like working for an international business.