After settling in Madrid for a few days and going through the orientation week, led by the Tufts in Madrid Program, it’s time to start my internship for the time that I will be abroad. Before I get into talking about my internship, let me give you a little bit of background information as to how getting an internship works while abroad. The first thing to know about doing an internship while in Madrid, is it can either be counted as volunteer hours and the hours will vary depending on the opportunity, or it can be taken for credit.
There are a tremendous amount of opportunities to apply to while abroad in Madrid, ranging from working in an allergy and asthma clinic to working in a theater production. You can check out all of the opportunities by clicking the link attached to this blog. They are all so incredible, and I have heard only incredible things from my peers. Of course, some of them are more demanding or work-heavy than others, but you are able to apply and see which is the best fit for you. The application process is super simple, thanks to the incredible program directors, specifically, Luis Castilla who is responsible for giving everyone the internship they desire. It all starts off by meeting with Luis, having a fun conversation about all the opportunities, and letting Luis basically get your vibe and see what you are interested in to provide you with the best choice. Ultimately, you send Luis your ranked three choices along with your resume, and then Luis gets to work.
Luis, once again, as incredible as he is, would then reach back to you in a few short weeks to let you know about your acceptance to an internship, and what your next steps could be if you decide to continue. Yes, it’s literally that simple. After your acceptance, your final step would be to have a zoom meeting with Luis and your mentor at the internship or an in-person meeting when you arrive in Madrid. The process is super easy, and you get to gain incredible work experience in either a future career path or simply another world that you wanted to test out.
Now that I am in Madrid, I am doing my internship at a nursery named ABCGo. This nursery is a bilingual preschool, where I am able to work with children between the ages of 4 months to 3 years only. My role at the preschool is to interact with the children in English while playing games, singing songs, dancing, and reading books, in order to provide them with some exposure to the English language enabling them to have an easier transition if they end up learning English as their second language. You go through the whole day with the children playing games, to lunchtime, and then nap time. As a child studying minor and someone who wants to pursue becoming a pediatrician, it is such an incredible experience to be able to see how children’s social skills begin to develop at such a young age. The way younger children are interacting with their peers and comfortability being away from their parents/guardians at a young age before kindergarten. It’s such an incredible opportunity that I am so grateful for, you get to build such meaningful connections with the children, becoming their go-to hide-and-seek partner, while also seeing the interactions between the teachers and the rest of the children, which is so incredible. Also, seeing teachers doing such incredible and meaningful work was just so inspiring that it gives you the motivation to continue making impacts like them. I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity, and if you are deciding on doing an internship in Madrid, do it! You won’t regret it and make it your own experience.