Interning and Refining Skills for Spain

Nervous, anxious, and stoked – these feelings overwhelmed me as the stewardess closed the cabin door of the plane whisking me away to Madrid, Spain, for my ten week internship at a boutique mergers and acquisitions firm called ONEtoONE Corporate Finance. As the plane went wheels up off the runway, I had no idea that a quick skip over the Atlantic ocean was the only thing remaining between me and the most unforgettable summer of my life. 

The winter before my internship, before I knew the opportunity existed, I found myself like most SCU students, scouring LinkedIn for Bay Area internships. I was hoping that at one point I’d find a job that would excite me enough to ultimately dedicate my entire summer to – something that would give me energy to start my day as I woke up in the morning in pursuit of my career.

As an Economics major I had naturally found myself with some previous internships in finance roles, so I figured the best route would be to continue this trend. How did I arrive at an internship in Spain though? Well, I’ve been taking Spanish for most of my life, starting in middle school and continuing into college-level classes by my senior year of high school. Upon graduating high school, I figured that would be the end of my Spanish education. That is, until I chose to take on the International Business minor, which lured me back into even more grueling Spanish classes for my four years as a Bronco – little did I know at the time, this would likely be the most important decision I made while at SCU. It was undoubtedly the reason I was offered my internship.

During the process of interviewing with ONEtoONE, the most important factor was proving to them that I could in fact speak, read, and write, in their language. I was required to submit past essays, test scores, and other forms of supplemental evidence from my classes to show my competence. Additionally, I had to prove how my International Business minor would assist me in the analyst role I was applying for by citing past lessons from classes that I had taken in the IB minor, showing how the lessons I learned set me apart from the rest of those applying.

A minor example I used was a lesson on the importance of understanding the nuances of effectively communicating with businessmen and businesswomen from different backgrounds, cultures, beliefs, and values. This was a single lesson from one day in one class my sophomore year at SCU, and it clearly set me apart from the competition, because several weeks later I received a call telling me that I had been selected along with another student from Italy, and two others from Spain.

Fast forward to the end of the summer, I had become fluent in Spanish, well versed in communicating with business owners all across Europe, cultivated an amazing network of foreign contacts that I’m still in touch with to this day, ultimately exiting with hugs and handshakes on my last day with a glowing recommendation from my supervisors in tow. This recommendation was then pivotal in me receiving the job offer from my current employer, Lockheed Martin – Space Systems.

The point I’m trying to make is that the road to success is paved with small, incremental decisions that, when pieced together, ultimately help you arrive at your goals. I would never have received an offer to work at the most advanced defense contractor in the world had it not been for my previous role at ONEtoONE. I would never have gone to Spain for the internship had I not honed my foreign language skills at SCU, and I would not have had the relevant skill set without deciding to take the risk of loading up my schedule with a minor in International Business.

It isn’t an understatement to say that I would not be where I am today without the amazingly talented professors at SCU whose classes are required as part of the International Business curriculum. I took the leap to do the IB minor, and you should too – you’ll be amazed where you might land.