Last Days-Sophie Henssler

I am sad to leave London. It has been an amazing experience. I had so much fun with my 26 GLS colleagues and I look forward to what UT has in store for us this Fall.

Cherry Blossoms at Portobello Market

Portobello Market

On my last day of internships my supervisor and I had lunch at the Parlour at Fortnum & Mason.

Ice cream at the Parlour in Fortnum & Mason

Travel Channel Reboot -- Ashton Banta

As this Monday passed, it felt so foreign to not to hop on the bus to Victoria and scan into the Travel Channel building!  I have seriously had the most amazing internship experience I could ever have hoped for.  

I may have jumped around my flat shouting for joy when I found out that I was working for the Travel Channel ('may have' being the operative phrase) because, frankly, I'm addicted to its shows back home.  I soon learned that this Travel Channel is actually a different channel entirely, but has recently been bought out by the same parent company that owns the US version.  

Over the course of my six weeks with the Travel Channel, I was given the opportunity to research information for some short-form programs, write the scripts for those programs, and then assist in the production and editing process.  It was an incredibly unique experience and I was so thrilled that my bosses liked my work enough to use it in a real program!  I got to leave a real mark on the UK, in the form of some Travel Channel programming.  

My job, my coworkers, my entire internship experience was so amazing that I'm incredibly sad to be leaving.  I've learned so much in such a short time and I truly could not have asked for anything better!  So long, Travel Channel...you have, if possible, made me even a bigger fan than before!

Last day in the original Travel Channel office!

New office in Victoria!

 

Only 2 More Weeks- Sarah Bishop

Can’t believe we have exactly two weeks remaining on this once in a lifetime adventure. I remember everyone telling me that it would be over before I knew it, but I didn't believe them until now! I have been cherishing every moment here, but since it’s so close to being over I am doing anything and everything to enjoy these last few weeks. This past weekend, a bunch of us went sightseeing in Cardiff, Wales. The weather was beautiful, so it was the perfect day out. We saw the Cardiff Castle and even rode a water taxi to Cardiff Bay. Cardiff was a super cute little town, and made me miss my little town back home! On Sunday, a few of us decided to go to Speaker’s Corner at Hyde Park. This is a famous area where people gather to discuss and debate anything they want. It was pretty funny how crazy some of the speakers were. We then rented bikes and rode around Hyde Park. Best decision ever! It was another gorgeous day, and perfect for a bike stroll through the beautiful Hyde Park.

Work is staying very very busy! I am now working on a portfolio analysis for the project I have been helping with. I am taking the top clients that make up the top 80% of revenue and compiling this into an analysis to present to the head of the trade department. There are 6 different clusters which are broken down into 40 countries, so I am working with a lot of my colleagues to get all the information needed. I talked with a guy in Dublin today that said my analysis I did yesterday for Western Europe was “beautiful”, which was a huge confidence booster! I never would have thought I’d be doing everything I am as an intern, but I love every minute of it. With only one week of internships left, I am learning all I can about the workplace with this amazing first-hand experience.  

Georgia, Me, Caitlin, and Jillian in Cardiff

Cardiff Castle 

Bike riding through Hyde Park

Tate Museum and the 159th Annual Boat Race - Amanda Prevost

Cheerio!! I hope my classmates have been informing everyone on all of our adventures. There sure have been a lot of them, and I can hardly believe we only have a few weeks left in this amazing part of the world. Like my peers, I took advantage of the four day weekend we had for Easter! The Brits call it "bank holiday" simply because the bank is closed... Of course, none of us minded getting off work!

Friday, I went out to Brighton with a few friends. We saw the beach for the first time in what seems like forever. Even if it had small rocks instead of sand granules, still counts as a beach!! We had a nice lunch and roamed the city a bit. It may not sound eventful, but honestly it was just nice to explore the UK more and see an area outside the crowded city streets of London. It still amazes me that essentially any city is just a train ride away. Saturday, Sydney and I decided to explore and went over the bridge to the Tate Museum of Modern Art. Like with all modern art, we couldn't help but question some pieces. But that's the fun of it, isn't it?

A simple mirror. While very reflective, this piece is still questionable.

View crossing the Millenium Bridge

After an incredibly contemporary Easter Sunday church service (complete with breakdancers and a music video), a group of us headed out to a new part of town for one of the UK's oldest traditions. The 159th Annual Cambridge Oxford Boat Race has been bringing students and spectators to the Thames for, well, 159 years now. It was a very lively scene, very community-oriented. It reminded me a bit of the parades and festivals I used to attend with my family back at home. Vendors lined the sidewalks and event swag was being given out every 20 feet or so. The event's theme was "Which Blue are You?," so we all chose a flag in one of the two shades. I chose Cambridge, partially because it was a beautiful blue, and partially because it was Cambridge. Oxford won in the end, but it was nice to be a part of the excitement and an event that isn't necessarily touristy, but can only happen in London.

My Cambridge support flag!! And a nice photobomb delivery from Sam

Cambridge and Oxford rowing!

Monday, I toured Warner Bros Studios with Sydney, Andrew, and Ryan! Probably one of the most amazing experiences I've had yet. My inner (and outer, really) Harry Potter nerd was in full force, and my camera's memory card nearly filled up.

Again I say: I can hardly believe we only have a few weeks left here. Time to get exploring!! I know I've already made my list... Cheers!

Long Weekend-Sophie Henssler

Instead of heading out of the city for a day trip, I went to the more residential parts of London. After getting away from the main transport routes of the tube, I was mostly alone in the station.

Alone on the station at 2 pm on Sunday

After exploring the different architecture. I went to Holland Park, it has a Kyoto garden, while walking to the garden a squirrel really wanted to be photographed and to eat more nuts. 

The squirrel

Feeding a squirrel

 In the Kyoto garden I was welcomed with an amazing sight. The Peacock was walking around and showing itself off to all the people who were taking a walk.

Peacock

The famous regatta between Oxford and Cambridge took place on Sunday. It was an amazing experience.

Oxford vs. Cambridge, Photo credit goes to Rickey Dandridge

Easter Weekend- Sarah Bishop

I am interning at Citigroup in the Trade Services Department. Citi definitely puts the global aspect in Global Leadership Scholars. My boss is from India, and many of my co-workers are from different places around the world (including me!). I am working with my boss on a major migration project from the loans department to trade. One of my first days at work, my boss told me that I would be working on a 20 million dollar project across 40 different countries. Talk about diving into this internship experience head first. I am really enjoying the work atmosphere, and am learning a lot about how the workplace functions. I actually taught my boss how to use something in Excel today, so that was exciting! Who would have thought that this small town girl would be working in one of the biggest cities in the world, let alone one of the biggest banks in the world!

My desk at work

View from the 13th floor

My official Citi pass

This weekend was an extended 4 day weekend because of Easter. We took advantage of these days off work and visited the cities of Dover and Hampton Court. Dover is known for its white cliffs that are made of chalk. While there, we visited Dover Castle and toured a secret underground tunnel that was used during WWII. On Monday, we went to Hampton Court Palace, where King Henry VIII lived. This was very interesting and told a lot about the history of the king and his many wives. We also had a great day on Sunday celebrating Easter. Our flat went to St. Paul's Cathedral for Easter worship service. It was definitely a cultural experience and a beautiful way to celebrate Easter Sunday. After church, we spent the afternoon dying eggs, watching Duck Dynasty, and cooking for our all-American  Easter dinner. I must say that the dinner was a huge success! I cannot believe that we only have three more weeks in this incredible city. The time has flown by and I don't want this experience to end. It is starting to hit us that we are approaching the end, so we will be taking advantage of every moment these next three weeks.

Jillian, Me, Caitlin, and Georgia at Dover Castle

Our delicious Easter Dinner

Girls in front of Hampton Court Palace

Four Day Weekend Adventures- Liza Reineri

For the four day weekend, many of us spent the time off work exploring the different parts of London, relaxing, and catching up with everyone else on their internships.

On Friday, a group of us spent the day in Brighton, a little beach town on the English coast. It was surprisingly sunny and a nice getaway from London's hustle and bustle. We had a great lunch at a local cafe, walked along the beach, and saw the city's main attractions.

Saturday I spent the day exploring the city on my own. I started the afternoon walking through Fitzrovia, a neighborhood nearby that is famous for its historical literature and artistic ties. I was able to see the flat in Fitzroy Square that George Bernard Shaw and Virginia Woolf once lived in, and also visit the Fitzroy Tavern, a local pub George Orwell used to frequent. Also in the neighborhood is the Adobe Europe office, Fashion Retail Academy, BBC Studio, and multiple other graphic design and arts headquarters. All the buildings had really neat architecture and seemed very out of place compared with the rest of the city. After a quick lunch break at a local cafe, I visited Primrose Hill (London's Lakeshore equivalent) and took some time to relax and read a book outdoors, just like I used to back at home.

For Easter Sunday, a group of us went exploring in Shoreditch, the "hippier" area of London. Since many businesses are closed for the holidays, we wandered through the streets and admired the local artwork and shops. We grabbed brunch at a restaurant/live music joint called The Book Club, and spent the rest of the afternoon people watching, catching up on our internship experiences, and looking forward to our summer plans.

All around, it was a really relaxing weekend that was greatly needed. Since internships have begun, we do not see our flatmates or neighbors as often, so it was nice to take a few days off and catch up with the group. It still hasn't hit me that its April and the end is near...

Day trip to Brighton and the coast

George Bernard Shaw and Virginia Woolf's home

George Orwell's favorite hang out

Streets of Shoreditch

Me, Andrew, and Alex at The Book Club

Ashton and Rob at The Book Club

Beachy Head- Rob Graham

I was online this Saturday and saw the above picture with the caption "Beachy Head, England". Ignoring the fact it had more photoshop done to it than Hollywood has plastic surgery, I was curious to see where this beautiful nature scene was located. It turned out to be on the southern coast of England; I checked to see if there were any trains that headed in that direction and found one going to the small coastal town of Eastbourne, only an hour and a half away.

So on a whim, Maxx, Tate, Heidi, Carly, and I took off on a train to Eastbourne. This was the first trip I planned, so naturally, it was almost a complete disaster.

I take the southern service train to work (about 30 minutes away) and use my oyster card (tube/subway pass that you can top up with money) for all of my trips. I assumed that the oyster card worked for all southern service train rides, and didn't even worry about it as we scanned in and got on board. When we got off and tried to scan out in Eastbourne, our cards weren't working. Apparently, you can use your Oyster card to get to a certain distance outside the city before it stops working. The people working the gate were friendly, laughed at our American misfortune, and gave us a break on the price for our tickets. 

After we made it out of the train station, it was time to figure out how to get to the cliffs. We asked around and got the general direction. The plan was walk to the coast and follow it until we got there, taking some pictures and enjoy the fact we were seeing sunlight for the first time in awhile. We finally asked an older gentleman how long to Beachy Head from the city center, he responded "Well, 12 miles and the average person walks 3 miles an hour so maybe about 4 hours," I swear it looked closer from google maps.

We laughed, grabbed some lunch in town, and decided to split a taxi to take us to the chalk cliffs of England. After walking around, enjoying the scenery, and realizing how lucky we were...

we made it with plenty of time and caught the beginning of the sunset. This day definitely gets chalked up as one of the best. Can't believe how lucky I am to be in this place and have the opportunities that are around me.  And the scenery is just as magnificent without the photoshop.  

Harry Potter! Andrew Currey

Sorry for not blogging in forever!  We have all been so busy since our internships have started.  Working 40+ hours a week is exhausting, so we know now what all of our parents are talking about when they complain about their jobs.  

Today Ryan, Amanda, Sydney, and I all went to the Warner Brothers Harry Potter studio.  This was one of my favorite things I have done in London so far.  Although it doesn't have anything to do with London or British culture, Harry Potter was a huge part of my childhood.  Many in our class grew up reading the books and watching the movies, so we have developed a deep connection to this story.  

Excited for the tour while waiting in line at the studio!

Ryan and I battling it out with our wands.  Obviously I won.

The model of Hogwarts that they used for filming.

Next weekend many of us are going to Cardiff, Wales, and we are excited about that!  6 hours total that day all on a Megabus together will definitely bring back memories of Edinburgh.  With only 23 days left in London, I am trying to take advantage of every last moment.  I cannot believe how fast this semester has flown by! 

Weekend Bus Tour - Georgia Ralston

This past weekend a group of us took a bus tour to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Bath.  Despite freezing cold temperatures the trip was very fun and packed with interesting things to see.  Our first stop was Windsor Palace. The Queen happened to be in, but sadly, we did not spot her out and about the castle ( I don't blame her because it was SO cold and snowing).  Some things we did get to see at Windsor included Queen Victoria's Doll house and the place of burial of Henry VIII.  Next we ventured to see the wondrous stones at Stonehenge.  Currently, they are working on a new visitor center and parking area for Stonehenge.  When they are complete they will shut down the road that currently runs by it so people will have to walk a little further to see the sight.  This is so they can better preserve the stones.  

Our final stop of the tour was Bath; the artifacts at the Roman Baths were very interesting.  It was also really cool to see the baths themselves and the hot springs that flowed into them.  It would have been very easy to spend all day in the cute little town.  After visiting the baths we made our way back home to London.  It is very hard to believe that I now have only a short four weeks left before I head back to the states. 

Hot spring at Bath

Flag showing the Queen was in

One of the gardens

Sarah and I at Stonehenge

Snow in March!-Sophie Henssler

Today I planned to go the Natural History Museum, but the line was enormous to get in. The museums are free, yet they regulate how many people can come in at the same time as it is so popular. It was also snowing today. Instead I went to the  Science Museum and had the most amazing time. They had an exhibition about what makes you who you are and about everything you could imagine. We had actually planned to go to the London Eye, but the visibility was poor. After the museum I took a walk in Hyde Park and lots of flowers were already blooming even though it has been freezing. Kensington Palace was beautiful in the snow.

Internships!- Heidi Faust

Internships have begun! I am working at emc3, a small event planning company in Notting Hill. I have learned an incredible amount about event planning and business in general. During my first week at emc3 I worked at a LinkedIn event, put together some proposals for clients, and spent some time getting to know my colleagues. We have all stayed really busy, and get very excited to see each other at the end of the day and on the weekend. I have a feeling this will be one of the most insane and beneficial learning experiences I have had yet! I can't wait to see what the rest of this internship brings. 

Before an evening out with my co-workers! 

Cheers for now! 

The Savoy Hotel Week One - Jillian Valk

Main entrance on the Strand

       This week I started my internship at the Savoy Hotel in the Accounts Department. I am really excited about working here because of its history and because of the many diverse things its does. On Monday I got my Savoy ID card that I use to get in and out of the employee entrance. Right now all I have really seen of the hotel is the Accounts Department, which is in the weirdest place. You wonder around this concrete corridor underneath the hotel that has piping and wires all over the place and then there is a door tucked in an alcove that looks like it would lead to a boiler room but it’s the Accounts Department.

I have my own desk next to two people that I work with. I am on the Accounts Receivable side of the room. I am helping out Mary, who is also American. She is the income auditor on the team; however one of the accounts members is on paternity leave so she has been doing his job in accounts payable as well. On my other side is Cinnamon and she works with the credit card transactions. I don’t envy her job because she is on the phone all day with angry customers that don’t understand their payments or have something charged incorrectly.

For the first four days I worked on the Daily Operations packets for the company. Every day they compile transactions throughout the hotel such as void reports, zero rate room report,  not to mention they have been short staffed. I also did other small tasks such as a cash control check. The hotel had an outside cash control person come in and order a drink at the bar and they didn’t receive a receipt for the transaction therefore they wrote about the entire scene including what they ordered at what time and for how much.  I went through all the receipts of the day to make sure it had in fact been entered. They do this because money is really easy to slip into employees pockets.  Thursday I shadowed one of the accounts workers, Luchiana. She is Italian and is the most talkative lady in the whole place. She was extremely nice and showed me how to “chase” people that hadn’t paid yet and how to deal with them. Apparently travel agencies are the worst. Their system where they input all the invoices is extremely confusing even to the full time employees. We also had a department meeting where they discussed the yearly revenue and the committee progress. There are only nine people in the department so everyone is really social and helpful.

               On Friday the president of Fairmont came and spoke to the entire hotel staff, which is rare, so I’m really glad I got to be there for that. She showed us all the new hotels that were expected to be coming up around the world and more growth of the company. Not to mention the hotel was trying to be fancy for the president so they had gourmet finger foods for the entire staff. I have never had strawberry trifle in a champagne glass before but it was delicious. The rest of the afternoon I was looking into the charges for the House account. Each department can charge stuff to the house account so the hotel pays for it. For instance, when I came in for my interview we were served tea in the Thames Foyer and the lady I spoke with said she would handle to bill. Now I know that it just gets charged to the HR department on the House account. No money is actually exchanging hands but it decreases their budget. So I had to sort through receipts and determine if they get credit for the transaction, input it on an excel document that is linked to the system, then compile each department charges and send them up so they can approve them. We are preparing for an in-house audit next week and the other accounts member is coming back as well so things will be different.

Internship week 1- Rob Graham

For my internship, I am working for a Member of Parliament, Tom Brake. I split my time working at his constituency office about 30 minutes outside the city and the Westminster office. This week has been all about getting a feel for what the average problems Tom and his staff face in order to best serve their constituents as well as gathering data for the election next year.

I started on Tuesday and went to the office in Carshalton. The main work in the constituency office is casework. Someone who lives in the area represented by Tom will write in with a problem or his/her opinion on an issue. Our office will then research their case and send them a response in order to resolve the problem as best as possible. My job the first day was to take each case (sometimes consisting of entire packets of information), read through them in order to get a general feel of what the people care about and how we respond to letters, and then reorder the stack in alphabetical order so we can reference it later. After that, I tried my hand at proofreading. Unfortunately, the grammar rules are slightly different and I was informed to not add any more “American commas,” so that might not be my strength. I ended the first day learning how to sort mail.

The next day, I was sent out into the community to put up fliers in local businesses advertising a “politics and coffee” informal meeting. The weather turned out to be pretty nice after the first half hour, and it was nice to be able to walk around. When I cam back in, I was given a computer ID and taught how to enter information about voters into our database that we can use in the election next year. Volunteers had gone door to door earlier that month asking constituents their opinions on different issues and their general political positions. Using this data we can more effectively tailor information to individuals in leaflets, depending on what’s important to them.

Thursday was my first day in Westminster and was extremely cool. I met some more of the staff and was given the task of searching the newspapers for mentions of Tom, the local council, or the party. It was nice to be able to learn about the constituents and catch up on their news. The highlight of the day was lunch! The parliament cafeteria is great- has delicious food but at a fraction of the price I would pay in the surrounding tourist area. I also enjoyed being able to talk with my coworkers and find out more about them. One was from Mexico, another Poland, and the other Norway; it was quite the international experience. After lunch, I had my chance to work on casework of my own involving students asking for Tom’s views on the environment.

On Friday, I was back in Westminster with one of our other Americans. I was in charge of finding contact information for organizations around a specific area of Tom’s constituency in order for us to invite them to local events to report problems in to Tom. Obviously there are politics involved, but it impresses me how adamant Tom is to help and be of use to the people he represents. It’s refreshing to see for sure! After a quick lunch, I created some spreadsheets in order for us to organize petition signatures based on constituencies. So far I’m 950 through the 1600, definitely a lot of information.

I went back to the Carshalton office on Saturday morning to help with one of our Action Days. The entire staff will come in, and with the help of volunteers, will phone canvass, pass out leaflets, and go door to door to help report back on what Tom has been doing to represent them and give them the option to get more information. Tom represents around 100,000 people, a much more manageable number than U.S. senators. I think this is one of the reasons politicians feel so responsible to the people here, they have a much more close knit relationship with them then they do the lobbyist at Westminster. 

First Week of Internships-Maxx Young

It was a busy week for sure. I am currently working in the Actuarial division at Zurich Financial Services. As of now my main responsibilities are updating their Excel files for their first quarter data that they will be analyzing here in a couple of weeks. I am very thankful to Angel Norman my BA 242 teacher last semester, because without her I would have no idea how to use Excel and therefore no idea what to do at work. My coworkers have been extremely friendly and I haven't been made to get anyone coffee or tea yet. On Tuesday I took a trip with the Actuarial department to Southhampton for a meeting about how other Actuarial divisions were doing and to discuss other issues which I am not very familiar with, but it was a good experience and I got a free lunch!

Also, the trip last week to Scotland was amazing. We went to the Old Course at St. Andrew's, the Highlands, and Edinburgh. 

Swilcan Bridge, The Old Course, St. Andrew's, Scotland

The building where I work in London

Scotland & Citigroup Internship - Georgia Ralston

Last week we took a short break before internships started and headed to Scotland.  The Highlands were absolutely gorgeous and probably my favorite of all the places I have traveled. I definitely want to visit there again, maybe  when it is a bit warmer.

Highlands

Caitlin, Sarah, Ashton, Jillian, and I on the top of the mountain in Glencoe.

We started out internships this week; I am super pumped to be working at Citigroup.  Adjusting to waking up at seven and arriving back at the flats at six will definitely take some time getting used to.  I'm working at Citi on a management team that is working towards making their product lines more efficient. I think is experience will be a wonderful learning experience as I am asked to do some tasks that are way out of my element.  My supervisor is very sweet and has been very welcoming my first few days interning.  Yesterday I got to sit in on my first meeting and it was very interesting hearing and seeing the ideas the different supervisors brought to the table. Working at a huge corporate company that has international offices has also given me the opportunity to communicate with people from around the world that I am working on projects with. Today I had a phone conference with someone in India over a project that I will be assisting in completing. The fact that this has all happened within three days does not seem real to me and leaves me in great anticipation for the days to come.

  

Sunny London? -Sarah Bishop

Last Tuesday was the prettiest day we've had here in London. We finished Management on Monday, so it worked out perfectly to have a free day on the sunniest day yet. Georgia, Jordan, Ashton, Jillian, Caitlin, and I all took advantage of the weather and had an adventurous day. First, we went to tour the Globe Theater where Shakespeare’s plays took place. We then went to The Eye, which was perfect with the beautiful weather. Our next stop was Abbey Road, where the famous Beatles album cover was taken. I was expecting the crosswalk to be a small side street that wasn't heavily traveled, but I was wrong. We went around 5pm, so there was a lot of traffic. Nevertheless, we captured a copycat picture of us with the crosswalk. We may have risked our lives, but it was definitely worth it! After this, Georgia and I went to Primrose Hill, which is seated on a hill overlooking London. This was a great ending to another perfect day in London!

At the Globe Theater

On The Eye

Abbey Road

Primrose Hill Park