COOP 2000 Seminar

What was involved 

In the COOP 2000 course, I was able to create goals and work on cross cutting skills during my experience in Thailand through my internship with SAW (Social Action for Children and Women). Because I was participating in an experience with a foundation of cultural exchange, it was incredibly important for me to set goals of professionalism, especially with an employer who is of a different culture. The experience taking the COOP 2000 class also involved discussion boards with other students, which allowed me to both share and learn about what others are doing and how their experiences my be different and similar. As a result, I was able to incorporate others' experiences and what they learned into my own reflection process to boost my experience.

What I learned from the experience

My biggest takeaway from the experience is how to be a cultural humble person while working overseas with people of different culture. This is something that I overlooked at first, but in any business interaction, it is incredibly important. Different cultural customs, traditions, greetings, etc. can all affect how an employer may look at you. In my personal experience, I had to do some research before my experience to make sure I understand what is respected behavior and what is not. This allowed me to create very meaningful connections with my coop employer, since they knew I was putting in effort to be more culturally adaptable. 

How it impacted my life

Taking the COOP 2000 class definitely impacted my life by allowing me to build my networks with leaders and business professionals of nonprofit organizations and potential future employers. As someone who had never traveled to Thailand, I would never have been placed in a situation to reflect on my goals to make my COOP the most memorable. By the end of my COOP, I was able to meet all of the goals I had set for myself at the beginning of the summer semester as well as make significant progress in each of the cross linking skills which I had been introduced to. As I make my way to a new employer this summer in Shanghai, China, I will be able to create a new set of goals and reflect on what worked best to utilize in a new experience.