A partnership with the US Embassy in Paris that helped connect American and French businesses was the perfect opportunity for Northeastern University international business student Keira O'Connor.
He says other students should take similar opportunities abroad.
“I mean go for it,” O'Connor says. “You get to experience so many different cultures and so many different ways of life, and it's just fascinating to understand how things work in different parts of the world.”
O'Connor is a third-year co-op student at the U.S. Embassy's commercial service in Paris, working as an international trade intern.
The department helps bring American companies to France and French companies to the United States, often acting as a liaison between companies and potential clients.
The position pairs nicely with O'Connor's studies in international business and minor in international affairs. O'Connor also just got accepted to the PlusOne MS in International Management program.
“I feel like it's really important to get those global experiences,” says O'Connor.
While at the embassy, O'Connor has a big project with an upcoming three-stop trade mission to the South of France. The event features economic development organizations from 15 US states, traveling to meet with more than 100 French companies at each stop.
O'Connor focuses on the logistical aspects of the event, developing marketing materials (including a magazine for American participants), helping to create the event website and registering participants.
He says it opened my eyes.
“You hear about trade shows or trade missions or road shows, and you don't really understand all the things that go into it,” O'Connor says.
It is also the point of contact for participating delegates and companies, giving it great exposure to the business and political world of international trade.
Life in Paris was also impressive for O'Connor.
Although he has traveled extensively abroad — among other things Programs Dialogue of Cultures in the Middle East and the Balkans while at Northeastern — O'Connor says the experience of working a 9-to-5 (well, in Paris, it's 9:30 to 6) is a nice change from her usual schedule.
Outside of classes, O'Connor works part-time, joins a sorority and plays rugby while in Boston.
“It gives you a real taste of work-life balance, without having to worry about a million other things,” O'Connor says of her co-op experience. “I guess that's the biggest shock — not necessarily a culture shock — but it's just having a different lifestyle because things are a little slower right now.”
It gives her time for one of her favorite activities: long drives and walks to explore the city.
“I love it,” O'Connor says of Paris. “I could see myself moving here at some point, and I didn't necessarily expect that.”
