Hi, my name is Rilana, I am 23 years old and I am from Germany. I was an intern at the ELC for the Marketing, Socio Cultural and Homestay departments at the ELC.

When I arrived in Victoria in mid-May, I did not have any clue what I would do in this internship. I was just happy to get out of my student’s life and get a little ‘adult’ air. Working full time in a real office environment sounded challenging and fun at the same time. And I felt honoured when I got offered this internship in the first place. But now that I’ve met the people I was allowed to work with I feel even luckier and even more honored that I got this opportunity. I loved the whole experience and I highly recommend taking the chance and go for an adventure, even if it is something you thought you would never like.

The ELC at the University of Victoria is just amazing! We have a shiny new building with a lot of light. And I can truthfully tell you that each and every one who is working there, is an amazing person. I got to meet all these inspiring people. There is always something happening either ‘on stage’ or behind the scenes. All of these people want to make sure you have a great time here. They realize that it is a big opportunity for you as well. I could never wished for anything better than this.

But not only the people in this University are great – actually everyone that I’ve talked to is super friendly and helpful. I didn’t meet anyone who wasn’t friendly and really rude to me here. Victoria is a great city. It is big, but not massive. And even though you have the traditional city core with cute boutiques and amazing restaurants and the Legislature building, Victoria is surrounded by nature. Dallas road, Cadboro Bay (which is super close to UVic), Goldstream Park, Olympic mountains and even Tofino. Nature is absolutely everywhere and you can’t deny it’s beauty.

All I want to say is that coming here and taking this opportunity was the best thing I could’ve ever done in my life. I’ve got to learn so much professionally and personally. I want to thank Paula Ceroni (Homestay), Si Heng Tang (Marketing Manager) and Don (Socio Cultural Manager) for giving me a change and the constant support they gave me.

Thank you so much and see you at UVic!

All the best,

Rilana

P.S. Check out the UVic ELC Summer Video created by Rilana!

 

• Posted October 3, 2016