Well the time is here….our last day.

It’s a day of mixed feelings, as I am soo excited to get home to my boyfriend and family, but it’s also a day of goodbyes to some amazing friends I have made here. The hospitality Alex and I have experienced has been very touching….it seems everyone wants a piece of the Scottish Interns! Today we are having a Leaving Pot Luck and BBQ, so everyone is bringing either a Scottish, German or American dish to lunch for a buffet style extravaganza. Then this evening a work colleague is hosting a party at her house as our leaving party…so a day of celebration of the success of our time here.

Within the last two weeks, I have been completing my projects. My main tasks have centered on completing work within the CMS working on meta data components to improve the search ability of SPIE’s exhibition pages. I then developed a report highlighting the work I had completed as well as recommendations for further improvement as it is an ongoing task that needs continual assessment. My other project surrounded the rebrand of the 2010 Exhibitions Brochure which has been my favorite project from my internship. I have much input into the content and messaging within the brochure and contributed to design discussions so I therefore look forward to seeing the final product. Thank you to everyone in the marketing department, I have learnt so much from each of you.

I really cannot thank everyone at SPIE enough for their kindness within a work context helping me with my projects and also personally whenever I may have felt a little homesick or even if Alex and I needed a favor! We have endless invitations to join colleagues for dinner, on hikes and on other various fun activities.

This has been such a journey on both a professional and personal level. Within work I have learnt so many valuable skills within marketing that has, in no doubt, developed my desire to work within marketing and certainly enhanced my ambitious streak even further, if that was even possible! For this reason I am excited to get back to university and throw myself into my studies. Next year will be an exciting time as I feel I am further equipped to get out there and tell people what I have to offer, applying for a job is a daunting task but I feel this has been an invaluable addition to my CV. I have made many contacts out here which I’m sure I am going to utilize for additional work experience when I get home. On a personal level, I have learnt so much about myself, what I want from life and where I think I want to end up I just wouldn’t have experienced if I had stayed at home. This therefore leads me on to another important thank you, the Saltire Foundation. You have given me this amazing opportunity and had the faith in me to be an ambassador for your organization. I cannot thank you enough. I look forward to carrying on our relationship when I get home and developing the goal we strive to achieve of promoting and developing Scotland’s talent.

Goodbye my cube at SPIE....notice I am working at lighning speed!