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‘That was a memorable day to me, for it made great changes in me. But, it is the same with any life. Imagine one selected day struck out of it and think how different its course would have been. Pause, you who read this, and think for a long moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on that memorable day.’ – Charles Dickens, Great Expectations.

I am going to be working for the Wood Group in Houston; there are four of us on a rotational placement although I’m not too sure which departments each have chosen to work in. I have chosen Corporate Communications and Business Development, which are the best choices according to previous interns that I met at the Induction event.

Before induction it hadn’t set in at all that I had been chosen to go. It was a longer process for me than most. From finding out about Saltire from S6 I have been striving to succeed in getting an internship with the Saltire Foundation. Having known about it for so long, setting my goals for years to achieve it, only made it more challenging and nerve-wracking as the further I got in the application process the greater the fall. Yet no fall was to be had, I received the call from Katie the morning after a mid-term exam, and to be honest I couldn’t believe it, I clarified with Katie that she hadn’t made a mistake and it was me that she had meant to call. I was so proud of myself for managing to achieve a goal which had been set many years before.

Nothing has really made it set in yet that I am going to Houston on 8^th of July for two months.   Once you’ve confirmed that you want this internship there is still a whole process of a visa application to go through. This is form filling, sending things off to multiple people for boxes to be filled in and stamped. Then you have to call up for an interview time, I chose to go to London for my appointment (as there wasn’t the option to have in Scotland). This was perhaps the most stressful part of the whole Saltire Internship process, knowing that everything hung on this interview to allow me to fulfil my dream. I remember sitting in the Hotel room with my Mum, having sat of a train for around 5 hours due to delays, stressed, unconfident if I had the correct paper work with me and unsure about what they would ask at the interview and what the experience of the US Embassy would be like.

It was an early start and I arrived at the Embassy at 8am I was made to feel welcome while waiting outside, although it was a little intimidating with the officers standing with guns around the perimeter of the building. I went through the security station and then went into the building. Having received my number I sat waiting for my number to be called, it did remind me of sitting in Argos waiting on your item to be delivered to the desk, “N86 to window 9” was called and the first interview was had, taking the paperwork required, I then sat down and waited for the second interview. This was done quickly with a few questions, and then paid for my passport to be sent back to me. The whole process took me approximately 40 minutes. Having talked to the other interns this is very lucky, probably due to my early morning appointment, as they had to wait multiple hours.

It was good to meet the other Wood Group interns since we will be living and working together.  There already seems to be some sort of arrangement about who is going to be cooking/cleaning/setting table from discussions in Edinburgh. We were also chatting about what we want to do in our spare time, lots and lots of ideas which is great as we can pack as much into our trip as possible.

I really enjoyed meeting the interns from last year as I was able to get a clearer picture of what it will really be like. Getting an idea of what to wear to work, tips for driving in Houston, and what shops are best were all great things to know. Everyone made me feel welcome and there has been a Wood Group Intern BBQ set up for before we leave which involves previous interns as well as interns like me just beginning our amazing journey.

I am more excited now, having met people and talking about the things we can do when we are there.  I still feel that it is all a dream and I’m going to wake up at any moment and be bitterly disappointed as it all seems too good to be true.  I cannot wait to leave and begin this fantastic journey.