Alumni Spotlight

Travis L., CSU Northridge – Social Work Intern in Madrid (2008)
Alumni Spotlight

1. How did you come across Adelante and why did you pick Adelante?

I googled a few options after I didn’t like any of the ones that Old Dominion University was offering. They actually had to go through a process with Adelante Abroad so that it could qualify for me to get credit. At least it’s what the office administration told me.

2. What experiences from your time in Madrid helped you in your career?

Living among many different age women of different cultures and age groups helped me learn about how others do things. I learned to adapt to my environment quickly. I think these are important skills to bring to any job where everything is new.

3. Did you have any plans for your career before your internship in Madrid? Did they change after your internship?

I had plans to come work for a sports team as an event coordinator, and I had an interview with the Houston Rockets but they didn’t think I had enough experience. I was able to get a job in event coordinating but like I said before, I switched career paths because it was too stressful.

4. What is your most memorable experience from interning in Madrid?

My most memorable experience was seeing the players from Real Madrid Soccer team after they won their Undecima trophy because I never imagined that could happen.

5. What is your current job?

I am currently a business owner/self-employed.

6. What advice would you give to current/future Adelante Abroad candidates?

The advice I would give is just to be themselves and that if they are shy, to try to be more open to trying new things. I’d tell them to break out of their shell sooner rather than later because time flies and by the time you feel comfortable abroad, it will be time to go back home.

1. How did you come across Adelante and why did you pick Adelante?

I went abroad with Adelante back in 2006, before the age of social media. I found Adelante through a simple Google search. What stood out to me was the combination of foreign language education/immersion and a professional internship; I had just graduated from college and while I was yearning to immerse myself in Spanish and solidify the language skills I had acquired through my studies, I didn’t want to delay my entrance into the professional world. The Spanish classes + internship experience abroad was the perfect combination.

2. What experiences from your time in Madrid helped you in your career?

Beyond a doubt, the language skills I acquired while abroad with Adelante opened a world of possibilities for me and paved the way for me to start my career as a translator and eventually start my own translation company. My internship experience also really helped me gain the confidence to enter the workforce. I remember thinking when I got back to New York, if I could hold my own at my internship in a foreign country, speaking a foreign language, I have no excuse not to confidently make a place for myself in my own city, in my native language.

3. Did you have any plans for your career before your internship in Madrid? Did they change after your internship?

The Adelante internship was immensely helpful for me. I studied marketing at the University of Maryland and had always assumed I wanted to work in advertising. What my advertising internship taught me was that I was not actually interested in a career in advertising. This was a critical lesson, and I’m so grateful I discovered that at the beginning of my career instead of putting years into something that I wasn’t passionate about. I instead was fascinated learning about the language and cross-cultural communication, which eventually led me down the path of translation.

4. What is your most memorable experience from interning in Madrid?

I remember the first meeting I attended representing the magazine for which I was interning, and how intimidated I was as a 22-year-old American girl walking into a meeting with eight or nine Spaniards. That was a great moment when I had to put all my nerves aside and really test myself under pressure. Another memorable experience was at a press event for a gourmet Iberian Ham company. When the jamón was passed around, I politely told my colleague no thanks, that I didn’t like ham. I’ll never forget the look she gave me – needless to say it was convincing enough for me to try it and realize how delicious it was… I’ll never make the mistake of turning down jamón ibérico again!

5. What is your current job?

I am the co-founder and lead Spanish into English translator for Curl Translations (www.curltranslations.com). We are a close-knit team of talented and passionate language professionals offering translation, editing and translation services to clients across the globe, ranging from small local businesses to multinational corporations.

6. What advice would you give to current/future Adelante Abroad candidates?

Go to new places if you can, when you can. Do it even, and especially, if it scares you. The experience you gain through a program like Adelante will provide you with insight on what your dream job is, and will help give you the tools and confidence to get it.

I thought I’d let you know that since my internship with Adelante, I have completed countless interviews in my career. And while I feel that my CV could take an interviewer in any number of directions, almost every interviewer has asked me, “I see you interned as an EMT in Spain; tell me about that.” For whatever reason, it has been a talking point that has saved me on so many levels throughout my career. Brian (another Adelante Abroad alum) and I have talked about this over the years, and he has expressed the same experience in interviews. Just wanted to say thanks!

[Adelante Abroad] were so awesome in placing me in the best internship ever, which made me figure out my passion for sending students abroad. I totally owe it all to Adelante! I’m super excited to be in the field and looking forward to new and exciting travel opportunities.

Applying for a job was tough. Employers wanted experience, but in order to have experience, you needed experience. It was a never-ending circle. Internships were a great opportunity to gain more experience in the work field that you’re trying to get into. My Adelante internship is the internship that seems to stand out the most on my resume. When I left Barcelona I had just finished my Master’s Degree. My resume now had 3 internships, a Bachelor Degree and a Master’s Degree yet the thing all employers wanted to discuss, was my internship in Barcelona.