I grew up in a small town where there are no stop lights and no gas stations. I graduated with less than forty kids in my graduating class. I have been blessed and fortunate enough to be able to travel around North America growing up, but I have never had the opportunity to go to Europe before. It doesn’t take being from a small town to be excited at the chance to go to Europe, but it provides me with a unique perspective. This program stuck out to me because of the opportunity to visit some of the best financial institutions in some of the biggest financial hubs in the world. These visits include trips to Blackrock in New York City, Wells Fargo in London, and Ardian in Paris. On top of that, it offered the opportunity to visit some of the most important historical sites in our planet’s history, including Auschwitz and Normandy. Throughout these visits, I hope to gain a combination of financial knowledge, career advice, and an enhanced global perspective. So far, I have noticed many differences between the United States and different parts of Europe. In Europe, employees are encouraged to take all of their vacation days and they are also not expected to work crazy long hours. In the United States, there is not as much of a focus on work-life balance, or at least the scale is leaning one way more than the other. As far as getting around, transportation is much different in Europe than it is in the United States. I have ridden more trains on this trip than I had in my entire life leading up to this trip. Another noticeable difference is the way people dress. In the United States, many people only dress nice whenever they deem it necessary, however, most people in Europe dress nice every time they leave their homes. So far this trip has been an amazing experience and I have already taken away many lessons that I can put to use in my professional and personal life. I look forward to making more memories the remainder of the trip!
