Meg Finerty, a senior Communications and Spanish double major, gained professional work experience that challenged her in unexpected ways while interning with the Spanish-based company, Celpax, which offers a device, called a Daily Pulse, that measures employee morale, giving business leaders a tool for improving the workplace.    

As an Onboarding and Communications Intern, Finerty used her Spanish skills by translating company articles and emails written in Castilian Spanish to English and vice versa. One of her supervisors with native Spanish proficiency reviewed her translations and helped her understand any corrections. 

“They were trying to emulate a certain tone, [one that] I couldn’t mirror in English sometimes,” Finerty said. “I learned to fail, do it again, and get better every time.” 

Finerty also worked on a marketing software project, which was one of the most challenging projects during the internship. With no background experience in coding, she tested her endurance, independent learning, and research skills. 

“I was thrown to the wolves, but that was a really valuable experience. It taught me that even if I might not know something immediately, I can teach myself…it definitely boosted my confidence.” 

“I was thrown to the wolves, but that was a really valuable experience,” she said. “It taught me that even if I might not know something immediately, I can teach myself…it definitely boosted my confidence.” 

Finerty faced another unfamiliar task when developing informational video content for Celpax. Using Moodley software and company articles, she transformed written text and concepts into entertaining and communicative video content to represent the company online. 

“[The independent work] challenged me a lot, and I value that, because I learned a lot about myself,” she said. 

Even though her supervisor was located in Spain, Finerty still was able to develop a close employee-supervisor relationship and grew comfortable with finding her own pace and asking questions after making mistakes. She found her supervisor to be patient and flexible and expressed value in her input. 

Finerty found this internship through the Excel Network’s Global Remote Internship Program and completed it during the Spring 2021 semester. She reflected on this experience through her senior thesis. 

“I proved to myself that I’m fully capable of working in the professional field. [Before] I was scared to graduate and get a job, and who isn’t, but that internship definitely solidified that I can handle it.”

“I wrote a one-to-two-page journal every week of my internship and talked about how I’m exploring. I was very candid. I definitely expressed my frustrations and my worries,” she said. “I also talked about how proud I was of myself at the end of the internship, and that I was and wasn’t surprised how much I can depend on myself in a professional environment.” 

This documentation process helped Finerty reflect and establish her own pace, stages of adjustment, and reaffirmed her confidence in herself. 

“I proved to myself that I’m fully capable of working in the professional field,” she said. “[Before] I was scared to graduate and get a job, and who isn’t, but that internship definitely solidified that I can handle it.”