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My name is Connor McCarthy and I'm a journalism student at the University of Minnesota.
So, what I know about the CAPA program is that it's a study and internship abroad program
that's run through the University of Minnesota.
And basically you can take a couple different courses that you want to,
typically they are three credits each.
You can also take an internship while you're out there.
You're placed in an internship through CAPA that's six credits.
The internship - I'm not sure where I'm placed yet, I haven't heard back from CAPA.
But I've heard there's some really good internships out there in Sydney.
Especially for advertising, which is what I'm going into.
So basically you take a couple different courses -
I'm taking 12 credits and an online course to make it 13
so I'm good for registration when I come back.
The internship is unpaid, but like I said, it is credit toward the class,
so that'll be cool.
The application process is actually pretty easy.
It's all online. You do it through study abroad with the University of Minnesota online.
They have a checklist for you to follow, that you can go through all the different steps.
CAPA has their own application that you have to send too,
where you talk about your different interests and what you want to do for your internship.
You can also send in your resume and different employment opportunities
that you've had in the past so that they can place you in the right place.
They also let you pick three different top categories.
So for mine it was account, advertising, and marketing,
so they know exactly where to place you.
As far as concerns and worries go,
there's a lot of unknowns still. So even though my
application process is done and completely in, I'm still wondering about
what internship I'm going to have and if it's going to be relevant.
So I want to make sure I'm at an agency or a place that I can bring back home
and really apply it to my future jobs and future success.
I also really don't know what to wear or what to bring
because I don't know what internship I have yet.
I think we find out closer to the date in Fall
as far as what to wear to your internship.
I also don't know what the living experience is going to be like.
I did go to the orientation. It was great to have an overview
of everything that's going on in the program.
However, I don't know exactly what it's going to be like,
because I'm not there and I didn't experience it yet.
So I don't know what to prepare for.
Obviously Australia has some pretty crazy animals,
so I don't know how that's going to go.
But other than that, just a couple concerns are basically
what internship I'm going to have, what the classes are going to be like -
are they going to be strenuous, are they going to be easy -
am I going to have time to travel, time to experience Australia
outside of class and work. And am I going to be able to put in enough hours
at my internship that it won't interfere with the different
trips that I take for study abroad.
So the way I'm preparing for this is I've looked up online
all the different places that I want to travel to in Australia
and I figured out what's around Sydney and how I'm
going to get there, as far as transportation goes.
I also am bringing my resume and all my different past employment
stuff that I've had, some portfolio stuff that I can show,
either the agency or wherever I'm placed, what I've done in the past,
what I'm capable of. I'm also bringing my computer along with me.
I know that wi-fi isn't necessarily free, so I'm going to
have to work out that with the roommates.
But I'm bringing some Australian money I'm to get in the US,
so I have it with me while I'm there. And I'm also opening up
a credit card, just in case of any emergencies.
So that's how I'm preparing. I'm also going to bring a bunch of sunscreen,
because Australia has a very strong sun, and the sunscreen
is really expensive down there, so that'll be packed in my bag.
I think that my other main concern is missing out on campus life back home,
getting a little homesick when I'm over in Australia.
It is my junior year, so I don't know if I'm going to be missing out,
whether it's football games or anything exciting that's going on
back on campus and the campus life.
That's kind of something that I worry about.
I know it's going to be awesome and a great experience to go abroad,
but you also wonder about leaving friends home or leaving family home,
and not being able to communicate with them as much because it's a 17 hour difference.
That's one of my other main concerns.