I found Connect-123 through a Google search after my mother suggested (probably not too seriously) that I find a publishing internship in Ireland. I’d been wanting to visit the Emerald Isle for years and was struggling to find internship opportunities here in the states after my junior year of college. After talking it over with my parents and some extensive research, I began the process of working with C123 to find me an internship. I originally worked with Melanie and then Liat who both helped me find an internship at a textbook publisher in Dublin, and the experience could not have been more wonderful. I spent three months there (May to August of 2013). I felt like my work at my internship was meaningful and everyone on the staff was friendly and willing to teach me. Office life was lively and fun. The staff loved any excuse to bring in cake, and I even got to witness a daring pigeon rescue that involved the head of editorial chasing a pigeon around on the roof. Thanks to everyone there, I managed to get a second internship on my college campus when I got back home.

C123 also helped make my experience in Ireland amazing. The people of Connect 123 are not only concerned about their interns’ well-being, but they also work hard to make sure we all get to connect with each other. C123 organized many trips in Dublin and around Ireland, such as a weekend to Co. Clare to see the Cliffs of Moher and the seaside town of Lahinch and a Literary Pub Crawl. Thanks to C123’s care and sense of adventure, I can now boast that I once went on a 12 km hike through the mountains after a night of pub-hopping. I made good friends both in Dublin and in the program, many of whom I still keep in touch with months later. Working with Connect 123 so that I could achieve my dream of visiting Ireland and gaining invaluable experience in my desired field was truly one of the greatest experiences of my life, and I still miss walking the lively streets of Dublin.