International Business Internship — Soleil Robichaud

Undergraduate Soleil Robichaud spent the summer of 2012 in a three-month internship with Fresenius Biotech in Munich, Germany. The program was organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany in cooperation with BridgehouseLaw. This was her second trip to the region—the first was with her ninth grade orchestra class—but it reaffirmed her interest in and experience of German language and culture. In Soleil’s words, “This was hands-down the best experience of my life.” Here’s the rest of her story:

I worked in the marketing department at Fresenius Biotech and was involved in many different projects spanning multiple aspects of marketing and business, including event management, improvements to the website, budgeting, and strategic planning. I also learned much about the company’s core business, transplantation.

The firm and the AmCham hosted several fun excursions. I traveled to a spa in Längenfeld, Austria (Alps) for the company’s annual international partner and sales meeting, and later to Salzburg for a day trip with other interns. I went to Berlin a couple times, once with the company for the 24th Annual International Transplantation Society Congress, then again with the AmCham interns. We happened to be there during the semi-final Euro Cup game between Germany and Italy! Even though the game was not being played in Berlin, watching it amidst 500,000 local fans was an awesome experience.

During the program, I stayed with a host family who had connections to my family back home. I think living with a family rather than on my own made a big difference in terms of adjusting to the new environment and immersing myself in the culture. On the whole, I made many new friends on this program, and I plan to look for a fulltime position somewhere in Germany upon graduation in May.

Soleil is completing a BBA in Marketing with a co-major in International Business, and second major in German.