Currently sitting in the airport, waiting to fly back to the States. What a full circle moment! This journey with the Europeon Innovation Academy has been incredible. I was able to be CEO of a team called kinesi that served to innovate home exercise software for health clinics. My team grew so much, in learning how to navigate the unknown process and are looking to continue development of our company. This was something I never expected going into this study abroad. Although we did not make the final 10 pitch, the investors liked our problem and solution and encouraged us to continue in the development process.
Through this study abroad experience I have found an absolute love for travel. There was one weekend here, a friend and I went backpacking for a weekend and travelled all around Lisbon and Sintra. The palaces and castles were stunning! I loved learning about the deep culture and history of every place we went. An awesome part about this study abroad is that I was able to make friends with people from all over (so we even had a free place to stay while we travelled that weekend). I am very exhausted from the work we did. About 10 hour work days every day, and then often I would have to do interviews with people back in the states at very late hours because of the time zone. However, it was ALL worth it. I have gained so much confidence in my own abilities, seen incredible sites, and overall had a lot of fun! I can’t wait to see where I travel next!!