I have now come to my final days of my internship here in Paris. As I mentioned in my last blog post, I was assisting with the Second session of the Intergovernmental Conference of States Parties to the Global Convention on Higher Education, which took place on June 24-25. I have also been working this month on a mapping assignment for Campus Africa where I collected information on doctoral studies programs at African institutions, identified gaps and opportunities, and highlighted best practices.
This month I have also been helping with preparations for a webinar to take place on my last day, July 24. The webinar is intended to build on the momentum of the Intergovernmental Conference and will be part of a capacity-building webinar series. This first webinar will highlight the national benefits of ratification to the Global Convention on Higher Education. I have been supporting outreach for this event, as well as preparing the presentation and run of show.
Reflecting on the internship overall, I feel I was able to complete a wide variety of tasks in a short amount of time. I especially think the experience improved my writing skills- from contributing to articles, talking points, scripts, reports, and more.
Life in Paris
While interning and seeing the sites in Paris, a big part of my summer has also been applying for jobs for when I return to D.C. As one might expect, it seems like the worst possible time to be job searching, especially in this field, and it has led to a lot of discouragement and burn-out at times. While the job search process has been difficult or tiring at times, I am still enjoying the beautiful city of Paris while doing so.
Paris is a huge city, and it seems you could never run out of things to do. I had so many things I wanted to see, and so many recommendations, but I couldn’t possibly do them all in just two months. Instead of trying to cram everything in, I have found myself enjoying a more relaxed rhythm of life. I love to just wander around, explore new neighborhoods, and pop into shops that catch my eye. I find Paris to have a slower pace of life which I am really enjoying. Despite a slower pace, the time still flew by this summer.
In July, one of my favorite things I did was explore the coastal town Dieppe. Just about two hours away by train, this was a simple day trip. I was able to walk around the town and Saturday market, sit on the beach, and walk up to a nice overlook. I have also enjoyed spending time with more interns who have recently joined UNESCO, whether that be lunches at the office or a dinner party outside of work. Overall, one of my favorite parts of this experience was connecting with people on my team or other interns at headquarters. Everyone has been so welcoming, and I have met so many people with such interesting professional or personal backgrounds.
Meagan is a recent graduate of the International Education Program at the George Washington University. Her academic and professional interests are related to internationalization of higher education and diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education.