Joana reserves her management skills at Barcelona hotel
When offered the opportunity to complete an internship in Barcelona, Joana Januseviciute didn’t hesitate to turn to the Futures Fund for support.
After being awarded a £500 Opportunity Scholarship, the Business and Financial Management student set off for a three-month internship to the Hipstel Hotel where she worked as Reception Manager.
Joana, who completed the internship in her second year, said: “The responsibilities of my role gave me an opportunity to put into practice my academic knowledge related to the business operations.
“This experience enhanced my management, organisational and problem-solving skills. It was gained by managing and organising the receptionist work, software and data input. I also dealt with customer complaints and tried to solve their problems.”
Joana, who was aware that learning a second language would give her competitive advantage in the eyes of future employers, also studied a Finance and Economic Analytic online course in Spanish while she was in Barcelona.
She said: “This course gave me further awareness of the finance sector and my Spanish language skills improved dramatically.”
At the prospect of gaining further international business experience while she was abroad, the 21 year-old also jumped at the opportunity to take part in TEDx Barcelona ‘Stay Curious’, a series of professional business related conferences.
“In those three months I feel that I grew as a person and my emotional intelligence skills improved dramatically. To see the insight of the business and be part of it allowed me to realise how passionate and interested I am about my subject. It also increased my determination and motivation to set high objectives in my career path,” she said.
“On the cultural level, I became aware of local traditions, learnt about Latin music and met loads of international and different-minded people. After a while, my colleagues, hotel customers and friends became my ''family'' and they left a huge mark in my life.”
Joana concluded: “I’d like to thank the Futures Fund Committee and the donors who give to the fund. It was a huge step in my career development and skills enhancement and helped me to challenge myself; not just in the professional environment, but also in social and culture surroundings.
“Without this support, I would not have been able to have that experience. I’m so grateful to the Futures Fund and I hope it will support other future students and will change their lives like mine.”