An internship in Boston has given Waterford student Valerie an opportunity to gain experience beyond her home city as part of her SETU studies
Valerie O’ Brien is an International Business Student at South East Technological University.
As part of her courses she has spent her third year living in Boston interning with an Irish/American Healthcare Contact Center Consultancy Company called RelateCare
Valerie who is from Comeragh Park, Waterford City attended Presentation Secondary School Waterford and will return to SETU in September to complete her final year of her International Business Degree.
Valerie has the following advice for Leaving Cert students from Waterford: “I would encourage people in Waterford to give SETU a consideration. If it has the course what you want to do, think of all the possibilities it may open up for you if you want to travel in your summer of study abroad in third year.”
Valerie explains why she chose to study close to home.
"I was very lucky that in the Presentation Secondary School Waterford we had access to excellent career guidance teachers in Declan Murphy and Esther Doyle. In the run up to the exams SETU wasn’t my first choice on my CAO form. I had for naively believed that in order to get the best education I would need to leave home and go to a recognised University.”
When she was offered International Business the biggest carrot on a stick for her was the opportunity to study or work during her third year. “I figured if I didn’t have the opportunity to move out for college at least I could do so for my third year,” she says.
“Without a doubt living at home has had some huge advantages for me. Living so close to college enabled me in first year and second year to be able to balance working part time jobs, playing county camogie, doing a bit of travelling and be able go to all my classes and study without too much pressure. I am sure if I had been living somewhere like Dublin and my parents had been paying extortionate rent prices doing all of the above just would not have been possible.”
She advises CAO applicants to go with their gut: “pick something that you think you’ll enjoy spending 20+ hours in a classroom learning about.”