Imagine being able to get a head start on your future career, while meeting new people and exploring a brand new city — perhaps even a new country. That almost sounds too perfect, right? Well, the good news is all of this actually is possible through a program available to college and university students. 

Tara Bereche, a junior at UNC-Chapel Hill, spent the summer of 2014 in London. She worked as an intern, lived with college students from across the country and travelled throughout Europe.   

Bereche participated in the program Dream Careers that made the best summer of her life possible. Since the year 2000, the program has landed 13,000 students experience in their dream career field and it currently operates in 11 different cities across the globe.   

Through Dream Careers, an internship coordinator helps place you in the industry that you aspire to work in for the summer. The program is connected with companies such as Michael Kors, Cosmopolitan, CNN, Make-A-Wish, Chanel and more.   

The tuition you pay for the program includes housing, weekly meals and excursions that Dream Careers plans for you. Participants get to experience around three to four day trips and one weekend-long trip, all pre-planned and paid for.

It’s that simple.   

You get real on-the-job experience you can’t learn in a classroom. You get to meet new people who share similar interests and ambitions as you do. You get to travel a new place without the hassle of planning and budgeting on your own; all of that is taken care of for you.

“I knew I wanted to intern in a big English-speaking city for finance, but it was great because I got to experience other cultures as well,” Bereche explained.   

Bereche said that her employer let the interns have time off to travel, which allowed her plenty of time to explore cities such as Paris and Barcelona.   

“Around 12 of us went to Barcelona for a weekend and we spent the entire weekend on the beach. From the get-go I knew I wanted to go to Spain, and it’s amazing that I was able to go while working all summer,” Bereche said.   

The Dream Careers experience didn’t just stop after two months in London, according to Bereche: 

“I got work experience which is important for going into junior or senior year, and I made so many friends from around the country. Some people I met were from Chicago and Los Angeles, and we all plan on having reunions around the country.”   

Real-life work experience and the chance to travel a new and exciting place is a valuable opportunity for college students. If this is something you are interested in, you can apply online at www.summerinternships.com for free with the application code TARHEELSVIP. Tara is open to sharing more about her experience or answering questions you may have at tarabereche@gmail.com.