We have been writing about how three of our students – Kaspar, Liisbet, and Annika – are a part of the 150-year-old Southwestern Advantage program and are spending their summer in America. A few weeks back, Liisbet shared her first impression of the program and talked about her feelings right after completing the first week of sales school in Nashville, Tennessee. This week she talks more about her experience.
I am a second-year post-graduate student at EUAS, pursuing a Master´s in Human Resource Management. I always knew that I wanted to get a master’s degree in addition to my bachelor’s, and I chose EUAS because of the practical approach to the curriculum and the incredible professors. I have always been interested in human resources management, and I love that I can put the skills and knowledge I learned at school to practical use in the Southwestern Advantage program. There are quite a few cool subjects at the university, but one of my favorites is Talent Management, where we learn how to attract and recruit A+ players and retain them in the team. It is precisely the kind of knowledge I could immediately use during the program when building a team. In addition, the curriculum also includes subjects like Mentoring and Good Organisation, which only overlays with my work. So, I am glad that what I am learning in school is not just a dry theory that you study for exams and forget later, but I can put my learnings into practice right away.
I got into the Southwestern Advantage program through a referral. I was not sure initially, but I knew I wanted to participate once I attended the information session. I also invited several of my friends to the program. It is my sixth year in the program. My first summer was in Utah, and then I went to Texas and the year after to New Mexico. I spent the last two ‘corona summers’ in Estonia, and this year we are in Texas again. I am thrilled to lead the largest summer organization in the European Division of the Southwestern Advantage program this summer. I am pleased about the challenge, and I have given myself a goal to achieve a personal record in sales and help all group members have their best summer yet.
Time goes by fast in America. We have already completed five weeks here in Texas, and it is getting easier by the day. Many families know who I am even before I arrive at the door to introduce myself – the fact that we post about ourselves on Facebook on the city’s page helps a lot. It is also very nice that whatever books I order from Nashville arrive quickly, which means I can give them to customers immediately when they buy. I stock them up in the car, and it is great to see the children’s reaction when I hand them the books myself.
A nice coincidence occurred this week. My roommate Anna and I work together in the same city, but in different parts, so it was pretty interesting when I knocked on one of the doors, and the woman who lives there told me how she sat down with Anna just a week ago and looked at books. This week when I was in this part of the city, Anna, in the meantime she moved to the other side. She was very friendly and showed me where I could visit more families with children.
We met a lot of known faces and nice families during the biggest holiday in the USA, the 4th of July. People were barbecuing, chilling, and shooting fireworks, so Monday was an intense cultural experience. On Sunday, we also celebrated the birthday of one of our group members, Randel, and Randel received a bunch of gifts, which were received from the families gathered around the team. We also went swimming and enjoyed the warm pool water, adding to the fun and breaking the usual routine a bit. We had a lot of fun in the book-selling field and are very happy to be a part of the festivities.
