By Alvin Cho
This week, we have a farewell blog from Alvin (Youngbeen) Cho, the DSA’s recent Korea WEST exchange program intern:
Hello. I’m Alvin from Korea, and I completed a 4-month internship at the Downtown Stockton Alliance from March 17th to July 3rd. During this time, I had the pleasure of working with amazing colleagues who made my experience enjoyable.
As a foreigner, having the opportunity to work in the United States was incredibly valuable to me. Who else gets to have such an experience?
I worked on various tasks as a marketing intern, including taking photos downtown for social media uploads, modeling company apparel for posters, setting up booths and selling clothes outdoors, and more.
I met wonderful people who made my internship fulfilling: Mike and Courtney who always checked in on me; Johnny and Charisse, who greeted me warmly every morning; Shaun, who I could chat with like a friend; as well as the community ambassador and maintenance teams, who were always friendly. I feel confident that future Korean interns will have a great experience too.
Initially, I was a bit disappointed when I first arrived in Stockton, as it’s not a big city like LA or San Francisco, and I feared it might be boring. However, my perception changed in less than a week. I now see Stockton as a small, but beautiful city. Even now, when I walk along the delta in front of the company, I think how beautiful it is.
I’ll be leaving for New York soon, but I know I won’t forget the happy time I had in Downtown Stockton.
Thank you all.
The DSA wishes Alvin all the best on his next adventure. He was a huge help to our organization. Thanks for everything, Alvin! Cheers!
To learn more about the Korea WEST exchange program, click here: https://www.icceusa.com/programs-in-the-usa/korea-west/
If you are interested in an internship with the DSA, contact [email protected].