Northumbria University; I am currently studying at Northumbria University and the course that I am studying is Business with Tourism Management. This course is four years long with a placement year throughout. The placement year takes part throughout the third year of the course. There are many placements throughout England that are on offer for students to apply for.
During the second semester of my second year of university I took part in study abroad, this made it slightly more difficult for me to apply for placements within England, because this required attending interviews and assessment days, luckily when applying for BSG interns all interviews took place through Skype. This was a lot more convenient. Along with the interviews being more convienient and getting the placement it also came along with the opportunity of living and working in America, which is an experience I never thought I would have whilst studying in Newcastle, England.
BSG; My internship is with BSG. This is an internship in America working within Country Clubs found on the East Coast. "BSG specializes in placing European Hospitality Management student interns at prestigious private clubs, plus fine hotels and resorts along the east coast of the US. By means of a J-1 cultural exchange program visa, students spend up to a year availing themselves of what is an exceptionally formative personal and professional opportunity"
BSG was Founded by Rasheeda Butler in 2008. Rasheeda is person who you communicate with throughout the whole process of the placement from, interviews, the induction day in London, and Visa Process, as well as seeing her in person when you arrive in America. Placement; BSG offer two placements; one where you spend the whole year with one country club, and another where you can move to a second country clubs half way through the year. I decided to go with the second option of living in two destinations of America, as it is more of an experience. If I'm being completely honest the process of the placement is rather confusing, however with Rasheeda's help it is made as simple as possible. Once you have received the placement, you are started with the process of the VISA, this is done through AHA (American Hospitality Academy). They organise the VISA sponsorship and your medical insurance for when abroad. You are put in touch with them through email and make you extremely at ease with quick responses and easy online guides of what you and they need to know. They give you your SEVIS number, and forms needed for your VISA application. This process between the country club you have been placed at, AHA and Rasheeda is quite lengthy, however the advice I can give is have trust in the process, and if you're ever confused with anything email them as they will help you with every part of the process. To receive your VISA you need to travel down the the embassy in London to finish the final part of the process, and once your passport is sent off to receive the VISA stamp the countdown to America begins!
