Jake Gaglardi-Kreider (commerce)
My name is Jake Gaglardi-Kreider, a fourth-year student at the University of Victoria Business school (Gustavson) with specialization in International Business.
I chose the business school at UVic due to my interests in entrepreneurship and all the general skills which encompasses the business environment. I was especially interested in international business, as I have always felt it is best to adopt a global mindset and have great fascination in learning about different cultural practices and norms.
Doing a co-op work term in Portugal
Currently, I'm living in Portugal wrapping up a four-month co-op with a Portuguese wine and tourism company.
Right before this, I spent four months in the Czech Republic on an exchange semester at Masaryk University in Brno. After moving to Czechia, I fell in love with the lifestyle and vastly different experiences which I was exposed to in Europe. The ability to immerse myself in new places far different than my home was exhilarating, and with an upcoming work semester I was incredibly determined to stay abroad and maximize this seemingly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
It was a daunting task considering my original plan was to remain in Canada and the latter would require a work visa, however, with much hard work, I secured a position in the Sales and Tourism department of World of Wine Porto, a historic Port wine (and now tourism) company dating back to the 1600s (Fladgate Group). My main role is fostering relations with North American clients and leveraging local knowledge and native English speaking to increase visits by Canadian and American guests.
Learning through travel
Travelling across Europe for about seven months now, I've accumulated a lifetime's worth of stories, spanning from great cultural, historical, and personal significance to downright bad ideas. The highlight has undoubtedly been my exposure to vastly different environments and cultures, achieved through travel and befriending locals.
Despite only visiting a respectable 8 countries in my entire 21 years of life leading up to this time abroad, in the past 7 months, I've been to 18 different countries and stayed in around 25+ cities, including 11 capital cities, and even managed to complete 13 different countries in 12 weeks while studying in Czechia.
It has been a profound learning experience, drastically changing my attitude and perception of the world, and marking the most important personal transformational period of my entire life.
Overcoming challenges
Although my time here has had countless highs, as we all eventually come to learn, life is not always a bed of roses, and moving to two different European countries without knowing anybody, ever visiting there, or speaking either of the languages, was an incredibly intimidating proposition. With language barriers, new cultural norms, foreigner treatment, homesickness, and even the massive culmination of every seemingly insignificant difference, it has never been easy.
With that being said, every single hardship I've faced has been worth it a hundred times over as this has been the most enlightening experience of my entire life. In fact, I've come to value all the struggles and learning curves I've shouldered, as it has provided me with levels of adaptability and independence that couldn't possibly be taught in a classroom.
As it relates to the work environment in Portugal or learning culture in Czechia, like the country itself, there are countless differences compared to my home, and I think the opportunity to work or study in a foreign organization, while challenging to get used to, is extremely valuable and highly recommended.
Besides forcing teamwork and adaptation skills, I believe overall exposure to numerous different work and learning environments/cultures would provide a person with all the knowledge necessary to create the optimal work environment or learning space, learning from each culture's various strengths.
The benefits of moving abroad
Regarding the decision to move abroad as a whole, I couldn’t recommend it enough. The decision to move away from home for a long time is undoubtedly daunting, and I was dreading it right until the day I left. Looking back, I couldn't be prouder of myself for taking that leap of faith as I have made memories, met people, and experienced things that I will never forget.
I have met people from small villages who live without any of the luxuries which we take for granted every single day and yet are twice as content with their lives, making my fears for opportunities I should be grateful for seem laughable.
In total, I am incredibly thankful for the opportunities which allowed me to connect with great people and experience unique cultures. All my experiences here have given me a newfound appreciation for this game we call life, and it has made me truly grateful just to wake up every morning, no matter what cards the game of life deals.