From the start of my second year at Sciences-Po, I had the objective of completing my Bachelor years with an internship rather than with a year of student exchange. I was attracted to the opportunity of practising the more professional English language and by the idea of working for a company for an extended period of time. Even though my search zone didn’t include the United States (« impossible to find » « visa procedures are too complicated » « too expensive »), I decided to take a chance and answered an internship offer as assistant to the global team of Havas Worldwide, one of the largest communication networks in the world. My application was accepted and I left for nine months in Manhattan a few weeks later. 

First impression for a newly-arrived : everything is so large, so big and so alive ! 

"You quickly lose the « French » accent complex… »

...because there are so many accents around. The city of the « Friends »’ characters describes itself as a crossroad of cultures, promoting a very liberal and individualistic mentality which allows all to grow within the communities which they identify with, without restricting themselves to them. 

“As the Havas Worldwide’s global team’s assistant, versatility is the rule”

I was responsible for the following:

• Monitoring the recent trends and news of companies’ communication; doing marketing studies
• Making the script of a video valuing the young leaders of tomorrow; experimenting digital solutions
• Participating in the conception of a pro bono campaign for an association, organising a competition for the best network communication
• Coordinating an artistic project during a top management annual seminar

"San Francisco est certainement une ville plus facile à vivre que New York"

After 10 PM, the streets are already quieter on weekdays, except for some neighbourhoods such as « Mission ». As for fast foods, they are much less visible in a city where there are legions of personal development supporters, devoted to fitness, meditation and yoga… the people in San Francisco like to say their city is the most European of all American cities. The climate helps (even though you always need a some kind of jacket in San Francisco !), the city is undoubtedly a more easy-going city than New York.

"As project manager at CALSO, my objective was to maximise the impact of social entrepreneurship initiative "

• My first task was to assist in the writing of grant applications to company foundations for the financing of a training program for unemployed veterans to be integrated in the civil drone industry.
• My second assignment was to assist in the management and development of an incubation program for foreign start-ups which wished to settle in the United States : the selection process, the daily support of entrepreneurs from reports to the search of partners to finance the project -
  I learnt as much about the entrepreneurial world as about the funders’ world.

​Working for a start-up, with other start-ups, has been extremely interesting as it requires a lot of agility, creativity and a critical mind!