91心頭利

Make It to Chicago

Trang Do '24

Class Year

2024

Area(s) of Study

Major in Economics
Minor in Chinese and Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Xin cho! My name is Trang Do, and I participated in the ACTIVATE: Summer Internship Program in the South Loop of Chicago. I loved participating in ACTIVATE so much. It was an amazing experience and one of the best summer memories I've ever had.

I’m an international student living away from home so when I moved to Chicago, I was a bit nervous, but excited, as well, as I would be able to live a whole new life in the city. Although ACTIVATE runs for 2 months, I made new friends and learned how to live an independent life. I applied for internships, bought groceries, cooked, and managed my time and budget on my own. Besides enjoying the fun in Chicago, my internship was very interesting. I interned in legal marketing and was excited about working in this position. Moreover, during my time in the program I discovered various delicious restaurants in Chicago which made me postpone my plans of going on a diet (haha!). Another thing I loved about staying at The Flats, the College’s residential space in Chicago, is that it is close to everything which is so convenient. It’s only a 5-minute walk to the grocery store and a 10-minute walk to the Museum Campus, which includes all the fun places like Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum, Adler Planetarium, etc. I loved taking full advantage of the free admission days to discover all that the museums had to offer.

One of the things that I had never done before, but I did while in Chicago, (and I highly recommend it to everyone), is I woke up at 5am and watched the sunrise at the lake front. It was super gorgeous and made my whole day. After watching the sunrise, I went to Jewel-Osco to get groceries for the new week. It was a productive way to start the day! I also recommend that future participants check out taking the Red Line train to go Chinatown. There you try the hotpot, Korean BBQ, and bubble tea. Chinatown is only a 5-minute train ride from The Flats where you can try tons of different cuisines. Isn’t that cool?

These experiences as part of ACTIVATE far exceeded my expectations and I cherish every moment of living and working in Chicago. To continue exploring new opportunities, I plan to continue living and working in Chicago as part of the 91心頭利 In The Loop program this coming Fall semester. I'm so excited to continue my self-nourishing journey. I feel grateful and appreciative of my family and friends that have given me the opportunities to grow into the person I am now. C畉m 董n r畉t nhi畛u!