By Hannah Straub, Junior Editor of the MUDEC Méinden Newsletter

Interning at a startup can be challenging in and of itself, especially while being abroad. An intern may wear multiple hats in a company that is just getting its feet wet and may not truly know what purpose he or she serves. Luckily, in Maddy Stanger’s case, her internship hits a little closer to home. Stanger gets to work with a fellow MUDEC alum, Kelsey Hopper, who has just recently become a Luxembourg citizen and has started a small business venture focusing on health, wellness, and music.

As a third year Psychology major with a Marketing minor, Stanger had wanted to study abroad for many reasons, including being able to learn about the culture and people of Europe, and not just snapping a picture at every major tourist destination.

“I wanted to come to Luxembourg specifically because it was somewhere I had never thought of going to before. Since I had no background on the country, I knew that the experience would be completely its own and would build itself as I’m here,” Stanger says.

As a student who is interested in psychology, she wants to focus on the cognitive and social aspects of the mind and how humans function in a business setting. These specifics caused her to look into interning for a startup in Luxembourg, leading her to Kelsey Hopper.

KelseyHopperServices is a local small business divided into two parts: KelseyHopperMusic and KelseyHopperYoga. Stanger is aiding Hopper with marketing and social media in order to help her business grow, reaching different audiences around Luxembourg.

“Since yoga and music both have such a great importance in my life as well as the world of psychology, being able to market them across different social media platforms seemed like an amazing way to exercise all my interests and skills,” Stanger adds.

A perk of interning with Hopper is the flexibility. Stanger is mostly a remote intern, which allows her to focus on her classes and allows time for independent travel as well. Aside from communicating with Hopper about what needs to be done, she organizes social media posts, edits Hopper’s website, creates and updates documents for her students, and she even attends and photographs some of her music and yoga classes.

“I definitely do a lot of different things so luckily, we are able to get together for breakfast every Tuesday at a cute vegan restaurant in the city and discuss the project I had been working on that week, what future tasks/expectations there may be, or even just catch up,” Stanger says.

Stanger’s work with Hopper as well as her experience now being in Luxembourg for 3 months has been a positive one. It has become a home away from home and has given her the opportunity to learn multitudes about European culture and daily life. After visiting 10 countries and over 30 cities so far, she can proudly say it is something special.

“Being here has introduced me to a language I never knew existed, the many complications of public transportation, my new favorite chocolate milk, and so much more,” Stanger adds.

When asked what advice she would give to prospective students thinking about studying abroad she says:

“Budget, budget, budget! Mistakes will definitely happen and it’s important to embrace them as they come. Every misadventure is a memory in the making. Doing an internship while abroad is something I never thought would be possible, and I’m so thankful to have learned so much more than I could have imagined and I now feel more prepared for a travel focused career in the future. I certainly recommend you do one if given the opportunity!” Stanger concludes.