CAPA WORLD

Sydney Alderman is an official CAPA blogger, sharing her story on CAPA World. A Marketing and Global Management major at the University of Pittsburgh, she is studying abroad in Sydney.

In today's post, Sydney reflects on her experiences abroad and how she has grown over her semester abroad in Sydney, as well as how her internship was beneficial for her future.

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My 6 weeks in Sydney were both the fastest and slowest 6 weeks of my life. Whenever someone would mention how much time we had left, we would all be surprised how little that amount was, but also wonder how we had been there for so long when it felt like we had only arrived the day before. Since I’ve been home, I’ve had a little time to reflect on this journey and my experiences. I think I was able to grow not only academically and professionally, but also personally as well.

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I really had a good time in my Sports Marketing class, and I think this solidified that at some point in my career, I would love to work in the sports industry. I think it also confirmed that marketing has been the right choice for my major. I enjoyed and felt very capable when researching and writing proposals on solutions for marketing problems. My time as an intern at Ordermentum was also very beneficial. Even though I learned what kind of work that I loved doing through that experience, it also made me more well-rounded as a marketing candidate; I can be more confident when applying to various positions in the future.

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In today's post, Sydney puts a list of 10 things you can do to be a part of the local culture and city life when you arrive in Sydney for your semester abroad.

While a summer semester abroad may not seem like a long enough time (like a fall or spring semester abroad) to explore all the different things that Sydney has to offer, here's a list that I've put together based on my experience. I can 100% say that this is a good place to start—regardless of how long you'll be abroad. Here are some of my favorite things that I’ve done while abroad in Sydney.

1. SPEND TIME AT THE SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE

First, spend time at this iconic landmark. Yes, it’s a huge tourist attraction…but that’s for a reason. If you don’t have the money to actually go to a show or a behind-the-scenes tour, but you want more than just a picture outside, try a sunrise yoga class.

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Sydney Alderman is an official CAPA blogger, sharing her story on CAPA World. A Marketing and Global Management major at the University of Pittsburgh, she is studying abroad in Sydney.

In today's post, Sydney talks about how much she liked and learned from her Sports Marketing class and what it was like to experience the Australian sports culture through lessons, field trips, and attending games.

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As much as I sometimes can’t believe it, my experience in Australia, is more than just eating and exploring...I also have to work and go to class. Studying is a vital part of “studying abroad.” 😉 Lucky for me, I’m taking a class on a topic that I find interesting, and with a professor that used our location and experiences outside the classroom to enrich our lectures and make studying not so bad. 😉 For anyone looking to go to Sydney through CAPA, I 100% recommend Sports Marketing with Dr. Andy West.

A group photo with my Sports Marketing class.

If you know me, you already know that I’m a varsity athlete and a marketing major at the University of Pittsburgh, so you may think I’m a little biased towards the topic of Sports Marketing given those two things. But I promise, the class and the professor were just cool despite those things. One of the coolest things we did over the course of the semester was take a few trips to Sydney Olympic Park, home of the 2000 Summer Olympics. We learned about how Sydney won the right to host the games and turned what was once an abattoir, a brickworks, and wetlands into an Olympic venue. Even more interesting, we learned about the post-Olympics development. The area became its own flourishing suburb with places to live, work, eat, relax, see concerts, and of course, watch sports events.

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Sydney Alderman is an official CAPA blogger, sharing her story on CAPA World. A Marketing and Global Management major at the University of Pittsburgh, she is studying abroad in Sydney.

In today's post, Sydney lists 10 things she learned from the Roar and Snore overnight experience at Taronga Zoo (with a view) in Sydney.

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One of the excursions that was included in the CAPA Sydney program inclusion is an overnight trip to Taronga Zoo, also known as the Roar and Snore experience. This included a night safari through the zoo after hours, a view of the sunrise over the city, an up-close and personal experience with some reptiles, elephants, hippos, kangaroos, seals (and more), and tons of interesting facts about the zoo and its animals. I think what’s so cool is that you can go from a huge city, across a bull-shark infested harbor, and *BAM* there’s a place with the largest collection of native and exotic animals in New South Wales and over 2,000 rare and endangered animals. Following are some of the facts that I learned and found interesting.

Zoo with a view!

1. CRYO ZOO

The Taronga Zoo is using a technique called cryopreservation (aka freezing) in order to save over 100,000 coral pulps and spores in case the Great Barrier Reef continues to decay, and they need to restore it. SO COOL.

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Sydney Alderman is an official CAPA blogger, sharing her story on CAPA World. A Marketing and Global Management major at the University of Pittsburgh, she is studying abroad in Sydney.

In today's post, Sydney talks about her marketing internship experience with software company Ordermentum, what her responsibilities were, and how she adjusted to the Australian work environment.

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While studying abroad in Sydney, I decided to do an internship along with my classes. Ordermentum is the company I intern with. It is a Software as a Service (SaaS) order management system for wholesalers and distributors in the food and beverage industry (specifically coffee, bread and patisserie, and dairy). It's located right by Sydney Harbour, so I would get off the train at Circular Quay and pass the Sydney Opera House on my way to my internship site every day. On nice, sunny days I would walk a few minutes to the harbor for lunch and watch the boats come in as I ate, and then walk back to the office and see it all through the window as I interned.

During my time as an Ordermentum intern, I was in charge of the email marketing strategy and content creation. I really looked forward to coming up with the strategy; it was the area I enjoyed the most. I was also actually producing the newsletters, designs, and promotions that would be sent to their customers and potential clients.

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Sydney Alderman is an official CAPA blogger, sharing her story on CAPA World. A Marketing and Global Management major at the University of Pittsburgh, she is studying abroad in Sydney.

In this week's post, Sydney recommends several things to do and places to visit and eat around the neighborhood of Ultimo in Sydney. 

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Now that I’ve been in Sydney for a little bit, I know my way around a few parts of the city, including Ultimo, the my neighborhood. One thing that the neighborhood has is the main campus for the University of Technology Sydney. One of the main buildings, the UTS Tower, is very recognizable due to its’ height and large UTS sign at the top of the building, and fortunately for me and the other CAPA students, only about a block from our residence. During our first few weeks here when we were figuring out our way around, we were able to look up for that tower and use it to find our bearings and help us make sure we were going in the right direction to get home. Ultimo also has the largest TAFE campus in New South Wales, which is also super close to my apartment and includes the CAPA Sydney building where I take classes.

A breakfast sandwich from Fork and Grind

As for food, one of my favorite places to eat (so far) and hands down one of the best cafes I’ve ever been to is in Ultimo. Behold, Fork and Grind. If I could franchise it and put it on my campus in Pittsburgh I would spend all of my savings and do it in a heartbeat. Because it’s so close to home and classes, we go pretty often, and I promise I have thoroughly sampled their menu.

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Sydney Alderman is an official CAPA blogger for summer 2018, sharing her story in weekly posts on CAPA World. A Marketing and Global Management major at the University of Pittsburgh, she is studying abroad in Sydney this semester.

In this week's post, Sydney shares what she's learned from her previous study abroad journey and suggests 10 things to prepare for before you leave for your own study abroad experience.

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Hey guys! I thought I’d give a little background on my study abroad experience and also share some important things to do to prepare. A few years ago, I studied abroad in Augsburg, Germany. It was my first time overseas, and it was one of the most exciting and fulfilling experiences I’ve ever had. I’ve been itching to travel again since the day I stepped back in the US. so when the opportunity to go to Sydney came along, I had to take it. Unfortunately, that also meant prepping to go abroad again— which can take a lot of time and be somewhat stressful. To ease some of the pain for other students like me, I’ve come up with 10 things to do before you leave. Read below to learn from my mistakes...because now that I'm on round 2 of this abroad thing, I'm practically a pro right? 😉

I studied abroad in Germany my first time. Sydney will be my second study abroad experience!

1. Get Your Passport (and Visa) Sorted Out

These are important documents and without them, none of these other tips matter! Both can take up to 8 weeks or more to receive so make sure you check this out well in advance.

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