Providence Calling: Aine Foley’s J-1 Experience
According to this J-1s experience, Providence, Rhode Island could be the next big place to spend your J-1 year!
Aine Foley is a current University of Limerick student completing her third year placement at Energy Electric Contractors. As a Construction Management student, she knew doing her co-op in the United States would endow her invaluable experience. Aine saw the internship at Energy Electric Contractors as her first opportunity to apply her university learnings to a true work experience. Ultimately, her goal for the visa year is to get the most out of the experience – and she has done just that!
With her work secured, Aine switched her attention to finding accommodation. The only thing she and her friend Aoife, also on the same course at UL, knew about Providence was that it was home to Brown University. They decided to live in Providence because they thought the presence of Brown and other colleges would mean housing. They were right! As Aine describes it, they found a “nice little spot in a cute area”.
Fast forward to January of 2023, Aine began her internship as an Assistant Project Manager at Energy Electric Contractors. At the start, Aine did most onboarding in the office, and was excited to get out on-site when she had the opportunity to. She is getting a real insight into what the day to day of project managers include. Now that she is trained up, she finds herself completing whichever task the project manager has for her. She is onsite every week completing health and safety inspections. When she has the opportunity, she collaborates with other departments too.
Now that it is March, she is feeling more settled into her J-1 year. She says she doesn’t feel like it has hit her yet. She will not realize the magnitude of her year abroad until she is back home. She felt a bit homesick at the start, but overall found that her transition to the States was smooth because her job and accommodation were set.
Her goal for the last couple of months was to get settled in. Now that she has, she can look ahead to the rest of the year. Professionally, she hopes to get the most of her internship which she can build upon once she gets back home. She hopes to travel as well. In fact, she already has two trips booked- one to Miami for the Fourth of July and the other to Kentucky to tour horse farms. Of course, she plans to enjoy a staple of American culture- American sports. She hopes to get tickets to professional baseball games and to the Boston Celtics.
As she reflects on her start to her year abroad, Aine has advice for other J-1s. First, she would tell other J-1s to start planning their year in the States as soon as they can, and try to plan it out well. Aine began preparing early and did not leave anything to the last minute- she attributes this in part to her success so far. She also recommends Facebook and Gradbnb to find options for accommodation. Aine also says not to be afraid to ask for help! Aine reached out to organizations and universities for leads on housing and resources.
There are little insights that Aine would pass along to prospective J-1s too. For example, be aware that sales tax is added on once you pay for the item, rather than included in the ticket price. She also notices that in the States the Imperial system is used, i.e. inches, feet, pounds, rather than the metric system. One insight that has stuck with her however is how lovely everyone has been. She’s found people so willing to help and open to questions.
When Aine looks into the future to a year from now, she sees herself back at university, finishing up her final year. She will have to complete a final year project based off of her internship at Energy Electric Contractors. Aine has already started to think about what her project could be on! This internship will be a pivotal part of Aine’s career so far and builds the foundation for how she will grow from here. She’s excited for what is ahead during her J-1 year and beyond!
To see photos from Aine’s year and for more J-1 stories like hers, follow our Instagram @rianj_1.