One of the main reasons is that I gained valuable experience in purchasing and contracting activities, which are necessary skills in any corporate context. Although my internship was not directly related to the accounting field, I gained the experience needed to one day start my own business. I also grew a lot thanks to this internship because I could not only improve my social skills but also learn more about different cultures. American culture is relatively new to me and learning more about American culture has been a much appreciated experience. I realized that one of the benefits of interning in Washington, DC is that the city has many people with diverse backgrounds. The NEA as an organization had about 20 interns for the summer of 2014 alone and we all came from different backgrounds. By spending time with the other interns after work hours, I developed very close friendships with the other interns and learned to interact with different types of people. I developed a sense of awareness of the different surrounding cultures and, at the same time, I was also able to improve my social relationships