Sadly, our time in Sint Maarten has come to an end. From touchdown to liftoff, I don’t think a month has flown by so fast in my life. I genuinely enjoyed every second I spent with such great classmates, professors, and hotel staff members. I expected to gain experience in public relations and advertising, but I didn’t expect to gain such great friendships and mentors. Not only that, but I now understand why Sint Maarten has earned the title of the “Friendly Island”. From the hotel staff to cab drivers, to servers at restaurants, everyone I met was filled with kindness.
Our last week was filled with activity. On Monday, we began to get group time with the professors on our final campaign plan and opted to finish the night by celebrating Kendall’s birthday. Of course, the only correct way to celebrate her birthday was dinner, karaoke, then all of us jumping into the pool fully clothed. On Tuesday and Wednesday, we continued with our campaigns and my group planned out how we were going to conduct interviews. We waited on our interviews until Thursday so that way we could interview people in Phillipsburg which is one of the main places for commerce in Sint Maarten. We got some interviews that gave us some nice insight. I went to Juggie’s to interview the man himself, but forgot he wasn’t present at that time. Luckily, one of the lovely ladies that was working agreed to an interview. Our group’s biggest hit was an interview we did with the “Yoda Guy”, Nick Mayers (and of course toured his history-rich museum). He gave us some in-depth information about certain cruise ships and off-seasons. That Thursday, my group also did an Instagram takeover, which of course was the best of the four groups. We opted for a vlogging approach so that way we could connect with those following along better. That Friday, we had our last class and set off for our sunset sendoff cruise. The weekend went by in a blur, and next thing I knew I was sitting in Princess Juliana International Airport waiting for my flight to board. After a few hours of waiting, and a few more teary-eyed goodbyes, I was on my way back to the states.
Overall, I got way more out of my one month on the friendly island than I ever thought I would, both in terms of academics and experiences. I’ve talked about my experiences on the island, so I want to shine some more light on the academic side of things. At the end of my freshman year (I’m counting this trip as the beginning of my sophomore year) if someone had put me on a team and told me I had to make a campaign for a client, I honestly wouldn’t have known where to start. However, after just two classes, I feel confident that I could pull my own weight. Expanding my public relations knowledge was my original goal for the trip, but I now also see how reliable of an asset Sprinklr will be for me in the future. On top of all this, my professors were kind enough to put me in contact with someone that has vast experience in a niche field that I wish to work in, which just the cherry on top.
I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed a singular month so much in my life, and I wish I could live it over and over again. Thank you Sint Maarten, and thank you to everyone who I spent time with on the trip.
-'Til next time, Skylar Deavers
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