The Final Internship (Stage de fin d’études)

A thank you note coupled with my experience

In 2019 when I took the risk of coming to France where I knew no one around and did not speak the language. I comforted myself thinking of all the people who had travelled or immigrated before google maps and google translate. But never did I expect a pandemic and whole lot of other crises I faced. So this is about one such challenge.

Amidst the chaos of Covid-19, where many lives turned upside down, most of the people who started their masters just before the pandemic were also a facing another challenge — to do their research thesis and/or to find an internship/ job.

For an international student who doesn’t speak French trying to find job in France itself is a huge challenge. Add to that a pandemic which brought along an economic crisis which heavily impacted businesses. The overwhelming anxiety levels I felt while doing the final coursework projects and trying my best to find an internship was something I have never felt before. I was drained out. I received replies but then there were times which they ghosted me and never came for the interview they promised. I knew ones who got offered the job — again being notified that they cannot proceed due to the company freezing all of its hiring processes. The anxiety was numbing and I was feeling negative. The landlord notified us to leave by August as new students were arriving. I had no way of going back either because of lockdowns. It was thanks to one of my…