Ambrose Karella
Hey guys, my name is Ambrose and I am a senior game designer at Drexel university. I worked with ACOPIA for about 6 months, and I enjoyed the new experience. Working in Korea was quite different from working in the states, but the other interns that welcomed me when I got here made me feel at home. Also having some friends here as well helped to make my experience here really amazing. Some of the things I’ll miss the most are the food, the challenging work I was able to do, and all the places I got to see and activities I got to do.
The food here was my biggest weakness. BBQ, fried chicken, bulgogi, and stews. There were so many great options, and it’s going to be difficult to go back to american food. I am happy to get back to pizza without corn on it and having more options for mexican food. It’s a trade-off, but I think Korea is a winner in the food category. Especially when you factor in things other than flavor too like the fact that (in most cases) it’s probably healthier than most of the food I eat at home.
So what was the work like at ACOPIA? The most important thing I have to stress is that it is extremely self guided. Even in the first week you need to get to work and figure out what you’re doing. Others will help you, but there’s a lot you need to figure out on your own. This can be awful for someone without motivation or direction, but it was a huge plus for me. I was able to tackle things like SEO and site optimization, and I was able to see amazing results after a lot of work. Other than the work I personally did, there was a lot this internship offered as well. Thinks like Korean classes, team lunches, and sometimes going to attractions were common at ACOPIA.
Speaking of attractions, I was able to see so much here during my six months while working for ACOPIA. I was able to go to a lot of concerts, visit lotte world, everland, jeju island, and I even was able to take a day off to spend a long weekend in Tokyo. I got to be here for some cool events too, one of my favorite being the cherry blossom festival. It was so crowded, but extremely worth it.
In all, this internship has been an amazing cultural experience and something I will never forget. It definitely gave me guidance on what I may want to do after I finish my degree. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity I had here at ACOPIA, and I can’t wait to be back in Korea sometime soon!
