"In the midst of looking for an internship for my gap year, I wanted to combine travel and professional experience. The EXCO internship was the perfect experience for me, as it combined both! Caribbean culture is so rich!
I threw myself into the experience with no regrets, thanks in particular to the people who recruited me, who accompanied me very well on my journey.
EXCO is very well established in the French West Indies, with a very rich and varied customer base, which makes the job even more interesting, as you get to know business sectors that don't exist in mainland France.
Contrary to popular belief, an auditor's job in the West Indies is the same as in mainland France, with just as much work. My internship at EXCO was beyond my expectations, because I didn't think I would have been given so much responsibility. I didn't feel like an "intern" like I've felt in other companies, I felt part of the team and that my work was important. Moreover, integration was easy, we were very well received and I always felt at ease in the team, which is a very important point in the course of an internship. I'd never had any experience of auditing before this one, but they trusted us straight away, explaining things to us first and then letting us get straight down to work in the field.
What was also great was the internship period, i.e. the period from October to the end of March, when we were able to take part in two cycles, which enabled us to evolve, to see all the phases of the job and above all to see the end result and understand why we had done all this work before.
Before coming here, I didn't know the West Indies, I'd never been here before and I wasn't disappointed. When I arrived, I joined a shared flat thanks to the GWADA CONNEXION Facebook group, which is the best way to meet people. During those 6 months, I made a lot of friends with whom I stayed at weekends, hiking to waterfalls, going on boat trips, discovering islands and beaches, and going out on Saturday evenings, often at roommate parties. It was also an opportunity to miss a winter and be in the sun all the time, in a very rich West Indian culture where everyone welcomes you with a smile. I'll always have fond memories of this course and would do it again if I had to.
