Oren participated in Career Israel 17 – September 2014- February 2015
Initially I was contemplating internship programs in general, although not necessarily in Israel.
A family friend was, at the time, half-way through the Masa Israel Teaching Fellows program and was really enjoying it. I decided to look into other programs and by searching based on my interests and the time frame that would work for me, I applied to Career Israel
My internship coordinator was very accessible and helpful in directing and advising me to make sure I ended up in the most suitable company. During my 5 months in Israel I interned with Tahal, a multinational engineering company with headquarters in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Tahal specializes in multidisciplinary fields such as water and wastewater systems, hydropower, desalination, solid waste management, and agriculture and irrigation development. With the help of my internship coordinator and the company representative, we were able to make sure that my skills would be utilized and my interests fulfilled.
My experience was heavily influenced by my interest and investment in this program providing me with rigorous and professional work experience. That being said, there was also as much play as there was work. Our wonderfully engaging and present coordinators and staff made our experience their priority and the result was a much more lively and interesting experience outside of work than I was anticipating.
The organized trips, discourses, lectures, and general atmosphere that were provided and cultivated helped me to appreciate parts of Israel, physically and emotionally, that I had previously explored to a lesser extent or not at all.
The fact that the community was an international mix was incredibly helpful in providing different points of view and stories of the international narrative of what it means to be Jewish, what it means to live in Israel, and how we can work together on international goals and perception.
As with any organized program of considerable length, there were bumps in the road, but overall the 5 months were immensely positive and well executed by the staff from an administrative and personal level.
My English worsened, my Hebrew improved, and I decided to stay – this leads me to only one conclusion: that my Career Israel Masa experience was nothing short of successful.
