Ashley

I’m Ashley, I’m a student at UC Davis but I grew up in San Jose. I’m here in Japan doing an internship in business and communications.

Technology

I've gotten really close with the other workers here, and they've inspired me as much as I have inspired them.

Marketing, Sales

32wks

Sales

USA

Why Japan? I have been wanting to go to Japan for a long time now. I really admire their culture, so I wanted to experience it firsthand. What kind of company did you work for? I work for a company that makes cat IoT toilets, so they are cat litter boxes that connect to your phone and let you know when your cat has a disease of some sort, or if your cat is visiting the toilet too often or too little, so that you can be notified on whether you should take it to the vet. What did you do in your company? I’ve been doing all sorts of things! A lot of business trips, I’ve been sticking around with the CEO mainly, and I’ve been watching him present at lectures pitch his company, since the company I work for is a start-up. I have also seen him network at networking parties, so most of the time I’ve been watching people work and learning from watching and having them tell me what’s happening. Other times I’ve helped do some research in crowdfunding in the US. Did you use Japanese language in your company? Nope, there’s a little bit of language barrier but everyone speaks English pretty well. What is your greatest achievement? I think my greatest achievement here has been the effect I’ve had on the company. I’ve gotten really close with the other workers here, and they’ve inspired me as much as I have inspired them. How did you grow as a person and as a professional? I’ve learned how to take on a different point of view, and how to think differently, communicate differently. Basically, I’ve learned how to stay open-minded and I think that will benefit me in any sort of work experience I have in the future, whether it’s business or not. Most memorable moment of this experience? The whole thing! Well, some of the business trips I think were the most memorable thing. I was actually asked this earlier and I answered Kyoto because it was really fun and is a really great event that I attended. I also got closer with the other people that I work with. How well did ICC do in helping you find and internship? I think you guys did perfectly! I really enjoyed this internship and I think I was well prepared. https://youtu.be/-YsdzdisZvw