Summer Work and Travel Visa

Branislav M. on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, made famous by the film “Rocky”

Branislav M. is a student at Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze (University of Economics in Prague) and participated in the Summer Work & Travel program in 2006 and 2007.  He recently received a scholarship to study for one semester at the University of North Carolina.

1. What made you choose to participate in the Summer Work & Travel program in the U.S.?
I wanted to visit the US and the Summer Work & Travel program was about the only affordable possibility to get there. Moreover it offered me a chance to earn some money and to travel around the US and have an extraordinary summer vacation.

2.  What type of job did you do, and where?
I worked in the state of New Jersey, in the town of Wildwood which is at the southern cape of the state. I worked as a lifeguard in my first year and I worked in a motel and in a food place in my second year.

3.  What were your daily interactions with Americans and other international students? 
I worked for Americans the whole time, so my direct interaction was therefore on a daily basis, either with my boss or other American colleagues. There were also many international students, especially from South America, Russia and Poland.

Central Park in New York City.    Photo courtesy of Branislav M.

4.  What was your favorite place to visit?
I really enjoyed the Big Apple - NYC. It was a “must see” in the US for me, and things I had only seen on TV before were right around me.  It is a special city for me.

5.  What did you enjoy the most about life in the United States?
Of course I enjoyed the fact that I had financial freedom as I earn enough money to support myself. As a consequence I quickly adapted to spending the money over the Internet to purchase various things. I liked the American people, who were open and friendly most of the time and I can say I enjoyed the food as well.

6.  What was the biggest challenge that you confronted in the US?
The Work & Travel program required a lot of paperwork, and I had to deal with many offices such as the Embassy, Social Security, arrange my tax refunds and housing, so I can say that having everything prepared on time and correctly was rather a big challenge. Afterwards everything went pretty smoothly.

7.  What would you recommend for other Czech students who might be interested in this program?
Make sure you really want to go there and don’t have great expectations on your earnings as things might not go according to plans.  Don’t go on your own.  It’s always better to have somebody you can rely on in case you have problems.