Jeroen during his internship in Toronto, Canada

Jeroen in Toronto: "There are so many nationalities here!"

The agency I work for calls itself a creative agency, and that description fits perfectly. They don’t limit themselves to one medium but have experience and interest in branding, web design, graphic design, and we experiment a lot with motion detection and blob detection. My tasks vary greatly—right now, I’m mainly working on designing a new brand identity for a sports center, but before that, I did research, took and edited photos for a catalog, and worked on social media for a client.

Toronto is chill

The city is amazing! Downtown, you’ll find a mix of old Victorian buildings and skyscrapers, and there are frequent festivals and cultural events. The atmosphere is great and relaxed. People here are open to each other, which makes it easy to meet new people and try interesting things. What surprised me the most was the social integration—there are so many nationalities here, and everyone treats each other with great respect. At my workplace alone, there are eight people from seven different nationalities, which makes our conversations and the things we create really diverse.

Hands-on approach

This internship is exactly what I was looking for. I study Communication and Media, but my real passion is in art and the practical side of communication. Since my university focuses mainly on the theoretical aspect, my knowledge of industry-standard software was quite limited. The people I work with here are all very hands-on and practically trained. That means there’s always someone around to help me improve my designs and make them more functional.

I get a lot of freedom and responsibility—I attend client meetings on my own to get a clear idea of their needs, and I’m also responsible for meeting deadlines. It’s not a typical 9-to-5 job, but I don’t mind. Sometimes you have to pull all-nighters to finish a project, but on other days, I can just wander around the city for inspiration.

Running on caffeine

One of the most memorable projects was creating a catalog for an art supply store. There were just two of us working on it, and we had to put in a lot of hours. The nights spent working in the studio were unforgettable—running on caffeine, exhausted, but pushing through because we just wanted to finish it.

Another thing that still amazes me is cycling through downtown Toronto. There’s so much happening around you that you have to stay alert, but every now and then, you get a moment to realize how cool it is to be here and doing what I do.

Small talk is normal

To keep a social life in such a big city, you have to be open to new experiences. It’s very normal here to start conversations with strangers. That way, you hear about events and parties, and you just have to go—meeting new people is part of the experience. If you don’t put yourself out there, you might end up feeling lonely.

Final rating

A 9+!