Volunteering in New York: Getting to know the melting pot that is NYC

Thanks to TIE International, in October 2022, six apprentices (four software engineering apprentices and two mediamaticians) and two supervisors boarded a plane heading to the city that never sleeps. After arriving there, we were overwhelmed by the sheer size of the city and were immediately drawn into the constant hustle and bustle that takes place there. It’s virtually impossible to get bored in this city. Quite the opposite to Switzerland, where everything is very calm and structured.

Before I arrived in New York, I’d already heard about various nicknames that people gave to the city. But the most fitting in my point of view is that the city is a 'melting pot'. The longer I had the opportunity to explore it and to meet the people who live there, the more I realized how diverse its residents are. It’s so easy to get to know interesting people with different backgrounds and from different cultures. Whether it was American people who moved to the city to carve out a career, ETH alumni at the dinner of the ETH Circle who emigrated there, or a Hasidic Jew on a rooftop bar, who grew up without internet and television. We even had the opportunity to meet the Deputy Consul General of Switzerland. All these memorable encounters really made me broaden my horizon.

After some time of getting used to the way of life in New York, we were already feeling like locals ourselves. It felt natural to walk through the never-ending street canyons of Manhattan or taking the Metro to work every day to do volunteer work for various projects.

Needless to say, we had to face some challenges. But the apprentices did a really good job dealing with them. Things change quickly in this city, and nothing’s really set in stone. In Switzerland, if you make an appointment two weeks from now, you know that this person is going to be there on time. In NYC on the other hand, it’s not uncommon for people to reschedule just a couple of minutes before the meeting would’ve taken place. Hence, something we had to learn during our stay is to be very flexible. It certainly wasn’t always easy to collaborate with the clients due to cultural differences or language barriers. But everybody in the group quickly got used to the American work culture and was able to learn valuable lessons for their future work life, which is an important part of the whole stay. I think it’s safe to say that everybody grew as a person during that month.

The apprentices also did a very good job applying the skills which they learned during their education so far. But they were also ready and motivated to acquire new skills if needed, since they already had experience doing day-to-day work and delivering valuable code. For me, it served as a reminder on how good of an education an apprenticeship can be.

Now, being back in Switzerland, I surely miss the whole vibe of New York City. It was an incredible time, in which I learned and experienced so many things that it’s hard to keep track of everything that happened. I’m truly grateful to everyone involved, who made this month an unforgettable experience.

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