New York: My experience in the Big Apple [as a Bord Bia Smurfit grad]
A snapshot into my experience in New York so far as a grad on the Bord Bia graduate programme with Smurfit.
Why did you apply for this graduate programme?
The number one factor which attracted me to the Bord Bia Smurfit Graduate Programme was the opportunity to live and work abroad. Bord Bia has offices in 15 cities worldwide, including here in New York where I am based.
In July 2019 I started the programme along with 31 others. Approximately half of the grads from this cohort are based in the Bord Bia headquarters in Dublin. Each is in a different role ranging from Communications, Events, Strategic Insight, Origin Green and HR to various Sector Management roles. Other grads are based in overseas offices throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the USA. For some of the overseas placements a level of fluency in a second language is a requirement.
My interest in living in a new country while staying strongly connected to Ireland was sparked throughout my 4 years in UCD. In addition to numerous trips and holidays, I had the opportunity to travel with the Irish Embassy to Vietnam in 2018 and Mozambique in 2019. On these trips I was involved with promoting Irish culture on a global platform. This gave me a great sense of pride to see and experience how Ireland’s heritage and culture was embraced with so much enthusiasm. I was exposed to a range of activities that Irish organisations coordinate and support overseas. These varied from development projects to trade negotiations and relationship building for commercial purposes. These projects achieve a wide range of outcomes from supporting local communities in countries more disadvantaged than our own, to fostering strong working relationships and building Ireland’s reputation as an attractive trade partner in order to expand the international opportunities for artists and businesses among others in Ireland. These trips instilled a sense of curiosity in me as to ways that I can use and further develop my skills to support Irish industry internationally.
What's your office like?
The Bord Bia office in New York is located between Lexington and Park Avenue in the centre of Manhattan. On the 17th of the 44 floors in the building, when you exit the elevators you are in Ireland House! There’s four of us based here – the Director of North America, two Market Specialists and myself. Also based in market here are three Bord Bia Marketing Fellows and one graduate on the Supply Chain and Procurement programme. They regularly drop into the office to use a meeting room, the hot spot desks or for advice on various projects.
Aswell as Bord Bia, many other Irish organizations and government agencies can be found here, including the Consulate General of Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, Tourism Ireland and the IDA. In the midst of this Irish hub I often forget I’m over 3,000 miles from home. There’s lots of grads working in the other offices on the floor too which has been a great way of making friends.
The Consulate frequently host interesting events which are definitely worth keeping an eye out for. In January, Galway’s selection as European Capital of Culture 2020 was celebrated. To mark Black History Month, the film PROUD was screened which is based on the true story of the men of the USS Mason. The film’s director Mary Pat Kelly, as well as former Commanding Officer, Captain Mikal Phillips, joined for a Q&A after the screening. A celebration of Ireland’s Ancient East – Waterford, Wexford and Kilkenny was held in the Consulate. In March, Michelin star Irish chef JP McMahon launched his new cookbook The Irish Cookbook.
Each month the Consulate hold a First Friday Networking Breakfast with a guest speaker from an array of backgrounds. Since I have moved to New York these have included Conor Twomey - Managing Director of First Derivatives North America, Ruairi Curtin – Entrepreneur, Restaurant and Bar Owner, Malachy Browne - Senior Story Producer on the Visual Investigations team at the New York Times, and Jean Butler of Riverdance! Hearing the stories of these speakers is inspirational - many of whom have come from Ireland and built success in the Big Apple. Aside from the brown bread and Irish sausages, the networking breakfast is a great place to connect with the Irish American community. I’ve bumped into many familiar faces there as it’s often the first port-of-call in the job hunt for J1 grads “just off the boat”!
How did you find the move to New York?
Moving over to New York in August 2019 was an exciting time. The tail end of summer gave me a sneakpeak of the many brunches, park picnics, and rooftop socializing occasions to look forward to! On a serious note, my number one task was finding somewhere to live. I kept a close eye on the continuous flow of rooms being posted for rent on two of the main Facebook pages for Irish people finding accommodation, Let’s Make Our Lives Easier, and J1 Graduate New York. I ultimately settled in Astoria, Queens - a very friendly diverse neighborhood which has everything on my doorstep. The range of thrift shops are always fun to browse through, where you can find anything from designer sunglasses to a Christmas tree! My apartment is a couple of minutes walk from the closest Subway station. For my commute to the office in the centre of Manhattan, hopping on the frequent and reliable M or R line gets me door-to-door in 20 minutes most days!
Becoming a regular in many of the independent stores around Astoria makes me feel like a true local. Every week I buy my fruit and veg from United Bros Fruit Market, a market style grocer which only sells fresh produce. I pick up my breads and pastries from Neo bakery where everything is baked fresh daily, so you have to get in early if you’re looking for something in particular! The Wolfhound bar, also on my doorstep in Astoria, hold a traditional Irish music session on Monday nights which I usually join with my accordion. This is a lovely outlet from work and gives me a great sense of community. I recently joined the Queens Ladies football team with O’Donovan Rossa GAA. Like many of the other girls also joining, I haven’t played for donkeys years, however the social element is key! We started some fitness training the past few weeks, now that the weather is starting to get milder, i.e. above freezing. Personal Trainer Laura Dorgan is working with us at the moment which is intense but very rewarding.
The food scene in New York is interesting to say the least! You can very easily cave in to the $3 dollar pizza slices that are big enough to feed a family, or sometimes it can be hard to see past the sea of fast service chain restaurants, however just beyond that the choice of amazing food is limitless. Many bars and restaurants in New York update their drinks and food menus to reflect the season which keeps you coming back time and time again. Eataly is one of my favourite places for this as their rooftop (or greenhouse as they call it when it is enclosed) is decorated with a seasonal theme too. They also place a big emphasis on using local sustainable ingredients which is a trend becoming more commonly desirable in New York. From tasty Cuban cuisine to the most generous Irish fry at Passage you’ll never be stuck for somewhere new to try.
Another exciting part of being based in the New York office for the graduate programme is that I get the opportunity to visit other cities on this side of the world. This can be through work trips or also mini holidays and weekend trips. For thanksgiving last November I visited Montreal just across the border in Canada! Opting for the budget travel choice, we took the 10 hour train journey up. This turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip. The views the whole way along were magnificent as we left the bustling city centre and rolled along the Hudson River. We passed through many quaint towns in upstate New York and further along took in the winter scenes with snowcapped mountains and frozen lakes. Montreal has some of the most gorgeous shops with unique and interesting items from handcrafted jewelry to maple flavoured salad dressing. It was great to experience the culture which has a significant French influence. As it was close to Christmas we were delighted by all the Christmas markets.
From New York it’s possible to do a day trip to ski slopes north of the city. There’s a company that offers an all-inclusive package of transport, equipment and a free lesson which I’m hoping to do before the season is over! I’ve booked to go to the jazz festival at the beginning of May in New Orleans, and a weekend trip to Miami, Florida. Flights to both these cities is approximately 3 hours, making it ideal for weekend trips. Exceptionally good value flights can be gotten once you have a certain amuont of flexibility with travel dates – Skyscanner is your friend. I’m also planning to visit some of the nearby cities such as Philadephia, Washington and Boston, and a couple of roadtrips to beach towns such as Rhode Island and Montauk.
Would you recommend this programme?
I couldn’t recommend this programme enough to anyone looking for a kick start in the food and drink industry, further education from Europe’s leading business school, a dynamic hands-on graduate role, or an opportunity to work abroad and travel. Through this programme I am gaining a wealth of new skills, from interpersonal to organizational to technical knowledge! If you want a challenging, highly rewarding graduate programme which combines academic lectures with industry experience this is definitely one to check out!
For more information on the programme or how to apply, visit the Smurfit website here. Follow Bord Bia Smurfit’s social media pages for all the latest updates – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn. Feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn with questions on any aspect!