We had another company site visit today: Guinness Enterprise Center! I was excited for the tour, since GEC is the company my group is focusing on during this program. Before coming to Dublin, I had spent some time researching and reading about GEC’s products and services. The company has a wide variety of programs that they offer, but Sustainabiltiy@GEC is one that I was excited to learn more about, as the information on their website regarding the program is limited. Today’s tour was able to fill some of those knowledge gaps for me! Our guide explained that the top two floors of GEC’s office are completely carbon neutral, and that the company is working on making the lower levels carbon neutral as well. I feel like back home, many companies make false promises towards sustainability and decreasing the impact they have on the environment. I found it really interesting to hear about specific examples of how the company actively keeps environmentalism in mind and as a priority! Another takeaway I had was how expansive entrepreneurship can be. While we definitely see examples of creativity and pushing boundaries in Pitt Business classes, I think it’s easy to get caught up in numbers and the technical side of running a company. I have not taken any classes relating to entrepreneurship during my college career, and I have come to forget about the artistic drive that most entrepreneurs rely on. Our guide today mentioned that Guinness Enterprise Center has Ireland’s only AAA gaming studio, and she talked about the gaming wings in the building! Hearing so much about finances and net worth and such constantly in some of my business classes, I will admit that creativity and personal interests have started to be on the back burner of my mind when I think of business; GEC’s visit helped draw my attention back to that. Today’s visit really reminded me that the sky is the limit, and that there are so many ways to incorporate your passions into your career goals!

Guinness Enterprise Center is a hub for innovation, creativity, and support. Today’s visit highlighted that entrepreneurship embodies imagination and dedication. I think an entrepreneurial mindset consists of grit, willingness to succeed and fail, an open mindset, interest in collaboration, self-discipline, and adaptability. While entrepreneurship is not something I am interested in at this time, I like to think of myself as someone with a lot of creativity and I think I definitely had entrepreneurial ideas as a kid. Almost anything I had an interest in, I would think to myself ‘I love this hobby of mine, I bet I could turn it into a job someday’. I remember going to a coffee shop in my hometown as a young kid, but it did not stay in business long and the building turned into a fake tan studio. I was so sad that the beautiful, quaint building that once sold honey sticks with coffee orders had now served a different purpose. I grew up watching Cupcake Wars every night and loved to bake. My family always turned to me to make the desserts for family dinners and birthday parties, and in high school, I frequently would come to homeroom with boxes of cookies for my friends. As a child, I had this hope of some day opening a bakery at that former coffee shop, and would draw up possible cupcake flavors, menus, and seating areas with colored pencils and markers. While opening a bakery isn’t something I would be interested in now, especially knowing how much would be involved in order to do so, I look back at those memories fondly and wish I could give my younger self a pat on the back for her drive and ideas. 🙂

On the walk back, fatigue hit me. Although I have been taking measures to take care of myself, such as restful nights, starting my mornings with breakfast, and making sure to stay hydrated, today reminded me that I am still adjusting to the time difference and intense sightseeing. When I returned back to the hotel, what I anticipated to be a quick cat-nap turned into a deep, six hour sleep. Understandably, I woke up really confused and hungry. I beat myself up a little bit when I woke up, as I felt I had wasted my day and was worried that I messed up my sleep schedule. I met up with some friends for dinner, though, and had my first hearty Irish meal. (I would definitely recommend getting the Beef and Guinness Stew at the Copper Alley Bistro if you ever have the chance!) We grabbed some ice cream after dinner, and my mood quickly improved. I think it can be a bit difficult trying to balance the idea of making the most out of a trip and seeing/doing as much as you can with self care, but today reminded me to check in with myself and to take care of my needs! After a very restful day, I look forward to see what tomorrow brings!