Each year, internships send Penn students all over the world to fill roles that impact their own life experience and that of others, as well as inform their scholarly and career choices. Join us as we explore a sampling of undergraduates’ exhilarating summer plans.
REALARTS @ PENN
Animating characters at Nickelodeon Studios, attending meetings at Rolling Stone magazine headquarters—internships aren’t supposed to be this fun, right? Each year, the RealArts @ PENN program, committed to integrating art world practice into the academic experience, selects top students for targeted internships like these. Once a candidate has been chosen, they sit down with the employer in order to determine whether the position is a good fit. And while interviewing with an international media giant like Viacom may seem like a lot of pressure, the payoff is invaluable, as the resulting skills and connections carry over long after the summer ends.
Amanda Wolkin, a junior majoring in English with a concentration in creative writing, is headed to Philadelphia magazine, while Samantha Sharon, a sophomore in communication and art history, will get firsthand experience with the collections at the Jewish Museum in New York. Departing for the west coast is Danny Eisenberg, a junior cinema studies major, who will be working one-on-one with prolific screenwriters David Stern and Stuart Gibbs in Los Angeles. “It’s an opportunity to get your foot in the door in a place that seldom allows access,” says Mingo Reynolds, Director of Administration at the Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing. “It’s so exciting to see someone’s future completely transformed by one summer of their college experience.”
http://writing.upenn.edu/realarts
CASI
Spending ten weeks on an internship with the Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI) will push your Penn education beyond the classroom. Whether you’re headed to the dry lands of rural India to work with a grassroots initiative focused on water and livelihood security like Aashna Desai, a freshman in the Huntsman Program, or joining Aravind Eye Care System in Madurai, which conducts hundreds of thousands of eye surgeries per year—the majority free of cost—like junior French major Diana Blidarescu, the lessons are life-changing.
Other India-bound students include sophomores Alex Polyak, a South Asian Studies major, and Philosophy, Politics and Economics major Jonathan Paz, who will both report to Lend-A-Hand India, a non-profit organization that provides vocational training, career development, employment, and entrepreneurial opportunities to young boys and girls. “Our students will face many challenges during their ten weeks in India,” says Aparna Wilder, Student Programs and Outreach Coordinator for CASI. “As they start to see the world through a different lens, they learn to ask harder questions, and return to Penn determined to re-engage with their own communities at a new level.”
https://casi.sas.upenn.edu/studentprograms/internships
PENN IN WASHINGTON
Lots of students go back home for the summer. But a few lucky undergrads are headed to the most famous house in the world: the White House. It’s just one of the competitive internships the Penn in Washington (PIW) program helps students secure. Designed to provide guidance to scholars headed to D.C. for the summer, the program also helps them maximize their time in Washington by organizing networking dinners, tours of the Capitol, informational interviews with experienced alumni, and special events like the State Department lunch, where students have the chance to meet with alumni who are foreign service officers, civilian employees, and even ambassadors. And best of all—it’s free. “We just had a dinner with someone from the intelligence sector, because several of the kids were interested in that field,” says Deirdre Martinez, director of the program and senior fellow at the Robert A. Fox Leadership Program. “Multiply that kind of expertise by about 400—that’s how many alumni working all across D.C. participate in PIW.”
Past interns include senior Morgan Finkelstein, a communication and public service and history major who interned at the White House; Charles Rubenfeld, a junior economics and political science student who worked with the White House Council of Economic Advisors; Caitlin Mumford (philosophy, politics and economics), Mina Miljevic (communication and political science), and Alex Haber (political science), all seniors who interned at the State Department; and political science senior Casey Becker, who got firsthand experience working for Congressman John Larson. “It’s fantastic that alumni are willing to be a resource to students who can meet them in person and find out what life is like at, say, the State Department. It’s incredibly valuable,” says Martinez.
CURF
Imagine a renowned scientist from your field of study pitching you a summer job. That’s business as usual at the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (CURF), dedicated to providing opportunities for students to pave the way to their own research careers. The Penn Undergraduate Research Mentoring program (PURM) invites faculty to submit 10-week projects for freshmen or sophomores to apply to and get immediate hands-on experience, ultimately providing a chance for the students to continue along the same research path during the school year.
A number of PURM internships this summer will be sponsored by Alex’s Lemonade Stand, an organization dedicated to fighting childhood cancer. Internships range from traditional lab work, like Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Warren Pear’s mentorship of sophomore Curtis Lee on the study of T-cell leukemia, to roles that stress patient well-being and complementary medicine, like Assistant Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health Jun Mao’s mentorship of College freshman Coby Basal, which will focus on young cancer survivors’ wellbeing. “PURM is an invaluable introduction to the field, and often the students continue to work throughout the rest of their undergraduate career with the same faculty,” says Aaron Olson, CURF’s Assistant Director for Communication. “It’s the perfect launching pad for independent research.”
http://www.upenn.edu/curf/research/humanities-internships
ROY AND DIANA VAGELOS PROGRAM IN LIFE SCIENCES AND MANAGEMENT
In a sense, all students in the Roy and Diana Vagelos Program in Life Sciences and Management are bilingual—they speak the language of both science and business. It comes with the territory in a program designed to combine a strong background in research with cutting-edge business sensibilities.
This summer, sophomore Robert Hsu will cross the pond to join the Behaviour and Health Research Unit at the University of Cambridge to study the marketing of potentially harmful products in preparation for a career in public health, while Hanna Kamaric, a junior, will work in public finance as she pursues her goal of a career in hospital administration. Max Shen, a sophomore, has accepted a summer internship at Vertex Pharmaceutical, where he will gain valuable experience regarding the intersection of pharmaceutical science and business. “It’s about preparing students for a competitive environment,” says Peter Stokes, LSM Director of Administration and Advising. “And stressing that, while research is fundamental, so is its application.”
Spring/Summer 2013
Related Stories
Politics in Perspective
A first-year seminar taught by Michele Margolis, an associate professor of political science, applies the lessons of political science to a consequential election—and leans into difficult conversations.
Students of the Occult
In a class this semester, Becky Friedman, C’10, Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of English, leads students down the dark, historical spiral of witchcraft, examining its persecutorial past and transition to palatable and raucous entertainment.
On the Record
Launching a podcast about the experience of being first-generation college students opened up a new world—and skills beyond STEM—for biochemistry major Khaliun Dorjmenchim, C’25.