Author Archives: Christian Zavisca

A Postcard From: Meghna Patny ’18

Posted on by

Name: Meghna Patny
Class Year: 2018
Major: Psychology and Spanish
Hometown: Short Hills, N.J.

Internship Placement: Puentes Hacia el Futuro
Job Title: Tutor
Location: Philadelphia

What’s happening at your internship?

At this internship, I am working with other tutors as teachers in a bilingual classroom with elementary school students. All of them are of Spanish-speaking backgrounds and are bilingual in English and Spanish. As a tutor, it is my responsibility to encourage and assist the students with their learning and design lessons in which their reading and writing skills are applied. Often, it is a challenge to get the students engaged in schoolwork, especially during the summer. For this reason, we try to add as many “non-academic” activities as possible. For example, we have art lessons once a week in which students are given an opportunity to develop a different part of the brain. Other days, we challenge the students with scrabble competitions. Overall, the kids seem to enjoy it and gain a lot from it. As one of the tutors in the classroom, I admit that it can sometimes be a bit chaotic working with so many young people, but in the end, I feel it is a very rewarding way to spend my time.

Why did you apply for this internship?

After graduation, I hope to work as a teacher with this population in perhaps a bilingual classroom. Therefore, when I read the description of this internship, I was immediately attracted to it! I am so glad that I did apply, as this is something that aligns almost perfectly with my long-term goals. In fact, working in this position has further solidified these goals; I feel quite certain that this is something that I would love to continue in the future.

Another factor that particularly interested me in this internship was the fact that the interns would be the lead teachers in the classroom. We are not simply teacher assistants, but rather the teachers themselves. This gave a unique experience of teaching that is often not possible to do during the school year and can only be done during the summer. Another factor that is only possible during the summer is the fact that we can go on field trips every week. Learning in a classroom is often limiting, but getting the opportunity to see what the students learn in the field is simply not an option during the school year with only one teacher in the classroom.

What has been your favorite part of this internship?

As cliché as it might sound, my favorite part of this internship is the students. They are the reason that I am so excited to go to work every morning. The students are often eager to learn and that makes teaching them so easy. The days they are not active, it is so exciting to play games that make them energized. Sometimes they surprise me with the amount of insight they have on so many important topics, and I can forget that they are only nine or 10 years old. Other times, they act like silly preteens and that is just as fun! They remind me to have fun even as an adult.

What is something you have learned from your internship that you didn’t expect?

One thing that I did not expect to learn with this internship was how to collaborate with other people. I knew that there would be several tutors in each classroom, but I had not anticipated having so many disagreements in the methods we used. I learned about many different perspectives on several topics that had to do with the students. Because I have had a lot of experience working as a teacher, I thought certain aspects of the internship would be simple. However, working with the other tutors showed me different angles to the same issue, some of which I would have never thought of on my own. I am glad that there are so many people to learn from, as it is making me a better tutor.

A Postcard From: Connie Lam ’18

Posted on by

Name: Connie Lam
Class Year: 2018
Major: Biochemistry
Hometown: Malden, Mass.

Internship Placement: Boston University Medical Campus Ophthalmology Department
Job Title: Undergraduate Researcher
Location: Boston, Mass.

What’s happening at your internship? 

I currently intern at BU Medical in the ophthalmology department under a professor whose focus area is in glaucoma. The project that I am working on is a 3D reconstruction project, meaning that thousands of pictures are taken of each section of the eye and in each of the slides, I trace cells and giant vacuoles and mark pores in order to better understand how glaucoma exists through piecing together each of the slides together to create a 3D image.

Why did you apply for this internship?

I applied for this internship because optometry was something that I was thinking about going into for a couple years now and this would be a way for me to learn more about the eyes and see if this is something that I could see myself doing in the future. I chose this specific professor because I knew that glaucoma was a specific eye disease that I wanted to focus on as my grandmother has glaucoma, and that was what had initially got me interested in optometry.

What has been the biggest challenge you have faced at your internship?

The biggest challenge that I’ve faced in this internship is that coming in, I wanted to do something involving wet lab research but was told that I would not be able to due to the fact that 10 weeks would not be enough time to master the skill and have a meaningful project that I could start and finish. After talking to the PI of the lab, I was given a project that although does not have a wet lab component, is something that I understand the meaning of and see the big picture of, which in the end was what caught my attention and got me interested and invested in the project.

Was this internship what you expected it to be?

So far, this isn’t the internship that I expected it to be since I had come into this thinking that I would be learning more on the wet lab research aspect of ophthalmology, but I actually really like where I am now. Even though I’m not doing wet lab, the things that I’m doing, even if it may get repetitive and boring at times, I understand why I need to do it and being able to see the big picture keeps me going. I feel like not doing wet lab has made me read more papers about what it is that I’m doing and allows me to learn more about the structure and problems of the eye more.

A Postcard From: Wenqi Wang ’18

Posted on by

Name: Wenqi Wang
Class Year: 2018
Major: Mathematics
Hometown: Wuzhou, China

Internship Placement: Summer Science Research
Job Title: Student researcher
Location: Bryn Mawr College

What’s happening at your internship?

I am doing research about data analysis using nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) under the supervision of Professor Dianna Xu in the Computer Science Department at Bryn Mawr College. For the past several weeks, I have been reading academic literature on NMF, learning about statistical methods, and working on a chemistry dataset to try to uncover patterns that govern the success and failure of crystallization.

Why did you apply for this internship?

One reason is that I want to experience what research is like, which will be helpful as I am applying to grad schools in the coming fall. This experience will also better prepare me for more advanced studies after graduation. Another reason is that I want to explore something that combines both math and computer science, which is what I am interested in doing in the future.

Was there anything special about how you found this internship?

I learned about this research opportunity in an email sent out by a Computer Science professor at Bryn Mawr. Although I was only a minor in CS and I have never taken classes with this professor, I decided to ask about this opportunity and express my interest. I did not have much hope as I applied but luckily ended up receiving an offer in the program.

 

Can you talk about the skills you are learning and why they are important to you?

I have worked on my self-teaching skills, as I needed to plod through academic papers and textbooks on areas that I was not familiar with. My problem solving skills have also improved as I learned to code in a new language and as I tackled the dataset from scratch.

A Postcard From: Lillian Oyen-Ustad ’19

Posted on by

Name: Lillian Oyen-Ustad
Class Year: 2019
Major: Biology and History
Hometown: Rhinebeck, N.Y.

Internship Placement: Bryn Mawr College Department of Biology
Job Title: Research Assistant

What’s happening at your internship?

I am working in Bryn Mawr’s biology department under the advisement of Dr. Karen Greif. We’re currently studying the effects of a certain calcium-binding synaptic protein on the growth of axons in embryonic chickens. The ultimate goal of this study is to learn more about the way the brain creates networks during development. These highly specialized proteins are traditionally responsible for cellular communication, but we hypothesize that, by responding to local signals, the protein provides a stimulus for the growth of axons during development. To test this hypothesis, we’ve designed two experiments—the first examines the effects of removing all of the existing protein on axonal growth and the second attempts to view the effects of the protein with a decreased calcium binding ability.

Why did you apply for this internship?

At Bryn Mawr, I am majoring in biology with a strong interest in neuroscience and developmental biology. I had the privilege of taking three of my four biology classes with Dr. Greif and was chosen to work in her lab for the summer. This internship will allow me to gain experience with more advanced laboratory techniques and learn more about research as a profession.

What has been your favorite part of this internship?

Through this internship opportunity, I was honored with the Frances Velay fellowship via Bryn Mawr. Through stipends and networking opportunities that encourage women’s involvement in the scientific field, I have had the chance to meet other fellows and discuss our individual research. I can say with full confidence that being a part of the collective impact supporting women in STEM fields has been one of my favorite parts of this summer.

Can you give us three adjectives and three nouns that describe your internship experience?

Dynamic, Valuable, and Didactic
Developmental neurobiology research

A Postcard From: Maryanne Kihiu ’19

Posted on by

Name: Maryanne Kihiu
Class Year: 2019
Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Hometown: Kiambu, Kenya

Internship Placement: MD Anderson Cancer Center
Job Title: College Student Research Assistant
Location: Houston, Texas

What’s happening at your internship?

This summer, I am interning in MD Anderson Cancer Center with the department of Experimental Therapeutics. I am working on in vitro experiments that investigate the effects of Ibrutinib on specific proteins in cell-lines. Ibrutinib is a newly approved drug used in the treatment of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. Though Ibrutinib is very potent, its mechanism for action is not known. An in-vitro model, with a specific focus on protein changes in this case, allows us to investigate on one of the possible modes of mechanism of action of the drug.

Why did you apply for this internship?

I took a Biology of Cancer class in my Freshman year, which I found to be very eye-opening on what cancer really meant. This class mainly covered the biological aspect of cancer but I also wanted to know more about the treatment aspect. This internship provides me with that experience.

What is something you have learned from your internship that you didn’t expect?

I have learned a few things that I had not anticipated. One of them is how research teams do internal presentations and give “harsh” critiques for papers written by team members when doing peer-reviews. The “harsh” criticism is not done with any malicious intent. Rather, it is done to ensure that the paper presented to the public has solid scientific backing. In addition to that, it helps the researcher to grow.

Can you give us three adjectives and three nouns that describe your internship experience?

Building, Insightful, Fun
Experience, Essence, Teamwork.

A Postcard From: Heather Liang ’18

Posted on by

Name: Heather Liang
Class Year: 2018
Major: Growth and Structure of Cities
Hometown: San Jose, Calif./Beijing, China

Internship Placement: Department of Planning and Development — Policy and Analysis Division (Philadelphia City Planning Commission), Mayor’s Internship Program
Job Title: Planning Intern
Location: Philadelphia

What’s happening at your internship?

My summer has been extremely fast-paced, and even more enriching. I am working at the Philadelphia City Planning Commission—newly integrated into the Department of Planning and Development—as my field placement in the Philadelphia Mayor’s Internship Program. My primary project at the Planning Commission is a parking inventory of Philadelphia’s University City District. I am working closely with the city’s transportation planner, David Kanthor, to produce a report that will benefit policymakers, business owners, developers and community members in and beyond UCD.

I have been analyzing data that the PCPC has collected about parking facilities, and gathered more data through both onsite and virtual surveys. Using geographic information system software ArcGIS and CycloMedia’s Globespotter, I am able to compile, analyze, and visually represent parking data in the context of UCD’s built environment and existing infrastructure. We will be able to use details about parking location, capacity, occupancy, and rates, along with parking and transportation policy of UCD institutions, to make recommendations for the future of parking in UCD. One of the big assignments that I tackled was a virtual survey of on-street parking capacity in University City. For the first time, PCPC can use detailed on-street data for more in-depth understanding and analysis of parking.

In addition to this project, I have also had the opportunity to attend meetings about a wide array of planning topics, such as Vision Zero traffic safety, downtown freight and delivery, bike trails, urban agriculture, and more!

As part of the Mayor’s Internship Program, the Mayor’s interns come together once a week to hear from panels of city employees in different department, attend leadership development trainings, and visit municipal operation facilities. These sessions have been fun and informative additions to my role at the Planning Commission.

Why did you apply for this internship?

I knew that I wanted to stay in Philadelphia this summer, and really familiarize myself with and take advantage of the vast urban laboratory that has been a short train-ride away for the past three years. I learned of the Mayor’s Internship Program through my major advisor, and saw it as a great opportunity to aim for a position with the Planning Commission. Not only would I get to work with a department that directly aligns with my interest in planning, but I would also have the unique opportunity to hear first-hand from many city employees and officials, and receive valuable HR training (and meet the mayor!).
Additionally, I wanted to apply for an internship in municipal government as a step toward determining my post-grad career direction. I have worked with a few different nonprofits, so I was interested in seeing what the public sector of the planning world was like, and how it differed from nonprofit work. Working with PCPC has definitely broadened my knowledge of the options ahead of me!

What has been your favorite part of this internship?

One of my favorite parts of this internship has been the opportunity to use ArcGIS to conduct spatial analyses and create maps. I have been eager to practice and learn more about ArcGIS since I took an Intro to GIS course last fall. Applying the skills that I had learned to this parking project, figuring out more operations, and seeing that manifest in real, useful maps was very rewarding. This process has also helped me identify more GIS-related skills that I want to learn! For example, the next project that I want to take on is learning Python coding for GIS operations.

What is something you have learned from your internship that you didn’t expect?

Throughout my studies, I have not spent a lot of time learning or thinking about transportation. That has changed now that I have spent the summer working with the city’s transportation planner, and done in-depth analyses about car-use and transportation alternatives. I had not realized that there was a world of information, research, and debate about parking! Fun fact: the ideal daytime parking occupancy is 85 percent! It hadn’t even crossed my mind that this is something that planners had put a number on!

Also, unrelated to parking, but a great Philadelphia fact that I learned: the William Penn statue that stands atop City Hall tower is 37 feet tall — making him the tallest statue on top of a building in the world. Also, the statue is hollow: the top of his hat has a latch that opens to the inside!

A Postcard From: Matison Hearn-Desautels ’18

Posted on by

Name: Matison Hearn-Desautels
Class Year: 2018
Major: International Studies (major), Political Science (minor)
Hometown: Takoma Park, Md.

Internship Placement: The Global Fund for Children
Job Title: Programs Intern
Location: Washington, D.C.

What’s happening at your internship?

The Global Fund for Children (GFC) is an NGO in Washington, D.C. By partnering with innovative, locally-led organizations around the world, it aims to support and empower children at the fringes of society through grant giving and capacity building. I am one of two interns with GFC’s program’s department, which works directly with GFC’s many partner organizations. The other intern in my department, Nayanthi Peiris ’18, is a fellow Bryn Mawr student. Together, we work on joint projects which include data management, administrative tasks, and wellness consulting for the GFC team. I work on a number of individual projects as well, for which I have partnered with the program’s regional team for Africa and the Middle East, as well as GFC’s communications department. Specifically, I have written blog posts for GFC’s website, highlighting the work that GFC’s partner organizations do.

Why did you apply for this internship?

I applied for an internship with GFC because I wanted to gain experience in international development, and because the organization’s model is one which I agree with and want to support. I believe that supporting locally-led organizations is one of the best pathways to achieving sustainable development, and so GFC appealed to me as an example of an organization that does so.

What has been your favorite part of this internship?

One of the most exciting things about this internship to me has been tackling a project which aims to improve health and wellness for the GFC staff. Together with my fellow intern, Nayanthi Peiris, we have researched and are developing a program to encourage community-building, quality wellness practices and healthy habits within the workplace. We hope that our program could become a resource that GFC could provide to its partner organizations in order to help support these organizations’ staff. (Many times, front-line staff do not receive sufficient support to promote their health and wellbeing, which can be mentally, emotionally and physically damaging). Studies have shown that improved health and wellbeing in the workplace can not only have tremendous individual benefits, but also improves one’s work performance and even team performance.

 

A Postcard From: Tessa Haas ’18

Posted on by

Name: Tessa Haas
Class Year: 2018
Major: History of Art (minor: Museum Studies)
Hometown: Potomac Falls, Va.

Internship Placement: American Philosophical Society Museum
Job Title: Curatorial Intern
Location: Philadelphia

What’s happening at your internship?

I’m spending this summer at the American Philosophical Society’s Museum in Old City. APS is the oldest learned society in the United States, with the mission of promoting useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through scholarly research, publication, and community outreach. I’m conducting archival research on objects and manuscripts from APS’ collections, for their upcoming 275th anniversary exhibition opening April 2018. The breadth of research has been very wide, and conducting research each day has been rewarding. Aside from archival research, which takes up the bulk of our time, we are also learning how to use new programs, such as FileMaker, will be conducting a visitor study in the museum next week, and networking with various staff members at both the APS Museum and Library. As a “museum person,” it’s exciting to come into work each day with new tasks (whether that be on researching different subject-matter, or otherwise).

Why did you apply for this internship?

The opportunity to work on such an important, large show is an incredibly rare and unique one, especially as an undergraduate! I also wanted exposure to a smaller museum environment in Philadelphia. As a History of Art major, I absolutely love working with art institutions. However, I wanted to broaden my scope of knowledge within a unique setting. APS is an institution that values art within its collections, along with many scientific and historic objects and manuscripts.

Was there anything special about how you found this internship?

One of my advisors, Monique Scott, recommended this position to me. I’m a transfer student and began studying at Bryn Mawr last Fall (2016). Last Spring, Monique was my advisor as I completed a PRAXIS internship at Special Collections/PAFA. She advocated for me to get this position at APS, and I’m very thankful for her support in that. Starting off as both a first-year and upperclassman student was daunting at first, but professors like Monique helped me feel incredibly supported in my academic endeavors.

What is something you have learned from your internship that you didn’t expect?

I started this position assuming it would be like other curatorial internships that I’ve completed at arts institutions. However, the American Philosophical Society is an academically rigorous one; therefore, the scope of the APS’ 275th anniversary show is incredibly vast. I’ve conducted research using collections related to Anthropology, Paleontology, the Founding Fathers, Medicine, Terrestrial Magnetism, Industry, Exploration, Astronomy, and the Arts. We go through these collections and select objects that highlight the incredible contributions of APS Members across disciplines, from its founding in 1743 through the present. Sometimes there are also themes that come up when studying history, such as colonialism, ethnography, institutionally complicit racism and misogyny, and more. Learning how to talk about these subjects in the frame of a museum exhibit has been an incredibly interesting and rewarding experience, and one that was a happy surprise. In classes, I often study and discuss the theory of institutional critique. To go out into the field and curate an exhibit that tackles these difficult subjects is amazing.

 

A Postcard From: Jialu Guo ’19

Posted on by

Name: Jialu Guo
Class Year: 2019
Major: East Asian Languages and Cultures
Hometown: Nanjing, China

Internship Placement: Nanjing Museum Archaeology Department
Job Title: Archaeology Fieldwork Intern
Location: Zhaozhuang Site, Sihong County, Jiangsu Province, China

What’s happening at your internship?

Live internet broadcasting is very popular in China now. What about the combination of internet broadcasting and archaeology? What do the archaeologists do for everyday work? How does the life of our ancestors look like? We broadcast our fieldwork on the internet, answered the questions from the public, and invited some archaeologists specialized in osteoarchaeology and Neolithic archaeology to spread some basic knowledge in archaeology to the audience. We hope our broadcasting can attract more attention to the field of archaeology and clear up misunderstandings of archaeology. Archaeology is not digging for dinosaurs or finding treasures; archaeology is an interdisciplinary subject that can help us to discover the truth of the past.

Why did you apply for this internship?

There are four reasons why I applied for this internship:

First, other than the major of East Asian Languages and Cultures, I also have a minor in archaeology. Of course this internship can take both my major and minor into account.

Secondly, I hope to learn how to transform what have been learned in the classroom into practical use. Archaeology is a very interdisciplinary subject and hands-on experience is an essential part of the study plan. This internship will make my study plan more complete.

After that, I hope this internship experience can inspire my future academic study. I am always very interested in doing some comparison work between the different regions in the world, and I have done some research on comparison archaeology of the classical Roman period and China Han Dynasty in my previous study. Neolithic period is a new topic for me, and I’m taking the course about Near Eastern and South Asian Neolithic revolution at Bryn Mawr. I would like to start some comparison study between the Chinese Neolithic cultures and those emerged on the Arabian Peninsula after this internship.

In the last, this internship will enhance my future professional goals. I am very interested in both archaeology and museum studies, and I interned at the Nanjing Museum for exhibition curatorial and public education during last summer. This summer’s hands-on experience on archaeology excavation will help me gain better understanding on the professional work of both fields in archaeology and museum studies, and will further encourage me to think about which area is more suitable for me in the future.

Was there anything special about how you found this internship?

I was the lucky girl that who did not need application and interview to get this internship. There are always some potential opportunities for those persons who can keep in touch with the people from the previous internship experience, and I’m that person. I met some archaeologists from the archaeology department of the Nanjing Museum during the process of organizing some public archaeology activities in the public educational department. This spring, I contacted them, telling them what I did during my sophomore year and what kind of internship I was looking for in the archaeology department. Two days later, I got this wonderful internship!

What is something you have learned from your internship that you didn’t expect?

I never expected that I would learn something about agriculture and plants from an internship of archaeology fieldwork. The Zhaozhuang Site is located in the countryside and our work place is surrounded by the farmland. Our archaeology team even has our own farmland next to our archaeology site and we grow vegetables there for everyday food.

A Postcard From: Sarah Golobish ’20

Posted on by

Name: Sarah Golobish
Class Year: 2020
Major: Undeclared
Hometown: Princeton, N.J.

Internship Placement: The Franklin Institute
Job Title: Gender, Adult Learning and Community Engagement Intern
Location: Philadelphia

Museum Programs staff and volunteers after testing the new “Intergalactic Escape” room.

“Scribble Bots” I made to help train teachers to lead Maker lessons with their students.

What’s happening at your internship?

Most of my work this summer has had me on the fourth floor of the museum in the Museum Programs and Outreach Initiatives office. I help the museum staff with their everyday programming, which includes free monthly community nights and their Discovery Summer Camp. I’ve also done work to support the professional development program the museum runs for Philadelphia-area school districts. My internship also fell just as they finalized the institute’s strategic plan for the next 7 years. This plan comes with a large push to evaluate all programming the museum does so I have been helping facilitate these efforts (mostly for the summer Discovery Camp and the professional development sessions). A good chunk of my time, however has been dedicated to revamping and reorganizing the kits for LEAP into Science, a partnership effort with the Free Library of Philadelphia and other science centers across the nation that pairs science activities with children’s books. Working on all of these different projects has given me a great perspective into the work that goes into running the outreach initiatives and other programming that goes on at the museum. It has also been so much fun to experience a new side of the museum and to get the chance to learn from the other volunteers and staff!

Why did you apply for this internship?

I’ve been coming to the Franklin Institute my whole life and I remember how exciting it was to be able to walk through the giant heart whenever I got the chance to come. (I even made my roommates go with me earlier in the year; you’re never too old for the giant heart!) When starting to consider internships for the summer I saw the Franklin Institute position on the LILAC website and I knew that I’d have to apply. So, I was beyond thrilled to learn that I’d be able to intern here this summer. It has been amazing to be a part of something that brings science to life for so many young children and inspires them the way I was inspired!

While searching the LILAC website I also found the Summer of Service program, which has turned out to be an incredible experience that I encourage everyone to check out! As part of the program you live as a cohort of 10 in Batten House and you participate in group reflections and weekly activities. The program also provides you with a SEPTA pass that gives you amazing access to the city that is hard to get during the traditional school year. The support from LILAC and my fellow housemates is what drew me to this program and in the end, it is also what has made it so meaningful.

Can you talk about the skills you are learning and why they are important to you?

Because I worked on a few different long-term projects and would also help with smaller office tasks, I could really decide for myself what I wanted to do each day. In that environment, I really relied on my time management skills and ability to independently prioritize my different responsibilities. This ability to work on a number of tasks without letting some fall to the wayside is important in almost any work setting and I think that my work at TFI has prepared me to do just that.

What is most rewarding about your internship?

A lot of my work was based in the office this summer, but I was given the opportunity to shadow my supervisor when she visited sites and lead Maker workshops with a summer program. It was wonderful to see some of the kits that I had helped to assemble be used and get to see how much the kids learned and all the fun they had experimenting. When you spend your days in an office it can be easy to forget the real-world impact of what you’re doing. Visiting these sites really brought home to me what The Franklin Institute tries to do in its mission to “inspire a passion for learning about science and technology,” and I am so grateful that I could help foster that inspiration, even if only for a summer!