Taking Lehigh to the World and Bringing the World to Lehigh

Iacocca International Internship Program
Student Report

Summer 2019
OFFICE OF
INTERNATIONALAFFAIRS2019 Heiskell Award Winner: Student Mobility
Lehigh University’s Iacocca International Internship Program honored
for combining global learning and professional experience.

Lehigh’s Iacocca International Internship Program received the 2019 Andrew Heiskell Award for Innovationin International Education from the Institute for International Education (IIE) for student mobility. The
annual award recognizes the most innovative and impactful models for internationalization of campuses,
study abroad, and international partnership programs. IIE recognizes initiatives that remove institutional
barriers and broaden the base of participation in international teaching and learning on campus. IIE is a notfor-profit with 18 offices and affiliates worldwide that focuses on international student exchange andforeign affairs. IIE collaborates with a range of corporate, government and foundation partners across theglobe to design and manage scholarship, study abroad, workforce training and leadership development
programs.
IIE honored Lehigh University’s Iacocca International Internship Program as a leader in student mobility forgiving students a competitive advantage in the job market by providing professional experiential learning in
the global marketplace.
“To thrive in the global economy, students need access to international experiences during their college
career” said Clare Overmann, head of IIE’s Higher Education Initiatives. “We congratulate this year’s
Heiskell Award winners for their outstanding success in providing new and innovative international
education opportunities to their students.”
The Iacocca International Internship Program (IIIP) sends students to live and work overseas for six to 12
weeks in the summer, where they gain professional experience while learning to navigate a different
culture. It began in 2011 with a principal gift from Lee Iacocca ’45 on the belief that working abroad is asignificant intercultural learning experience and gives students a competitive advantage in the global
workforce.
“As part of Lehigh’s long-standing commitment to experiential learning, IIIP is one of the university’s
signature international programs,” says Cheryl Matherly, vice president and vice provost forinternationalization. “We know that real-world opportunities for students to apply knowledge, like those
provided through this program, help deepen their learning and prepare them to engage with the world
after graduation.”
The internships are fully funded, and the program prioritizes students who have high financial need or havenever been abroad before, helping make international experiences accessible to all students. The program
has grown rapidly—to date, 486 students have worked in 46 countries.
“This program has flourished under the direction of Carol Ham,” says Matherly. “She has built the programfrom the start and now serves as a leader in the field of international internships.”“My sister, Kate Hentz, and I are delighted with this news of the Iacocca Internship Program being honoredin this way,” says Lia Iacocca Assad, daughter of Lee Iacocca and a member of the Lehigh University Boardof Trustees. “Our father had a vision to provide Lehigh students with a work abroad, world class experiencethat would prepare them for a career in an increasingly global and complex world. Being globally andculturally competent is essential for a successful career and we could not be more proud of how ourfather's vision became a reality through this program at Lehigh University.”

2

In Memory of Mr. Lee Iacocca ’45 (1924-2019)
Mr. Lee Iacocca endowed the Iaocca International Internship
Program in 2011. During a Lehigh reception that year, Mr.
Iacocca told those gathered that he discovered a few truths
over the course of a long and fortunate life. “The secret is tolive long and enjoy life. Part of enjoying life is giving back. And
take it from me, giving back really does make you happy.”
Since the inception of the Iacocca International Internship
Program, nearly 600 students have lived and worked in 50
countries across 5 continents. During Summer 2019, 80
students interned in 32 countries. The following pages of this
IIIP Student Report depict the wide variety of student
experiences. Students intern in research labs, large multinational organizations, start-ups, and small community
organizations. They live in apartments, student dormitories andhomestays. The majority of IIIP students have to overcome alanguage barrier in their work and personal life.
IIIP internships enable students to gain valuable real-world
experience, develop intercultural competency, build theirconfidence in new situations and prepare for employment in a
global marketplace. You will see in the following pages how
students’ experiences change their lives, inform their career
choices and shape their identities.
Mr. Iacocca was ahead of his time in recognizing the value ofexperiential learning abroad before it became popular in thefield of International Education. Students across the globe are
increasingly seeking experiential learning abroad opportunities.
Because of Mr. Iacocca’s foresight, Lehigh is currently in its 9thyear of offering this distinctive program. Mr. Iacocca’s intention
was for this program to target students who have financial
need and/or who have never had an international experience.

Mr. Iacocca’s legacy lives on through the careers of the Iacocca
Intern Alumni. Thank you Mr. Lee Iacocca for envisioning andendowing the Iacocca International Internship Program.
Rest in Peace, Lee.

3

2019 Student Report
Table of Contents
2019 Heiskell Award Winner: Student Mobility

2

Mr. Lee Iacocca (1924-2019)3

Abdulkarimu, Aisha - Latvia

6-7

Almonte, Jaslyn - Spain

8-9

Alvarado, Thomas - Hong Kong

10-11

Asral, Sabrina - China

12-13

Banful, Jasmine - Estonia

14-15

Begaye, Nikayla - China

16-17

Benware, Katherine - Japan

18-19

Bitar, Gehar - Germany

20-21

Brownell, Lynn - Netherlands

22-23

Caffrey, Rachel - Malaysia

24-25

Carroll, Megan - Singapore

26-27

Catalano, Jenna - Japan

28-29

Checo, Massiel - Italy

30-31

Christman, Luke - Hong Kong

32-33

Cimaglia, Brianna - South Africa

34-35

Colon, Frances - Macedonia

36-37

Cullen, Christy - Austria

38-39

Desgranges, Nicolas - Israel

40-41

Dimaranan, Kyra - Japan

42-43

Doan, Kathy - Moldova

44-45

Dubyna, Brooke - Israel

46-47

El-Halawani, Evan - Israel

48-49

Flores, Jessica - Myanmar

50-51

Forsyth, Grace - Chile

52-53

Garriga, Stella - Chile

54-55

Geiger, Rosalie - France

56-57

Ghazaii, Jamie - Georgia

58-59

Grabowski, Mary - Kosovo

60-61

Groce, Anique - Hong Kong

62-63

Gulkewicz, Aleksander - Bermuda

64-65

Hanna, James - Malaysia

66-67

Hoover, Amy - Macedonia

68-69

Hughes, Brianne - Uganda

70-71

Hughes, Liam - India

72-73

Irismetov, Diyor - United Kingdom

74-75

Jacobs, Marvin - Lithuania

76-77

Jenkins-Hunter, Kyra - Armenia

78-79

Johnson, Austen - Hong Kong

80-81

Jones, Jessica - Singapore

82-83

4

2019 Student Report
Table of Contents
Kersten, Eric - Malaysia

84-85

Kleinert, Brandon - Hong Kong

86-87

Lamphier, James - UAE

88-89

Laro, Janelle - Hong Kong

90-91

Le, Minh - Italy

92-93

Makris, Greg - Malaysia

94-95

Malisov, Joseph - Croatia

96-97

Marsiglio, Laura - France

98-99

Massino, Morgan - France

100-101

Meisse, Alexandra - Germany

102-103

Montes, Gaby - Spain

104-105

Nicosia, Anna - Bermuda

106-107

Ogden, John - Hong Kong108-109

Overa, Keenan - Moldova

110-111

Pasch, Leah - China

112-113

Patel, Reesha - Netherlands

114-115

Paul, Brielle - Italy

116-117

Phan, Kristine - Japan

118-119

Pistone, Taylor - Netherlands

120-121

Poore, Susan - Ireland122-123

Ramirez-Gil, Bryan - Hong Kong

124-125

Raso, Victoria - Myanmar

126-127

Reynolds, Meghan - Hong Kong128-129

Rodriguez Silfa, Xavier - Hong Kong130-131

Rosado, Silvia - France

132-133

Rosas, Ruben - India

134-135

Said, Mustaffa - Netherlands

136-137

Scott, Princess - India

138-139

Shaw-Patino, Melissa - China

140-141

Spiller, Alyssa - France

142-143

Tasik, Emily - Austria

144-145

Taylor, Carolyn - Montenegro146-147

Taylor, Cheressa - South Africa

148-149

Teach, Dana - Montenegro150-151

Thomas, Ezra - Israel

152-153

Torres, Alex - Chile154-155

Tressler, Erin - Singapore

156-157

Tschida, Delton - Hong Kong

158-159

Webster, Hadley - United Kingdom

160-161

Yu, Bai Hao - India

162-163

Yusiewicz, Kristen - Thailand

164-165

Student Demographics

166

Acknowledgements

167

5

Aisha Abdulkarimu
LatviaCollege of Arts &Sciences
BiologyTransparency
International Latvia,
DELNA
InternCompany and Position Description: I interned at Transparency International Latvia, which
is an anti-corruption non-governmental organization based in the middle of Riga. Headed by
Liene Gatere, the executive director, this office believes fighting corruption will help deal withother problems the nation faces. Latvia joined the European Union in 2004 and from there
became a democratic country but still faces a lot of issues practicing democracy.
The purpose of Transparency International is to fight corruption and increase transparency anda culture of integrity. Most of their activities focus on legislation changes, advocacy involving
whistleblowing, and lobbying laws. Anti-corruption efforts are essential because corruption
steals money from the people that could go towards schools, healthcare, and more. In theoffice, my tasks included researching datasets, providing edits on English translated documents,
updating the website, and utilizing Microsoft office to note research. This experience allowed
me to use my skills and strengths and put them towards the efforts of fighting corruption.
Transparency International Latvia's signature event, the Vasaras Skola (summer school), is
hosted for all ages to learn more about corruption and anti-corruption efforts. Participants also
consider how they might take action in their community. Moreover, the summer school is thesame weekend as the LAMPA festival in Cesis, Latvia. Both of these event gave not only me, but
individuals who travelled from all over Europe, an opportunity for debate and discussion on avariety of topics relevant for many countries.

A photo on my last day
with my supervisors

Attending TI Latvia’s open
dataset information session at
the LAMPA festival
6

Aisha Abdulkarimu
LatviaIn the center of Riga, infront of the Three Brothers

Beach day with my hostfamily at Veczemju Klintis

Value Derived from the Experience: I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity to travel toEastern Europe and had such a fantastic trip. My time in Latvia truly tested my independence
and adaptability. I had to learn how to maneuver and adapt in the most unpredictable situations,but also see the skill I possess flourish. I became resourceful in using the internet to navigate thecity as well as learn about it. I learned how to be independent as I spent a lot of time sightseeing
and traveling to other cities in Latvia. I went into this experience terrified about feeling alone,but I am returning with a positive and exciting outlook on life.
Personally and professionally, I learned how to speak up for myself and take initiative, especiallywith my host family. I observed that Latvians are very reserved but also easygoing. For
communication, I learned to speak and read some Latvia since the Microsoft Office I used atwork, street signs, and food signs were all translated in Latvian. I also noticed a lot of individuals
understand English but do not speak. It was better to say one or two words for what I needrather than full sentences.
At work, I had to adjust my lifestyle to be more relaxed as well as show the organization what I
was capable of doing and how I could help out. Old Riga has 800 years of history that isincredibly important and recognized until this day. It was nice to learn the culture, history, and tosee it reflected in this country's daily life. Overall the biggest takeaway is that I can do anything
and everything I want if I put my mind to it with confidence. I shouldn’t worry about what people
think or say but should live my life to the fullest. When I first got here, I was terrified. This
experience was incredibly eye-opening and allowed me to grow independently.

7

Jaslyn Almonte
Barcelona, Spain
College of Arts &Sciences
Psychology &Health, Medicine,& Society

Vall DeHebron
Hospital
Research AssistantCompany and Position Description: My job in the Vall DeHebron hospital was within a teamworking on a project called the myHealth project. The task was to analyze the mental healthstatus of immigrants and refugees and try to implement tools in order to help the vulnerable
populations that have migrated into Barcelona. This project was started well before myinternship started. I joined in the final stage when we began implementing and testing new
tools. An escape room and leaflet were the new tools designed to help both the vulnerable
populations and the professional healthcare providers working with them. I worked with ateam of about five adults who were on the myHealth team. There was a supervisor overseeing
our work and also a project manager who delegated tasks and checked on the work status. I
also had a individual supervisor named Stella, who was the one that assigned my tasks to me
and was overseeing my work. The team and its three interns would have a weekly teammeeting in order to see how everyone else was doing and what we need to prioritize to staywithin the time table since this was a timed project.

Spoke at Catalan Commission seminaron testimonies from refugees

Selfie with the myHealthteam on our final meeting8Jaslyn Almonte
Barcelona, Spain

Visiting one of the most renowned
futbol stadium’s in Europe, FCB
home of Lionel Messi

Visiting la Sagrada Familia,
one of the most the famous
catholic churches in Spain

Value Derived from the Experience: I have learned a lot from this internship. Not only did I
have to improve my ability to adapt, I also had to learn to take initiative this summer in order tobe creative and proactive with my time. Although the culture here is very collectivistic I also had
to learn to be autonomous and give myself guidelines and deadlines because our supervisors
gave us a lot of freedom to take matters into our own hands. I also definitely improved my typing
speed as I did translated a lot of documents from Spanish to English. I also learned how to use avariety of computer programs that help with citing and finding studies or journal articles called
Mendeley, and also learned to use Powtoon to make informational and captivating videos forpatients and healthcare professionals. This internship genuinely showed me that I want to dosomething along these lines in the future. I love psychology and working with mental health, but
I also want to be in the public health field so trying to help these vulnerable populations helped
confirm that these are the future endeavors I want to pursue. This internship will most definitely
help enrich my resume because this experience showed me how to be self-reliant while working
in a team to work collectively towards a goal. This internship helped me be able to set my own
limits and grow as an individual trying to complete a task, but also how to be able to rely on ateam of people while carrying my own weight in whatever environment I am in.

9Thomas Alvarado
Hong Kong
RCEAS
Industrial &Systems
Engineering

Hutchison Port
Holdings
Operations InternCompany and Position Description: Hutchison Port Holdings is the world’s leading port
network, with ports in 27 countries. They are responsible for organizing and distributing cargo
and containers in an efficient manner with their large amount of firm partners. I, personally,
worked on a simulation demo in Java helping the Operations department manipulate variables
to experiment with the physical layout of the port and container locations, along with queuetiming and track space.

Group photo from
Yantian terminal visit

A few interns and I on an
RTGC on the main Port
10

Thomas Alvarado
Hong Kong

Enjoying the Hong Kong

Making new connections

Value Derived from the Experience: This experience helped me grow professionally andpersonally in various ways. Personally, I was able to visit a country (Special administrative region)
I would have never thought of visiting. I got to try out new foods that I wouldn’t be able to findeasily available here in the United States or that I wouldn’t have the courage to try such as
various Dim Sum dishes. I also developed a deeper appreciation for Eastern architecture andphilosophy by visiting various Temples and Monasteries such as Tsz Shan Monastery in the photoin the top left corner and Chi Lin Nunnery in the top right photo. Additionally, I was able to getback in touch with personal interests of mine in the past, such as streetwear culture / collecting
sneakers and the import car scene, especially in Mong Kok. Similarly, I was able to go on a few
hiking trails, and get back in touch with my appreciation for the outdoors, since Hong Kong offersa variety of hiking trails and beaches with beautiful scenery. Professionally, I was able to get anin-the-field analysis of my personal skills as they relate to industrial engineering. In other words, I
was able to see how the skills and knowledge I have developed here at Lehigh compare to thedemands of the labor market, and constructively analyze my strengths, but more importantly myroom for growth.

11Sabrina Asral
Shanghai, China
RCEAS
MechanicalEngineering

Homebliss
ArchitecturalLandscape AssistantCompany and Position Description: The company I interned for was an architecturallandscaping firm called Homebliss. Homebliss is a rather small Chinese company run by someof the most professional and forward thinking designers in Shanghai. Their projects andaesthetic are extremely modern, reflecting much of the futuristic goals of China’s fast growing
economy. While working at Homebliss, I commuted via metro and would work in a small officebuilding. I learned how to use AutoCAD, Sketchup, Lumion, and more. Although the title ofworking for an architect as a mechanical engineer may sound a bit strange to some, thissoftware is extremely valuable in the design aspect of the engineering world. By the end of mytime in Shanghai, I had helped design the plans for the oil company Schlumberger and was able
to use my English-speaking skills in China in order to communicate with the head of thecompany. Overall, my experience as an intern was wonderful, and taught me so many valuablelessons in the professional world.

My office space at Homebliss

Visiting Schlumberger tohelp with design plans
12Sabrina Asral
Shanghai, China

Chinese traditional dragon
ceremony in a river town

A weekend trip toHongzhou

Value Derived from the Experience: Before coming to Shanghai, I had no idea what toexpect. After originally applying to intern in France and Hong Kong as my first and second
choices, getting placed in China was the last thing I expected. With the excitement and support
from the internship program, I remained excited, but unsure of what I would experience abroadand so far from home. I had no idea if any of the people traveling with me had similar majors,interests, friend groups, etc. and I had no idea what working for an architectural landscaping firm
would entail. To my surprise, I learned a good deal of useful Mandarin, made friends not justfrom Lehigh and China, but from other countries too. More valuable than anything though, wasthe fact that I was able to share this experience in Shanghai with the very people (other Lehighstudents) I was unsure of in the beginning. Whether it was climbing the Great Wall, trying
various new foods or making small talk with locals, there is no better feeling than having
someone to share it with. Connecting with my fellow peers became more than just a means ofmaking the most of the time we were spending abroad. It meant rediscovering my love formovie-making and film with another fellow Lehigh engineering student. It meant realizing thatmy experience of having parents from different countries wasn’t such a rare thing after all. It
meant re-evaluating my life through a lens that was no longer focused on who I was as a college
student. This experience abroad extended so far beyond that. Both in the sense of the past, andthe future, my sense of validation of who I was as a person grew. It brought me to a place inwhich I was no longer afraid to look back to the little girl I used to be and see that, although I felt
like so much of my life has changed since coming to Lehigh, so much of my self has not. Althoughseemingly insignificant, knowing this has given me a vision as not only an engineer, but as aperson.

13

Jasmine Banful
Estonia
RCEAS
MechanicalEngineering

HANZA Mechanics
Tartu
MechanicalEngineering
InternCompany and Position Description: I interned at Hanza, a manufacturing company
located in Tartu, Estonia. I worked in the mechanical department where I helped make parts on
the CNC turning machines. At the beginning of each shift, I would report to my mentor, Alvar,
and we would check the production queue for work. Depending on the queue, we would set up
a machine for production or head to a computer to write the G-code for the part. From theinternship, I learned about the machining operations and how to set up the different stations ina turning machine to produce a part. I also learned how to write the G-code for a part strictlyfrom observing its detailed drawing. A couple of things that surprised me while working at
Hanza included learning that the Traub machines only took floppy disks and that section views
were prevalent in the drawings.

Insert work photo
here (with small
caption below)

Editing G-code with mymentor Alvar

Measuring a part
14

Jasmine Banful
Estonia

Insert cultural
photo here (withsmall caption
below)
Front of the Viru Gate

Attending Estonian
Aviator Days

Value Derived from the Experience: The summer in Estonia has been an incredible
experience. I was placed in Tartu, the second largest city in Estonia known for its university and
the Kissing Students fountain. I stayed with a host family who were wonderful and the kindest
people that I have met. During my time there I faced my fear of heights, tried rye bread and juice
made from scratch, and even got to DJ at a local event. Estonia is also eco-friendly so my time
abroad has made me more conscious of how much waste we produce as a society and the steps
we could take to reduce pollution.
My experiences taught me to be more confident and adaptable in situations out of my control.
For instance, instead of getting frustrated whenever I was lost, I would walk back to where mysurroundings looked familiar and try a different path. Also if I was having difficultycommunicating with someone, I would try a different tactic like showing a picture or usingsynonyms of the word.

15

Nikayla Begaye
China
College of Arts &Science
Sociology

XieFei Education
English Teacher

Company and Position Description: XieFei Education has a mission to create a safe
environment for children to learn throughout the year. XieFei has the most welcoming
environment that I have ever experienced. My boss, Yang Cheng, involves the staff and teachersin every event the company hosts. Yang Cheng created a comfortable workplace where hechallenged me to create my own lessons and become more involved with the students within
the classrooms. The students range from Kindergarten to 5th grade and I was able to teach allof the students. Each class has about 10-20 students each. My boss invited me to host acommunity event that the school was promoting for other students to join XieFei Education. At
XieFei, I taught students and teachers English pronunciation and grammar followed up with anactivity related to the topic. I gave English pronunciation training to the staff and teachers
about once every three weeks. The topics I taught the students were about the weather, colors,holidays, clothing, and seasons. On days we weren’t learning a topic, I read appropriate gradelevel books to the students. I had the students practice the vocabulary by creating sentenceswith them and then the students would be able to participate in an activity related to the book.
For example, if a book was about farm animals I would have the 1st and 2nd graders either
draw the farm animals and label them or the students would act out the animal while theothers had to guess which animal the student was imitating. Every lesson was different, so, I
was able to create many activities for the students.

First Day of work!

I facilitated a community
event where 30+ students
16
and parents attended.

Nikayla Begaye
China

Me posing with my Navajo
Nation flag with the financebuildings in the back.

I learned that the Forbidden
City was created for one man.

Value Derived from the Experience: I come from a rural community where the opportunity
to travel abroad is very rare. With this opportunity, I was able to learn about myself and how I
would be able to handle challenging situations like teaching a classroom full of non-native
English speakers. I was in the position of being challenged by the students and staff because we
all had different teaching methods. After showing the teachers and staff how I teach, they began
to use some of the things I did in the classroom. This made me feel really accomplished because
I didn’t think that the way I taught students would be incorporated into their lessons. One of theteachers helped me throughout the summer and she really enjoyed the activities I created forthe students. Throughout my internship, I learned to recognize that the students all learn
differently and I tried my best to be flexible with my lessons. Although I was teaching thestudents, I learned so much from the students like little bits of Mandarin and which activities
worked best for the lesson. I realized that patience is one of the most important skills in the
education field. The students really appreciate educators who are patient with them andgenuine. I was surprised that my boss gave me the flexibility to create my own lessons andfacilitate my own classroom. Although I was surprised, I was glad to be given the opportunity tocreate lessons for an entire class that I only envisioned before interning at XieFei. Before
interning at XieFei, I wasn’t so confident about teaching because I haven’t had the experience toteach. I second-guessed myself during the first week, but after a few weeks my boss awarded mea trophy for being an “Excellent Intern” which boosted my confidence about being a teacher.
After working at XieFei, I gained the skills of being more confident and prepared for any situationthat might happen unexpectedly. I think this experience, overall, has given me the opportunity togrow and become more self-assured about the things I do.

17

Katherine Benware
Japan
RCEAS
Earth &
Environmental
Science

Nagoya Instituteof Technology
Research InternCompany and Position Description: In Japan I worked with Nagoya Institute of Technology
and the Kojima Industries Corporation, a company partnered with Toyota, to study dragonflies
living in the Kojima Conservation Area. My research focused on the two main themes ofBiodiversity and Ecological Conservation. Using nets, we safely captured dragonflies todocument which species were present during the given conditions and what their presence
signified. We took pictures of each dragonfly we captured, compared them to past
pictures/dragonflies and documented any changes. We made lists of the documented species
which included what day we found them and where in the conservation area. I learned thatdragonflies are environmental indicators, meaning that they reflect land, air, and waterconditions. If many dragonflies in one area are dying, something is wrong with the environment
there and action must be taken.

Me with a dragonfly I caught.

Me searching for dragonflies.

18

Katherine Benware
Japan

Wearing a Yukata at the
Kinkakuji Shrine in Kyoto!

Celebrating the TanabataStar Festival!

Value Derived from the Experience: Through this internship I was able to apply what I havelearned in classes at Lehigh to professional field work. I was able to experience what it is like towork with a professional lab team for the first time. Through this, I solidified my love for theenvironment and confirmed that this path is correct for me. Being able to visit Japan has been adream of mine for a decade, and this internship helped me to make that a reality. I was able toapply my Japanese language skills and form relationships with my Japanese lab mates andfriends. I experienced first-hand a culture I have been interested in for years. I will never forget
my incredible time spent in Japan.

19Gehar Bitar
Germany
College of Arts
& Sciences
Biochemistry

International School Ruhr
Teacher’s Assistant&
TU Dortmund
Summer Children’s
Program Staff Member

Company and Position Description: The International School Ruhr’s mission is to prepare
students to take positive action in an interconnected and changing world. Based in Essen,
Germany, the school encourages their students to show respect for themselves, others and theenvironment while enjoying learning throughout their lives so that they can become
responsible, internationally-minded citizens. The school does a very good job of teachingintercultural competency by hiring teachers from all over the world to teach the various
subjects and have activities and meals that are from all around the world. What I did at theInternational School was shadow the science department teachers who taught general science,
Biology, and Chemistry. I also assisted the teacher in the Early Years department and took careof children from ages three to six. We went on fieldtrips and I assisted with meals, lessons, andfree time. I worked here for the majority of my duration in Germany. The last two weeks of mytime in Germany I supported the children who were attending the TU Dortmund Summer
Children’s Program. This is a holiday care program for children of students and employees aswell as members of the FH Dortmund. It ran from Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.
During these two weeks, I helped other staff members keep children ages six to thirteen safe,
well-fed, and entertained.

Student laboratory to
conduct experiments

Summer Children’s Program provided
various activities for students
20Gehar Bitar
Germany

Waiting for the train I took
everyday to work

Visited the famous Chocolate
Museum in Brussels, Belgium

Value Derived from the Experience: My time in Germany was very unique and insightful. It
was my first time being abroad and I had the opportunity to experience it completely alone withvery basic knowledge about the country. It was a wonderful experience to learn how I react tosituations that I have absolutely no control over like the trains being delayed because of weather
or trying to order a simple meal in a completely different language. I have always wanted thechallenge of learning about a whole new culture and history by being thrown into theexperience. This will help me in the future because I have learned how to utilize my strengths
and the resources around me to maneuver occurrences and challenges that are brand new andunique in their own way. I became very comfortable with using body language to overcome thelanguage barrier and I picked up a lot of German along the way too (mainly train lingo).
One of the biggest things I took away from my time in Germany was my passion for helping
children, whether it be teaching or taking care of them in another way. I was very lucky to havethe opportunity to help further educate the children in an area that I love. This internshipshowed me that no matter what I do post graduation I want it to include helping children in any
way that I can. With enough support, children can prosper and learn how to love themselves anduse that love to reach their full potential. I hope to continue to help people and show them thatthey can love themselves regardless of their situation.

21

Lynn Brownell
The Netherlands
RCEAS
MechanicalEngineering

University Industry
Innovation Network
Global InternCompany and Position Description: University Industry Innovation Network (UIIN) is a
global network of academics, researchers, and business professionals who are invested inincreasing and optimizing collaboration. UIIN hosts multiple workshops and conferences
throughout the year that address the needs of its members. Additionally, UIIN provides its
members numerous resources on the topics of university-industry interaction, collaborative
innovation and entrepreneurial universities. These resources include, but are not limited to a
database of good practices, blogs, and a company magazine.
While interning at UIIN, I was able to work with a fellow intern to complete a good practicecase study on the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Lisbon, Portugal. I also authored multiple blog
articles based on our research and the interviews we conducted. The four Iacocca interns also
helped plan, coordinate, and run UIIN’s annual University-Industry Interaction Conference inHelsinki, Finland.

All four Iacocca interns at UIIN’sconference in Finland

Work trip to Lisbon, Portugal tocomplete interviews
22

Lynn Brownell
The Netherlands

Women’s World Cup Finals:
U.S.A. vs. Netherlands

Saying goodbye to our UIIN
coworkers on our last day

Value Derived from the Experience: As an intern at UIIN, I was able to hone many skills I
rarely get to practice as a Mechanical Engineer undergrad. In the eight weeks I was at UIIN, mywriting, interviewing, and presentation skills improved considerably. Our coworkers were always
there to give guidance and useful feedback. I now have the confidence to do many things I
previously would have tried to avoid, most especially presenting.
I also gained confidence as a global traveler. I ventured off on my own to five of the nine total
countries I visited. One of the craziest trips I took was a last-minute solo trip to the Women’sWorld Cup consolation game in Nice and finals in Lyon, France.
Most importantly, I made significant professional connections, received invaluable career advice
from people with a variety of backgrounds and created life-long friendships all over the globe.

23

Rachel Caffrey
Malaysia
RCEAS
Biomechanics/Bio
Materials
Engineering

UTP Malaysia
Engineering
Research InternCompany and Position Description: This summer, I spent 6 weeks working in the
Universiti Teknologi Petronas(UTP) in Malaysia. My position was as an engineering researchintern with the focal point of my study in how marine bio-growths effect the hydrodynamics ofoffshore platforms. Throughout my work week, I would perform literature reviews and run
data samples from either the lab or the library to develop an Excel model calculating the effectsof the different loading. After doing this, I compiled a series of graphs depicting thecomparative effects of the forces over numerous times. I was then able to use ANSYS todevelop a program and run simulations within specific parameters. By the end of my time, I
compiled a thirty page research report of my studied and findings. Within this paper, I
elaborated on steps that could be taken in future experiments to further understand the force
effect these marine growths have, and how what I found could be taken into account for futureoffshore structure design to adjust for the loading changes. Finally, in my last few days I gave atwenty minute PowerPoint presentation explaining my scope of work, rational, methodology,
results, and final discussion.

Giving my final
presentation

My project Supervisor
Dr. Al-Yacouby
24

Rachel Caffrey
Malaysia

My favorite city I
visited, Melaka

Cameron Highlands tea
plantations

Value Derived from the Experience:
This summer, I got to spend six weeks in Malaysia gaining work exposure, learning how toengage in real research and immersing myself in a completely foreign culture. It was incredible.
Not only was it an enriching experience independently, but I have made friends and mentors I
will keep close from all over Asia, Europe, Canada, Australia, India and Africa. In only six weeks, I
am leaving with a tangible, extensive research report of my very own work and experience
leading professional presentations in my study. The staff, supervisors, UTP peers, and dozens ofother internship students from around the world made the environment so welcoming andunforgettable. The professors in charge of the Research Attachment Program (Khairul and Iffah)
constantly stayed in contact with us and always communicated on- and off-campus cultural
trips/experiences open to our involvement.

Personally, I think I most significantly improved my resilience, autonomy, and authority (selfadvocacy). Traveling, about as far from home around the globe as I could get. put my body andmind through a lot, but I was able to accomplish so much and see corners of the world I neverimagined. With so many hectic events, I was able to hone in on what was important and what
needed to be done. I learned to take things as they come, live with it, and make the best out ofsituations. It very well could have been easy to brush issues aside, let them build up, andaccomplish very little. The experience was entirely what we made of it, and I like to think I madethe most. Reflecting on the power of this opportunity, I recognized how much self-advocacy I
had to do to get things done. I worked to make things happen. I was able to spearhead goals andturn them into real accomplishments to be proud of in a matter of weeks, when others expected
it couldn’t be managed. I have stories to tell for a lifetime, and it is entirely thanks to thisprogram.

25

Megan Carroll
Singapore
College of Arts &Sciences
Psychology

3M
Media andCommunications
InternCompany and Position Description: This summer I worked at 3M in Singapore. 3M is an
American multinational conglomerate corporation operating in the fields of industry, worker
safety, health care, and consumer goods. Some popular brands under 3M are Scotch-Brite,
Nexcare, and Post-It. 3M is an extremely large company and sells over 55,000 products. The
media and communications internship centered around the creation of digital material for thecompany, such as “how to” videos and highlight videos. During the course of the internship I
learned how to create storyboards, write scripts, edit photos, film scenes, and edit videos tocreate a story.

Front of the 3M logo
in the office lobby

Outside of the Woodlands 3M
office building and factory
26

Megan Carroll
Singapore

View of the Supertree
Grove with the Marina Bay
Sands in the background

Newton Hawker Centernear our hostel inNovena, Singapore

Value Derived from the Experience: This experience helped me develop both personallyand professionally. Professionally I was able to learn really useful skills. I learned how to use
Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Premiere to edit photos and video footage. I also learned
videography skills and how to create a script with a specific perspective in mind. These skills
allow me to be able to story tell in a way that I wasn’t able to before. My personal development
bloomed out of difficult circumstances. While I was abroad, I was injured fairly badly and was notable to explore Singapore as I would have hoped. Despite this painful and challenging setback, I
was able to enjoy my time. I was able to make the situation better with the help of the othergirls in the program. I learned about everyday life in Singapore in a way that I never would havebeen able to as a one-week vacationer. I found that this information gave me a better picture ofwhat living in a different country for an extended period of time would be like. Overall mypersonal take-away from this experience, given all the challenges, has been to not hold myself
back from doing exciting and often scary things when the opportunity is there.

27

Jenna Catalano
Japan
RCEAS
ChemicalEngineering

Nagoya Institute ofTechnology
Research InternCompany and Position Description: During my Iacocca internship in Japan I did researchat the Nagoya Institute of Technology with Professor Dewa. I worked directly with Momoka
Akaike, a master’s student at the university for my research project. For my project I studied theprocess of DOPC liposomes being solubilized by the detergent OG. I was in the lab 5-6 hours a
day with one day off per week for Japanese language classes I was taking at the university. I did
three separate experiments for my project and completed reports for each experiment as well
as a final presentation I presented to fellow lab mates and faculty. Nagoya Institute ofTechnology is a public university located in the Showa Ward, Nagoya, Japan. NiTech offers
majors in the fields of engineering, science, business, and health. The school has a 14:86
female to male ratio and has a 4% international student population. In our time at theuniversity, my group stayed at one of the two international student houses on campus which
offered a small apartment- style living situation. In my internship I specifically was working in
the Yamashita, Dewa, Kondo lab which mainly focuses on the subject of Biochemistry and had
approximately 30 other PhD and master’s students working with Professor Dewa.

My fellow lab mates and
I in front of the building I
worked in.

My final researchpresentation to my fellow
lab mates and faculty.
28

Jenna CatalanoJapanwearing a traditional
yukata in the Arashiyama
bamboo forest in Kyoto.

Two of my fellow IIIP Group
Program participants and I at the
Marines Day Festival in Nagoya.

Value Derived from the Experience: I have always dreamed of someday getting theopportunity to travel abroad and this experience went beyond anything I ever could haveimagined. I chose Japan as one of the countries I wanted to travel to as part of this internshipbecause of learning of the country’s rich culture and traditions. As part of this internship I got tovisit many culturally-rich locations such as Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo and experience many shrines,
temples, castles and delicious food! Through my time in Japan, I was able to try many new foods
but also was able to have many unique experiences overall such as attending festivals, getting towear a traditional yukata, and even getting to hold an owl at an owl café! During my internshipexperience I was able to develop a lot of independence both personally and professionally. This
experience was the first time where I have been responsible for my own research project and I
learned a lot about the importance of holding yourself accountable for completing work and toalways be driven to put your best work forward. This really paid off with beaming feedback frommy professor at the end but also from a sense of accomplishment at everything I achieved.
When it comes to personal independence, I had to learn a lot of how to travel alone as well as
communicate when I didn’t know the language. I had to become comfortable with reading bus
and subway schedules and how to properly use these forms of transportation as well as learning
to ask for help from others when I was unsure of what the right direction or bus to take. I am so
grateful that I was able to experience Japan and its amazing culture beyond a “tourist” level andthat I was able to gain a unique work experience that will help me as I continue my schoolingand in my future professional experiences.

29

Massiel Checo
Italy
College of Arts &Sciences
Journalism andCommunications

Rome Design
Agency Marketing
InternCompany and Position Description: The Rome Design Agency is a design and digitalcommunications firm for luxury service brands based in Italy. As a marketing communications
intern, I assisted the communications team in managing the company’s website, social media,
and blog through various programs. I was also tasked with reaching out and networking withlocal businesses and entrepreneurs in order to drive more sales. I was able to collaborate andlearn from assignments and experiences both inside and outside of my designated field.

Working on thecompany blog

Long days, but fun days
30

Massiel Checo
Italy

The famous Colosseum

The Trevi Fountain

Value Derived from the Experience: In addition to expanding my professional knowledge,
this experience taught me a lot of life lessons that were very much needed. The biggest lesson
that I took away from my experience in Italy was that it is okay to be alone. Prior to thisexperience I always hated being alone for long periods of time. This summer allowed me to go to
Rome by myself which taught me how to be more secure in myself and how to handle toughsituations. From navigating the Italian metro system to eating alone at restaurants, I reallylearned how to be comfortable and confident in my own company, which is very important.
Professionally, I was able to explore and learn from a work environment opposite to the UnitedStates, which I think is extremely valuable, especially because my last year at Lehigh is near. I
also expanded my work experience and gained a lot of business perspective. Overall I am very
grateful for the exposure this experience granted me.

31

Luke Christman
Hong Kong
College of Business& Economics
Finance

IES AbroadBusiness
Consultant

Company and Position Description: While abroad in Hong Kong, I worked for a fairly newcompany called Bitwork. Bitwork is a shared workspace (similar to that of WeWork but on asmaller scale), and in addition, they partner with crypto and block chain based companies tohelp with marketing and community growth surrounding different projects in the crypto world.
As an intern there, I was responsible for a number of different tasks, many of which were
performed for a cryptocurrency exchange called Bitsdaq, a company that Bitwork is partneredwith. One major task that I carried out during the course of my internship was researchingdifferent companies requesting to list their tokens on Bitsdaq’s exchange and consulting the
Bitsdaq team on whether or not I felt that the token was legitimate and secure. In addition, I
also attended Rise Conference, the largest Tech conference in Asia, to promote Bitwork andscout potential partnerships. Lastly, I worked on a number of different projects, one of which
was with the CTO of Bitsdaq, Eric. Eric was outsourcing a computer science project to a team in
the Philippines in order to improve the Bitsdaq website and token application process. I acted
as the project manager, ultimately making sure that the team was meeting its goals andcompleting the project in a timely manner. I would also test the website, find errors, and reportback to the team so that they could make necessary adjustments.

Last day with theentire Bitwork Team

Hanging out with ourboss, Raymond32

Luke Christman
Hong Kong

Dim Sum in Sheung
Wan

Cliff Jumping in Sai Wan

Value Derived from the Experience: As an individual that had never been outside of the US
before, excluding Canada, I had absolutely no clue what I was missing out on. First, one hugebenefit of the IES customized internship programs is that my program was made up of one other
Lehigh student and around 20 other students from different schools across the US. Considering
Lehigh is such a small school, it allowed me to make new friends in an awesome environment.
Second, the internship itself holds a lot of value that I know gives me a competitive edge,
especially with recruiting coming up during the fall semester of my junior year. Even though I
didn’t learn that many hard skills while I was interning, the value of simply living and working in aforeign country with people you have never met before definitely teaches things likeindependence, confidence, sociability, and discipline. In addition, a lot of internships abroad thatstudents partake in at Lehigh are paid for by the students. Students are paying for an internshiprather than being selected for it. Something I can definitely stress to potential employers is that
this internship experience is a highly competitive one that was fully funded on scholarship by theschool, which I believe is another added benefit from the experience. Lastly, living in a country so
different from my own definitely helped to progress my mindset. The culture in Hong Kong isimmensely different than that of the US, and initially it definitely felt difficult to balance the newlifestyle with a 5-day work week. However, as I observed the different practices and ideologies ofthat culture, I adapted pretty quickly. Being completely immersed in such a new environment
allowed me to open my mind to new foods, people, and conversations. It may not have felt like itwhile I was there, but after coming back to the US, I noticed how differently and less ignorantly I
thought about and discussed certain topics. Overall, I feel that the program made me a morewell-rounded person.

33

Brianna Cimaglia
South Africa
College of Arts &Sciences
International
Relations &Economics

Catholic
Parliamentary
Liaison Office
Assistant
Researcher

Company and Position Description: The Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office (CPLO) istasked with educating the dioceses and bishops of South Africa on political issues ranging from
immigration to gender equality. They do so in various ways, such as composing digests
explaining these issues and organizing conferences with expert speakers on important topics.
As a research intern, my task was to compose a briefing paper on migrant workers’ affect on
the South African economy. I spent the majority of my internship researching this topic andultimately published a briefing paper summarizing my findings. Throughout my internship, I
assisted organizing conferences on gender violence and economic policies. Additionally, I
attended the annual AFEX conference that the CPLO hosts, in which they invite guests fromother African countries and assist them in creating similar offices in their respective countries.
This conference was my favorite part of my internship, as I was able to network and gain
contacts from various countries.

Attended the annual
AFEX conference

Attended minister meetings at theSouth African Parliament
34

Brianna Cimaglia
South Africa

Hiked to top of Table
Mountain

Elephants along the famousSouth African Garden RouteValue Derived from the Experience: This trip has increased my confidence, self-awareness,
independence and general passion for life. It showed me how life is greater than the confines of
Lehigh; there are so many places and people to experience! Cape Town, in particular, wasamazing due to its beautiful location as a mountainous city on the ocean. I would have beachdays that ended with sunset hikes! Cape Town is notorious for being a “dangerous” city;
however, during my time I never felt threatened. Being in a city where the division between therich and poor is among the greatest in the world, made me realize how privileged I am andinspired future career aspirations to fix this inequality gap. Professionally, I honed my research
and writing skills, learning to communicate in a concise and effective manner. Additionally, I
became a better communicator, becoming more comfortable conversing with people who have
had totally different life experiences than me. Overall, Cape Town is the greatest city in the world& I would not change a thing! This experience changed my life.

35

Frances Colon
North Macedonia
College of Business& Economics
MarketingPivara Brewery Skopje
A.D.
Marketing internCompany and Position Description: I had the opportunity to work at Pivara Skopje
Brewery, a sustainable selling organization that breathes customer and consumer needs. They
currently hold the number one position in North Macedonia on the beer market and on the
non-alcoholic beverages market. All together they have 5 core beer brands and 70 beer
packages. They manufacture and distribute well known brands, such as Fanta, Coca-Cola,
Sprite, Schweppes, Monster, and Heineken. As a marketing intern, I primarily worked withprofessionals within the marketing department, but also had the opportunity to work with thequality assurance and supply chain teams. As for my tasks, I routinely analyzed and extracted
sales ratios within the company and developed comprehensive reports for the marketing teamon PowerPoint and Excel. In terms of specific projects, I worked with the National Trade
Marketing manager to develop the Picture of Success for 2020 and with the Innovation Senior
Specialist to develop a presentation on new innovations to be proposed for next year’s businessplan. I also attended meetings with internal departments and clients. When I wasn’t on acomputer, I was able to taste-test products for any off-tastes and conduct market research withreal clients. The atmosphere at Pivara was incredibly welcoming and it was a great place tolearn about the ins and outs of the industry.

Working with Quality Assurance
to find any off-tastes in products

Conducting market research on
customer opinion of the brand36

Frances Colon
North Macedonia

Galicnik hosts a traditional 3day wedding full of festivities

Sitting in Skopje Kale, a fortressthat withstood many Balkan wars

Value Derived from the Experience: This program allowed me to take my first look into theprofessional world. I was able to learn many basic things about marketing, as well as things that
only years of experience could teach you. Thanks to the wide variety of professionals within thedepartment, I was able to dig deeper into the field and find what I am passionate about as wellas what I will be looking for in a job upon graduation.
Becoming independent in a foreign country was an amazing experience. In the beginning, I wasscared to go to the supermarket by myself, but by the end we were planning trips alone todifferent countries. I also developed a certain confidence when it came to speaking to people.
Although half of them didn’t speak English, it was always better to give it a shot. No matter thecountry, there is always someone that you can talk to.

As for my cultural experience, it was a summer full of learning and appreciation. I participated inmany of the countless Macedonian traditions, including eating Mekitsa and Sirene whensomeone has a child and drinking Rakija with your salad. Macedonians are very warm people. If
you want to see someone, you simply knock on their door and they will not only invite you inwith open arms, but will also offer you all of the food in their kitchen. They are very rooted intheir values and have tremendous pride in their beautiful country.
This experience allowed me to completely immerse myself in the Macedonian culture andlifestyle. By the end of it all I appreciated the simplest of things, such as taking the public bus towork and eating cucumbers with every single meal. In all aspects, it was definitely a summer toremember.

37

Christy Cullen
Vienna, Austria
RCEAS
Civil Engineering

Vienna’s Municipal
Water Department
InternCompany and Position Description: During my internship, I visited many water reservoirs allover Vienna and learned about how and why water from the reservoirs are used. I also visitedwater treatment plants and learned more about how their are different processes of treatingwater depending on where it comes from. Some days I travelled as far as 2 hours by company
car to test the spring water quality from water mains near the Alps of Austria. As a rising juniorcivil engineer, my supervisor believed that I would benefit from learning the process of water
treatment and water distribution through site visits more than I would sitting in the office.
Working for the Municipal Water Department I learned how much Vienna values having clean
drinking water and how committed they are to ensure they will have clean drinking water for
generations to come. With that being said, my supervisor is the founder of IAWD which stands
for International Association of Water Supply Companies in the Danube River Catchment Area.
As a partner with the Water Department, she also became a partner for two European Union
funded projects called PROLINE-CE and CAMARO-D. The aim of these projects is to protect
drinking water resources stemming from the Danube River, which stretches through many
European Union countries. I attended a conference as the youngest, only native English speaker
and was able to meet other government officials working on water protection. I was thentasked by my supervisor to write a report on all that I learned from the conference. It was atruly incredible internship.

European Union Conference for the
PROLINE-CE and CAMARO-D projects

Quality testing groundwater in Groß-Ensersdorf
38Christy Cullen
Vienna, Austria

Viennese Concordia Ball at
the Vienna City Hall withother interns

Schönbrunn Palace and its
picturesque gardens

Value Derived from the Experience: When I applied to have an Iacocca International
Internship, I was doubtful that I would have been “worthy” enough for an experience like this.
Having an internship and eventually going abroad were goals of mine in college, but I didn't
really have the confidence in myself to do anything about it. As a first semester sophomore, I
attended the Study Abroad Fair where I met Brian Wasserman and he encouraged me to set up a
meeting to talk to him about my options to go abroad. After speaking with him about my goals
during and after Lehigh, he suggested I apply for an Iacocca Internship and to my surprise I wasfortunate enough to be amongst the lucky 80 some students who were given the chance of alifetime. As a Civil Engineering major, I was worried that I wouldn’t enjoy my internship as it wasmore of an environmental engineering internship. Again, to my surprise, I ended up absolutely
loving it. I plan to stick with my Civil Engineering major and minor in Environmental Studies formy undergrad and hopefully continue my academic journey by getting a Masters ofEnvironmental or Geotechnical Engineering at Lehigh. My internship did change my career
aspirations but in the best way. I ended up finding a passion in a field where I felt lost. After
exploring my options with my internship, I feel more encouraged to learn than I ever was before.
I also learned to explore ambiguous situations and be more easy going. While in Vienna, I feltthat without having my days structured and planned by the hour like I do during the school year,
I was able to enjoy every moment because I never had any expectations of what I would do thenext day. If I could go back and change anything, I wouldn’t. I explored 8 countries, hiked theAlps, swam in the Tyrrhenian Sea, went canoeing, made friends from all over the world andaccomplished two of my biggest goals in college. Describing myself as fortunate would be anunderstatement.
39

Nicolas Desgranges
Haifa, Israel
College of Arts &Science
Biology

The Technion –Israel Institute ofTechnology
Research AssistantCompany and Position Description: For my internship I worked in a research lab at The
Technion University. The lab studied cancer metabolism by integrating multiple disciplines
including computer science, analytical chemistry, and biology. There were people working in
the lab from many different cultural backgrounds. The lab manager was Russian, the head ofthe lab was Israeli and the Post Doctorate student I was working with was Indian. This gave mea lot of experience working with individuals of different cultural backgrounds. The Post
Doctorate student I was working with and I were working on creating and analyzing cancer celltissue cultures. We would start off by culturing cells then splitting them to ensure that the growproperly and stay healthy. We would then seed those cells onto a 96 well plate where we would
add drugs at different concentration in order to test their effectiveness. Finally we would
extract extra and intracellular metabolites which would then be analyzed in a Mass
Spectrometer. This was all done in order to understand how cell metabolism is rewired incancer cells so that we might better be able to exploit these techniques for diagnosis andtreatment

Mass Spectrometry machine used
to analyze metabolites

The lab hood I
worked in40

Nicolas Desgranges
Haifa, Israel

The Treasury at Petrain Jordan

The other Interns andmyself in Eilat, Israel

Value Derived from the Experience: When first arriving to Israel, I was very unsure what toexpect culturally. I had done a lot of research but I was very unfamiliar with the cultural andreligious practices in the region. After spending ten weeks in the country immersing myself into
the culture and exploring many religious sites, I have grown a greater appreciation for thecountry and its people. My coworkers were so kind and generous, they would happily sit downwith me and tell me their most interesting stories about growing up in Israel. This allowed me toeasily connect with the locals and better understand them culturally. Travelling was also a very
different experience for me. Typically in the past when I travelled I would only go to France,
where I have family, so Israel in the Middle East was very different to me. The landscapes,
historical sites, and customs at those site opened my mind up to the meaning they hold. Ancientsites like the Western Wall, Temple Mount, and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher opened mymind up to different religions practices and customs. It was fascinating seeing some of the mostreligious sites of the worlds’ major religions all together in the old city of Jerusalem. I was lucky
enough to not only travel all around Israel every weekend to places like Jerusalem, Bethlehem,
Tel Aviv, and Eilat but I was also able to visit Petra, one of the seven wonders of the world
located in Jordan. It was very enriching seeing the ancient middle eastern art and architecturaldesigns. Travelling and being able to live in and experience Israel provided me with essential
cultural understanding and knowledge that will serve me for the rest of my life.
In my research lab at the Technion in Haifa, Israel, it was interesting seeing how each of mycoworkers had different practical approaches when it came to different experiments in the lab.
This provided me with a new view on how to approach open ended questions which come up a
lot in independent research. The cell tissue culture methods I learned were also very beneficial
since they are not normally taught in basic classes and can only be learned through practice. The
different experimental approaches as well as the cell tissue techniques will be useful back at
Lehigh and have set me up for future success by providing me with invaluable knowledge I would
not normally be able to obtain else where.
41

Kyra Dimaranan
Japan
RCEAS
ComputerEngineering

Nagoya Instituteof Technology
Research InternCompany and Position Description: My Iacocca Internship was as a Research Intern at the
Nagoya Institute of Technology (NITech), a leading university in science and technology. While I
was here, I was assigned to work under Dr. Takayuki Ito, who specializes in research relating to
artificial intelligence and its various applications and uses. Coming in with little to noexperience in the field, my research was focused in the general workings and applications ofartificial intelligence, machine learning, reinforced learning, and deep learning. I learned how to
implement reinforced learning to solve problems like the famous “Cartpole” problem using
python and began working with elementary robotics programming. In addition to this, we also
attended weekly Japanese classes focusing on speaking, reading, and writing, and went on anindustry tour of Panasonic which was extremely beneficial.

Panasonic Industry Tour

Final presentation on
Artificial Intelligence
42

Kyra DimarananJapan

Wearing a traditional
Yukata in Kyoto

At the Tanabata in Osaka

Value Derived from the Experience: Living in Japan for two months has given me adifferent kind of appreciation for the country I otherwise would not have gotten if I had gone for,say, a week-long vacation. When you live in a foreign country, in an area not known to be a“tourist spot,” you really get to experience and learn about the small nuances of life that make aculture’s way of life unique, beyond the commercialized parts you expect to see. This to me, was
one of the best parts of the Iacocca Internship.
This experience has pushed me to grow in ways I didn’t even know I needed to grow. It’s veryrare to be in a situation where you feel completely like a fish out of water—being in a timezone
13+ hours ahead of your friends and family, not being able to speak or read the language, andbeing the youngest in your work environment by 3+ years will certainly make you feel that way.
Adapting to these things and welcoming the issues, challenges, and slight discomfort that comeswith them, instead of being afraid of them, made me even more independent than I alreadythought I was. I remember buying the wrong bus ticket for one of our weekend trips and not
finding out until we had to board the bus. A couple months ago, I might have felt completely
overwhelmed with the mishap especially in a foreign country, but when the problem arose, we
simply laughed it off, fixed the problem, and had a great time anyway! The experience has givenme the confidence that I’d be able to be thrown into any situation and know how to adapt andmake the best of it, which I think is one of the most invaluable takeaways from this experience.

43

Kathy Doan
Moldova
College of Arts & Sciences
HMS & Sociology

HOSPICE Angelus
Marketing Intern/
Medical AssistantCompany and Position Description: HOSPICE Angelus is the leading provider of palliative carein the Republic of Moldova. During my time here, I worked closely with the marketing
department in the office and organized different fundraising events such as the annual soccer
tournament that they have every year. I immensely developed my designing skills, maintained
all forms of social media, and drafted various emails to reach sponsors in advertisement for
donations to raise funds for the organization. This is a very crucial department for HospiceAngelus because the treatments that they provide their patients are free of charge so it isimportant that the fundraising team pulls through every year. I was also assigned to create theannual report for 2019 of Hospice Angelus which helped me build expertise in data analysis,
researching, calculation for costs/total supplies used, and creating professional mission/visionstatements. I also shadowed nurses and traveled to patient homes around the city. I assisted inbandaging, engaged in one on one comforting conversations, provided medical supplies andlearned about the different diseases that were diagnosed. Most of my work for the patientswas focused on an emotional level. The purpose of this organization is to physically, but more
importantly psychologically, help these dying patients have the best quality of life with the timethat they have left to live.

CASA Angelus, a palliative
children care center

medical shoe covers whenentering a patient home44Kathy Doan
Moldova

Picking fresh tomatoes and cucumbers
off home grown plants

Enjoying the view at thelavender fields

Value Derived from the Experience: Spending two months in the poorest country in Europe
filled with government corruption, suffering infrastructure, unregulated public transportation,
poor crosswalk systems and lack of diversity, I have become more reflective on the reality of theworld. Moldova has taught me to grow and glow in the most way humble way imaginable. Neverwould I have thought that I would be spending my summer in a country that my friends, family,
and I had never heard of before, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Thanks to the Iacocca
Program, I have gotten the chance to have this unique and indescribable experience that no one
else has before. I truly believe Moldova has brought something more meaningful out of me. This
small Eastern European country has shown me parts of the world that have completely changed
my perspective on how to live my life. Daily doses of old Moldovan women trying to sell me
pounds of fresh fruit and vegetables on the street, watching children play outside for hours
instead of being glued to their phones, calm and quiet walks through the many parks in the cityor just being on a hot and crowded trolleybus ride with no windows have become a growing
realization of cultural differences and have pushed me to find inner peace within myself. Seeingthat so little is provided to the citizens here, these two months have made me treasure the small
victories of each day -- learning how to say thank you in Romanian, crossing the hectic streets ofChisinau without getting run over, enjoying a simple meal with the most natural foods, sitting on
a park bench alone without feeling lonely or just having a small cup of homemade wine.
Sometimes the little things really are the most beautiful.

45

Brooke Dubyna
IsraelCollege of Arts and Sciences
BiologyTechnionInternCompany and Position Description: I interned at Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
in the Laboratory of Nano-Bio Interfaces. This lab is multidisciplinary with focuses inbiochemistry and nanotechnology. For my experiment, I worked on synthesizing gold
nanoparticles using gold salt, SP1 protein, and NADH as a reducing agent. The goal of this
synthesis is to utilize SP1 to facilitate the formation of the gold nanoparticles and limit their
growth to an ideal size. Once these gold nanoparticles are formed, they can be used for
medical imaging and cancer drug delivery.

Preparing
solutions

Pipetting samples
into wells for reaction
46

Brooke Dubyna
IsraelFloating in the Dead Sea

Touching the birthplace of Jesus
at the Church of the Nativity inBethlehem

Value Derived from the Experience: I learned a great deal during my time working in the
nanotechnology lab. I was opened up to a whole new field of biology and learned a lot of newlab techniques. Even when I was following procedures that I’d done in other labs, I noticed that I
was improving significantly due to the increased independence I was given. Outside the lab, I
experienced the culture of a country I had never expected to have the opportunity to visit. I evenwent outside my comfort zone and tried a lot of new foods, which was previously unheard of forme as a picky eater. This experience helped me to grow as a person, further developed myindependence and enabled me to make a whole new set of friends.

47

Evan El-Halawani
IsraelCollege of Arts &Sciences
Molecular Biology

Technion University
Undergraduate
Researcher

Company and Position Description: I worked in the lab of Omer Yehezkeli which is amultidisciplinary biochemistry lab focused on nanoparticle synthesis. My project focused onconverting Dinitrogen into Ammonia. Ammonia is an essential component to fertilizer. The US
expends between 1-5% of its energy just to create ammonia for agriculture. Rather than using
heat and high pressure to create ammonia, my project focused on activating enzymes with lightto carry out the conversion. The energy expenditure using light is just a fraction of the energy
required when using heat and high pressure. I plated Azotobacter vinelandii, a strain ofbacteria, and lysed them. By purifying the product, I was able to harvest nitrogenase which isnaturally able to create ammonia. The nitrogenase enzyme relies on electrons to be activated.
By creating metal nanoparticles and shining light on them, you can excite the metal and allow
for free electrons to be used by the enzyme. By going through this procedure, I was able toobtain ammonia which was measured via gas chromatography.

Using the glovebox tolimit oxygen exposure

Injecting my productinto the GC
48

Evan El-Halawani
IsraelThe Sea of Galilee

Floating in the Dead Sea

Value Derived from the Experience: Working in a multidisciplinary lab was an invaluable
experience because it allowed me to better understand the interactions of biology andchemistry. When you learn about biological processes in class, you are able to memorize thematerial, but it is difficult to understand its implications. To have hands-on work growing
bacteria, purifying enzymes, synthesizing metal nanoparticles and activating nanoparticles wasan entirely novel experience. For the first time as an undergraduate student, I felt like a true
molecular biologist. My aspiration is to attend medical school and I know the critical thinking andproblem solving strategies that I learned while working as a researcher will translate into myprofession. Beyond work experience, I also learned how to communicate effectively in a
professional setting. Being able to bounce ideas off of others and narrow the focus of a project isessential in the professional world and these were skills that became second nature by thecompletion of the internship. I look forward to future research endeavors as I feel well equipped
to work in any biotechnological lab setting.

49

Jessica Flores
Yangon, Myanmar
College Arts &Sciences
Psychology and
Theater

Youth Society for
Education
Student Teacher

Company and Position Description: As an intern at the Fun and Learn Center/ Youth
Society for Education I worked as a student teacher. My work specialized in teaching STE(A)M
through the use of LEGOS and science experiments. The Fun and Learn Center was founded in
2013. It was founded with the purpose of educating students through the use of STEAM
education in around Myanmar using USA teaching standards. The teachers here did a great jobof balancing educational lesson with fun and engaging activities. They are great at supporting
students in their academic endeavors and are always looking for more ways to give students
opportunities to use their creativity and knowledge. The Fun and Learn Center uses LEGO andLEGO EV3 to teach students coding as well as science and concepts such as friction, energy andgravity. They help students think outside of the box and allow them to make their own
creations. My job focused on creating science experiments in Chemistry as well as teachinglessons to children in private and international schools. I primarily taught children fromkindergarten to second grade. Since I worked with younger children, I typically only worked
with LEGOS and simple science experiments!

Insert work photo
here (with small
caption below)

Insert work photo
here (with small
caption below)

Teaching a lesson aboutbuilding bridges and what
different types exist

Teaching a lesson about car
launchers and how friction,
force, and energy affect the
distance of an object
50

Jessica Flores
Yangon, Myanmar

A Traditional
Myanmar Meal

Visiting a pagoda with
one of the teachers

Value Derived from the Experience: My time in Myanmar was very special and I am so
glad that I had the opportunity to immerse myself in the wonderful people, the tasty food, andthe life of a local Myanmar citizen. This internship was very pivotal in helping me navigate mycareer aspirations. I think I have always known that I wanted to be a teacher, and I feel as though
this internship definitely helped push me toward making a career decision. I realized how muchlove and appreciation I have for teachers around the world, and I am grateful for all theknowledge that I have gained from the help of my fellow co-workers.
Another part of the trip that was impactful on my personal growth was the independence that I
was given. I definitely learned how to be more of an adult over the summer. I had to face little
challenges throughout my trip. I had to find my way from place to place in a foreign country,
cook food with a hot plate and find ways to explain concepts that were not always translatable in
Burmese.
This experience was not only strengthened my career aspirations and increased myindependence; it was also culturally eye opening. I got to immerse myself in an entirely different
and unique culture halfway around the globe. I learned how to ride a bus, order food in adifferent language, pray at a pagoda, and so much more! I do not know what my Lehighexperience would be like without this opportunity!

51

Grace Forsyth
Chile

College of Arts &Sciences
Molecular Biology

Pontificia Universidad
Católica de Chile
Cellular andMolecular Physiology
Lab InternCompany and Position Description: This summer I worked in the Cellular and Molecular
Physiology Lab at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. This lab, which falls under the
medical research division of the university’s hospital, focuses on vascular dysfunction indiseases of pregnancy. I specifically worked side by side with a PhD student, Lorena Carvajal, on
her thesis about preeclampsia. Despite being one of the main causes of maternal and fetal
mortality worldwide, the cause of preeclampsia remains unknown. The goal of Lore’s researchis to determine the exact molecular mechanism behind the syndrome in order to lay afoundation for potential therapeutic interventions. My responsibilities in the lab included
assisting in experiments and maintaining the placental cell line. Additionally, I helped to analyze
data and experimental results, as well as attend lab meetings and presentations.

The location of the lab in
downtown Santiago

Lore and I in the lab
52Grace Forsyth
Chile

Sandboarding in the
Atacama Desert

Saltos de Petrohué inNorthern Chilean Patagonia

Value Derived from the Experience: During my time in Chile, I gained invaluable
professional experience in the laboratory environment that applies directly to my pursuit of acareer in maternal medicine. Navigating a work environment in Spanish was a challenge, yet an
experience that left me feeling confident in my ability to communicate in any context in the
future. However, my most important lessons from my experience in Santiago are notprofessional, but social and personal. After my experience in Chile, I feel more confident intaking risks and overcoming adversity. Being a naturally reserved person, I learned to be more
outgoing, and most importantly, to ask more questions. I am so grateful for the people I had theopportunity to meet, and I am moved by their ability to embrace me as if I was family, and so
willingly share their culture. These takeaways are values that I will carry with me not only into
my future career, but also into my life as a whole.

53

Stella Garriga
Chile
College of Arts &ScienceCognitive Science

Pontifical Catholic
University of Chile
Laboratory InternCompany and Position Description: The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (or the
Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile) was established in 1888 and is one of the most highly
ranked universities in Latin America. In Chile, I interned in a lab beneath the supervision ofProfessor Gareth Owen, whose research surrounds a wide variety of cancers. The doctoral
students currently in his lab are working on theses involving gastrointestinal and ovarian cancer
cells. As a laboratory intern in Professor Owen’s lab, I would assist his 5 doctoral students withthe experiments they were running in order to produce the necessary results for their papers. I
would change cell medias in order to maintain cell lines that would be experimented on andprepare solutions that would be used in later experiments. I also helped test the incubated celllines for bacterial infections and/or contaminations. I also made western blot gels and ran thewestern blots while the students did other tasks that needed to be prioritized.

Me at the headquartersof the Latin American
United Nations

Me alongside one of
the undergraduate
students in the lab
54Stella Garriga
Chile

at Cajon del Maipo

hiking in theoutskirts of Santiago

Value Derived from the Experience: My internship demanded that I shadow doctoral
students and learn how to maintain cell lines and set up crucial elements of experiments on myown. These responsibilities have allowed me to feel confident that I will be able to be selfsufficient in a laboratory setting in the future and have given me insight as to what is importantin a lab and what one should be looking for when evaluating results. I will take on more
responsibilities in my lab in the future because I had this experience, in which the product of mywork needed to be correct and therefore was done correctly. That also leads me to the fact that
this internship taught me lab skills that are used regardless of what is being studied, and hence
improves my probability of success and level of contribution in whatever labs I work in in the
future.
This internship has also been integral to my personal growth and led to the most drastic self
improvements that I have had in my college experience thus far. I schedule almost every aspectof my life and tend to resort immediately to panic when things do not go according to plan. This
character trait was immensely challenged in Chile, and I was therefore pushed to learn a lot
about being flexible. I really had to push myself to enjoy the present moments more, rather thanconstantly being concerned with what would happen long-term. This is a huge step for me as anindividual, as life rarely goes according to plan, and life would become rather difficult for me in
the future if I panicked every single time something went awry.

55

Rosalie Geiger
Paris, France
RCEAS
Civil Engineering

Starbolt
Marketing InternCompany and Position Description: I worked with Starbolt, a startup electric vehicle
company, as a marketing intern. The company is located in a co-working space that holds otherstartup companies primarily focused on city mobility. Partners of the space include Renault,
Nissan, and Dassault Systemes. The workspace is comprised of a section of a large work roomin a building of two floors. Each company has separate tables and dividers as well as space for
their products (often vehicles). My company work was divided into short-term and long-term
projects. I took pictures of the vehicles and used the website Canva to create brochures for
product sales and social media content for Instagram. I then connected the Facebook page I
created for them and their already existing Instagram account to the platform. This way mylong-term duty of consistently posting to social media accounts became automated. Other
short-term tasks were revising company PowerPoint presentations, editing English writing andstreet advertising. My long-term tasks included creating contact spreadsheets for potential B2Bclients and creating a website to sell electric bikes.

The Starbolt team
Riding a bike during a photoshootnear the Luxembourg gardens 56

Rosalie Geiger
FranceThe 130th Anniversaryof the Eiffel Tower

My housemate and me at
Versailles.

Value Derived from the Experience: This experience allowed me to spend time growing mycommunication, advertising, and cultural awareness skills. In the engineering track at Lehigh,many of my courses are lectures and labs, honing critical thinking processes with a focus onmath and science. Holding a marketing internship in a small company allowed me to be creative
and work every day in a team environment. Choosing to intern in France, I spoke French daily,
which was both welcomed practice and challenging. Operating in a new country pushed me tobe outgoing and persistent in normally simple situations that were suddenly new to me. I had tohave confidence in my French speaking abilities in a professional environment and have
conversations knowing I was going to make mistakes. I found people to be very encouraging
about speaking French, and over time I saw my fluency increase. I have never lived in a city
before, but in France I traveled by metro, train, bus, and the tram. This was similar to getting
around any US city and allowed me to explore Paris and villages outside the city limits.
Technologically, I learned to use websites focused on design, researched social media strategy,
and expanded upon my experience designing websites. A benefit of working in a startup
company is being able to immediately see the impact of your work. I also had the opportunity tobuild a relationship with my bosses. Although most of my work was independent, my bosses
were always available for a quick question and the occasional team meeting. This provided mywork with a quick feedback loop. There is always more work to be done, and if I finished a task
early, I was given another one. This allowed me to work on projects I was not expecting to andlearn new computer software. This style of work also enforced my skills of adaptability. It was
additionally great experience to see the work the goes into creating a new company and theteamwork it requires.

57

Jamie Ghazaii
Tbilisi, Georgia
College of Arts &Sciences
International
RelationsGeorgian Center for
Strategy andDevelopment
Research AssociateCompany and Position Description: Through American Councils, I was paired with theGeorgian Center for Strategy and Development. They describe themselves as “a non-profit,
non-partisan, non-governmental organization, which intends to support Georgia’s national
security, to strengthen principles of effective and democratic governance of the country and tocreate conditions for Georgia’s sustainable development.” Based on the goals of the center, its
work involves research, monitoring, advocacy and implementation of educational projects. I
worked on projects about counter-terrorism initiatives, Russian hybrid warfare, EU integration,
as well as strategic communications. GCSD does many educational public events to incorporate
the community as well as hosting a selection of political and diplomatic figures.

Staff Photo In Office

Event Banner for Counter
Radicalization Program58

Jamie Ghazaii
Tbilisi, Georgia

Insert cultural
photo here (withsmall caption
below)
Uplistsikhe Cave City

Garden of Host Family’s
Village Home

Value Derived from the Experience: My trip to Georgia truly developed myrelationship building skills. Going alone to a foreign country encouraged me to talkto people I may not have otherwise and pushed me to say yes to new experiences.
Being the only foreigner at the table makes you look for relatable conversation andcommon ground between your two cultures. Most of my education about Georgia,
its political climate, as well as its culture came from everyday conversations withmy local community. As for professionally, my job gave me valuable experiences of
the ins-and-outs of non-profit NGO research and management. I was able topractice my analytical skills as well as my networking capabilities through themultitude of events and discussions that I had a hand in creating.

59

Mary Grabowski
KosovoRCEAS
IBE
Industrial andSystems Engineering& Supply Chain

3CIS
Telecommunications Intern

Company and Position Description: I worked at 3CIS, a telecommunication company, in
Prishtina, Kosovo. 3CIS is a company that works with many different companies in the UnitedStates. For example I worked with the project managers for the majority of my time at 3CIS andthey worked under the project for Comcast. The Comcast team worked with corporate
migrations of routers for the respective United States company. I shadowed these project
managers by sitting in on meetings that were sometimes held in English but other times held ina mix of Albanian and English. I also learned how they schedule migrations by communicatingwith the customers. The project managers would have to work with the network engineers toschedule migrations so there was a lot of lining up of schedules.
3CIS is a very progressive company that strives to get more women in the IT field. Around 33%of the company is women and I spoke with the owner of the company and he wants tocontinue to grow that number. Everyone at 3CIS was fluent in English and I was able to easily
communicate with my co-workers and other people in the office. 3CIS is a top
telecommunications company in Kosovo.

My coworkers at 3CIS
Outside 3CIS
60

Mary Grabowski
KosovoBalkan juice box at a Jewish
cemetery in Prishtina

My host family at my hostfathers 56th birthday dinner

Value Derived from the Experience: My time in Prishtina was the absolute best 2 monthsof my life. Before coming to Kosovo, I had never left the United States and my culturalexperiences were limited to the people I surrounded myself with. When arriving in country I was
overwhelmed and wondered what I got myself into. But within the first day and the help of myhost family, I quickly became accustomed to the culture in Kosovo. I was welcomed with open
arms by every person I met. They truly do love Americans and make a point to let you know theydo. I started the summer holding onto a part of my American life but the more time I spent incountry and the more people I got to know I was able to fully immerse myself in the culture. I
was taken in by the people I met and made life-long friends and my host family in Kosovo has
become a second family to me.
Around 70% of the population of Kosovo is under the age of 30 because of the war with Serbia
and the culture mirrors the young population. Every day I could just walk down the street andrun into people I know and the streets were always full of people regardless of the time of day. I
never once had a hard day in Kosovo and my time was full of hospitable people and an amazing
family. My host parents were eager to have me try all the types of food from the Balkans and I
would always wake up to a different assortment of pastries my host parents would bring home.
My time in Kosovo was extremely eye opening and has made me sure I want to live outside theUnited States later in life. I now have a much more open perspective on different cultures andlife in other countries.

61

Anique Groce
Hong Kong
College of Business&Economics
MarketingCalvin Klein
Regional Marketing

Company and Position Description: PVH is one of the most admired fashion and lifestylecompanies in the world. They power brands that drive fashion forward – for good. PVH’s brandportfolio includes the iconic Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Van Heusen, Izod, Arrow, Speedo,
Warner’s, Olga and Geoffrey Beenebrands, as well as the digital-centric True&Co. intimatesbrand. During my eleven week internship, I worked in the Regional Marketing department as anintern. My duties changed week to week depending on what my supervisor needed help with.
In the first half, I was tasked with projects that tested my creativity abilities. I created the nameand outlined ideas for the first and second ever publications of an internal newsletter for the
Asia Pacific region of Calvin Klein that was distributed to all of the management and staff.
During the second half, I was tasked with more project management assignments. I constructed
spreadsheets for different agencies to utilize multiple regions’ buy information across various
collections and hundreds of products.

In the main lobby

The marketing department
62

Anique Groce
Hong Kong

Big Buddha

Cheung Chau

Value Derived from the Experience: The experience was transformative for me as a student
but more importantly as an individual. I was able to be more independent and learn more about
myself during the process. We were responsible for all of our daily activities and at first it wasslightly overwhelming, but by the end, I was confident in surviving on my own. I was also able tobroaden my horizons, working with people from the other side of the world everyday. I also wasable to travel to over 20 places in Hong Kong and spent a weekend in Thailand. Experiencing allof the different parts of Hong Kong was my favorite part and each new place never felt the sameas the last. I am very adventurous and enjoy trying new things so I tried everything that waspresented to me there. This led to me having delicious new foods and snacks that I wish I could
have brought back.
The internship was also extremely beneficial to me professionally. I am now comfortable withusing Excel, can quickly create a PowerPoint and have experience with creative work that iscurrently in stores in Calvin Klein. I am also now more aware of what I do and do not want out of
my career. The experience was helpful for me in planning out my future from here and I am
extremely grateful for the opportunity.

63

Aleksander Gulkewicz
Bermuda
RCEAS
Environmental
Engineering

BIOS
Research InternCompany and Position Description: The Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS) is anindependent US non-profit scientific research and educational organization based in Ferry
Reach, St. George’s on the east end of Bermuda. Scientists and researchers at BIOS work to
explore the ocean and address important local and global environmental issues. BIOS also
operates the research vessel (R/V) Atlantic Explorer and is home to the Bermuda Atlantic Time
Series (BATS), the longest running time series on seawater chemistry, biology, and physics.
During my research internship, I worked on the glider export project. I assisted in themaintenance, calibration, deployment, and recovery of 3 Teledyne Webb Research Slocum
autonomous underwater gliders. I also accompanied the BATS team on monthly cruises aboard
the R/V Atlantic Explorer to take seawater samples used to calibrate the glider’s sensors.
Finally, I analyzed historical BATS data to examine seasonal phytoplankton dynamics that will be
used to enhance the glider project’s understanding of export production in the Sargasso Sea.

Deploying a glider after all necessary
maintenance was completed

Taking oxygen/argon samples
aboard the
R/V Atlantic Explorer

64

Aleksander Gulkewicz
BermudaView across the reachfrom the BIOS dining area

A small group of interns
watching the sunset at
Whalebone Bay

Value Derived from the Experience: My experience at BIOS has provided me withinvaluable research experience and clarity in my future career plans. I was able to gain
experience both in a laboratory setting and aboard a research vessel, two experiences I had
never had before my internship. My involvement at a research institution also confirmed that,
although I am thoroughly interested in scientific environmental research, my true passion lies inenvironmental policy. I am more surer than ever that I want to work alongside of science, rather
than directly with it, in implementing the significant findings occurring at institutions such as
BIOS. Beyond these revelations, I also experienced significant personal and professional
development through this internship and my time in Bermuda. I learned how to better balance
work and recreation by ensuring I set aside enough time for each and by recognizing I only hadnine short weeks to experience as much as possible across the island. I also enhanced my ability
to cope with the stresses of a non-standard working hours job as there were several days on theship that I would not begin sampling until after midnight. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I
made several close friends that I will strive to keep for the rest of my life. Overall, my experienceat BIOS and in Bermuda was nothing but positive and has made me excited for what is to comeafter graduation and beyond.

65

James Hanna
Malaysia
RCEAS
Integrated Businessand Engineering
Finance, Industrial& Systems
Engineering

Universiti Teknologi
PETRONAS
Research InternCompany and Position Description: This summer I worked at Universiti Teknologi
PETRONAS (UTP) in Seri Iskandar, Perak. I was a research intern focused on the technoeconomic analysis of geothermal energy extraction from abandoned oil and gas wells. I worked
directly with a doctor in mechanical engineering as well as a Master’s student at UTP. I
performed most of my research independently and reported to my colleague and supervisor ona weekly basis. I used Aspen HYSYS to simulate several chemical inputs in the power plant toachieve feasible heat recovery systems in low temperature applications which helped us
determine measurements of specific pipelines and turbines used in the plant and also
determined initial costs of equipment based on their size. In addition to testing different
organic compounds through Aspen HYSYS, an economic analysis was conducted to get low andefficient costs which included capital expenditure, operating expenditure, present value, andfuture value analysis. Quantitative analysis based on carbon emission was also studied.

Working at my desk

The library – where mycolleague and I met weekly
66

James Hanna
Malaysia

Traffic sign in Pangkor

Street art in Penang

Value Derived from the Experience: The experience in Malaysia helped me develop
professionally as well as personally. Living and working in Malaysia this past summer was anamazing experience that broadened my horizons in so many ways. This was my very firstinternship and everything was new to me. I learned a lot about the industry I was working in,working in a professional environment, and completing several tasks in a timely fashion. I also
developed many leadership skills such as taking the initiative and suggesting new and more
efficient ideas related to our project. Aside from the technical skills I learned at work, I becamemuch more comfortable with presenting to an international audience and effectively
communicating ideas working through slight language and cultural barriers and assimilating to adifferent work environment. In addition to developing professionally, my experiences helped me
grow as a person. In a very short period of time, I comfortably knew my way around the city,used public transportation and communicated with locals that don’t have any background in the
English language. I also had the opportunity to travel on the weekends which helped me meet a
lot of new people and cultivate long-lasting friendships and even consider a few people as close
as family.

67

Amy Hoover
Republic of North Macedonia

College of Arts &Sciences Psychology

American Councils
Youth Exchange &Study Program
InternCompany and Position Description: American Councils for International Education is a non-profit
organization working to advance education and cultural understanding across many nations. The office is
responsible for running the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchangeand Study (KLYES)and YESAbroadprograms.
Theseprograms allow Macedonian high school students to complete a year of high school in America andalso for Americanstudentsto come to Macedoniato do the same.
My intern responsibilitiesincluded compiling information about the host cities and schools for theYES
2019-2020 students, creatingstudent profiles for each member of the program, counting and organizing
materials forevents and ensuringeach student selectied for the program submitted the proper materials
and sent a weekly check-inreport.

Myfirst day at the office

From left to right: Zdenka, myself,and Oliver

68

Amy Hoover
Republic of North Macedonia

The Galičnik Wedding is oneof Macedonia’s mosttraditional ceremonies

A trip to the top of
Mount Vodno

Value Derived from the Experience: This internship gave me the opportunity to leave the UnitedStates for the first time ever and it was also my first time ever having the chance to travel by plane.
Something just assimple asthat meant the world to me. I have always seen myself asan independent person,
but being in Macedonia really showed me what it means to be on your own. I struggled with it at first
due to my own anxiety. I didn’t want to waste the amazing opportunity just because I was scared and thatreally pushed me to overcome my anxiety. I pushed myself past my comfort zoneandit broke abarrier I
didn’t evenknow I had built inside myself. This trip turned me into a much more confident person by
exposing challenges I didn’t realize I had. Having them in the light allowed me to work on them and fix
them. I feel asthough I grew up a lot this past summer. After a few weeks I realized the work I was doing
wasn’t exactly what I have in mind for my furture career, so it became difficult to motivate myself. I feellike the reality of what the future is hit me. I realized that not everything I do in life will always be what I
expected but I learned how to cope with itand make the best of situations I I thought would bedifferent.

69

Brianne Hughes
UgandaCollege of Businessand Economics
Finance

Pathways
Development
Initiative
InternCompany and Position Description: The Pathways Development Initiative (PDI) is alocal organization based in the Bududa District of Uganda. PDI is focused on developing the
growth of its community through education and empowerment. This is accomplished in three
ways: Early Childhood Education and Development, Village Savings and Loans Associations(VSLAs) and the Sports Clinic Program. I was PDI’s micro-finance intern so I focused primarilyon VSLA work. This meant going into the field a lot. Field work typically involved hiking
mountains upon mountains in order to consult and meet with a small group of 30 individuals
who were eager to learn about saving and how to build a better future for themselves or theirfamilies. I was able to speak with community members and answer any questions they had
whether it be about America or saving. Lastly, on field visits, I would collect data to track the
progress (or lack thereof) of any given savings group. In addition to field work, I had officetasks. PDI lacked a proper record keeping system. Fortunately I was able to use Microsoft Office
to build Excel spread sheets, Access forms, and databases. In my free time I crafted relevant
artwork (i.e. maps, schedules etc.) for the empty walls of the office. Overall, I loved myinternship and found it to be both rewarding and fulfilling.

Insert work photo
here (with small
caption below)

Successful VSLA meeting

Insert work photo
here (with small
caption below)

A map of all the VSLA
locations to be displayed in
the office70

Brianne Hughes
UgandaA Ugandan celebration–lots of dancing andMatooke (food)

After school all the children
congregate at the pitch to playsoccer and games

Value Derived from the Experience: I was exposed to a whole new way of living while I
stayed in rural Uganda. Everyone smiles, says hello, asks how you are doing. This is not done outof necessity, rather it is genuine. The villagers face true hardships ranging from disease to natural
disaster. During our stay, landslides devastated the region and as a result not even one month
later there was a cholera outbreak. People died, people lost homes, friends, families, the list
goes on and on. Despite the struggles faced and the lack of proper resources (food, clean water,electric, etc.) they continued to be the happiest people I had ever met. I was (and still am) truly
inspired by their sense of community and family– everyone takes care of each other. I kept this inmind while getting through the day to day life that was still relatively new to me. There weredifficult times (as expected) and normally I would complain without thinking twice, but I realizedthat most things I would find myself complaining about truly did not matter. Life can be amazing
and difficult at the same time and that is okay. I learned to be adaptable as well as accepting of
new ideas and customs. There is no “right way” of doing something. I think both of these things
have propelled me as an individual and aspiring business woman. I am so grateful for theexperience I had because it has helped shape me into a stronger and more understanding
person. I look forward to going back one day and reconnecting with those who had this positive
influence on me.

71

Liam Hughes
India
RCEAS
MechanicalEngineering

Coworkin.co
Entrepreneurship
InternCompany and Position Description: During my time in India, I interned at a company
called Coworkin.co where I was encouraged to step out of my comfort zone and find solutions
to the tasks assigned to me. Coworkin.co is a coworking company whose mission is to provide
spaces for startups and small businesses to get their feet off the ground. They offer monthly
payment options for flexible desking areas, along with other alternatives such as fixed desks,cabins, and virtual offices. My job during the first four weeks of the internship was in the
expansion team, where I discussed floor plans with the COO, Aman Verma, and reported backto the Founder and CEO, Yatin Thakur. During the second half of my internship, I completed acompetitive analysis using about a month’s work of market research. Most of the research wasonline, but we did also go into the field and collect information by means of informal interviews
and discussions.

My workplace

Completing entrepreneurshipworkshops at Ashoka
University
72

Liam Hughes
India

Visiting the Lotus
Temple (Delhi)

Hiking to a waterfall in the
Indian Himalayas (Rishikesh)

Value Derived from the Experience: This past summer in India has definitively changed mylife for the better. I met so many fantastic individuals during my time there and I learned so muchabout Indian culture and the world as a whole. I’ve never had an abroad experience before thisso the whole time everything seemed incredibly novel and exciting. There was never a point
where I thought, “I wish I were back in the US right now.” I was able to make some valuable
connections at Ashoka University and with their partners at Ingenious Faces, who I continue totalk with and who have taught me so much—not only about entrepreneurship but also about
India and myself.
One thing I noticed was that, despite India being on the opposite side of the world as the UnitedStates, the people in Delhi are incredibly similar to the people in the USA when it comes toonline culture. Through our massively interconnected world, people have been becoming closer
as a society without regard to their cultural boundaries.
Some things I took away from being in India were the experiences I had traveling and thememories I made with my new friends. I learned how to be a much more confident individual,
and I broadened my cultural horizons to an extent which I never thought I would going into myjunior year.

73Diyor Irismetov
United Kingdom
College of Arts &Sciences
Sociology

Arthur Online
Growth Team InternCompany and Position Description: Arthur Online is a property management softwarethat provides property managers with an end-to-end web-based solution that allows them tofind and manage their tenants, contractors, and their letting agents much more efficiently andeffectively. As part of the Growth Team at Arthur Online, I was responsible to first learn more
about the company and industry through two weeks of intensive research. After these two
weeks, I dived into a new direction with the Chief Technology Officer as we analyzed why
Arthur Online’s website was performing the way it was through Google Analytics. Through
Google Analytics, I was able to provide the company critical data in a feasible matter throughdashboards and charts. From there I worked close with the team to launch remarketing
campaigns aimed to convert our returning prospective users into actual customers. I used
Google Ads to launch display advertisement campaigns and generated reports conducted fromthe campaigns for the team and the Chief Financial Officer to analyze.

Insert work photo
here (with small
caption below)

Working from the Company HQInsert work photo
here (with small
caption below)

Working on Google Analytics
to create insightful
dashboards for the company
74

Diyor Irismetov
United Kingdom

Insert cultural
photo here (withsmall caption
below)At my favorite club, Chelsea FC!

Insert culture
photo here (withsmall caption
below)
London’s famous museum, the VA

Value Derived from the Experience: Living and working in a country that’s on the otherside of the world really helped me grow as an individual. Responsibility was a big part of thelearning curve as I saw how accountable I was for the decisions I made for myself in my personal
life and career. Throughout my 2 months in London (as well as San Francisco), I learned how tocommunicate with people that were much more distinct from me, both culturally andprofessionally. Being able to work in a start-up culture of another country was honestly theperfect opportunity for me to explore my passion in a different light. The hands-on experiencethat I had with my inclusive work environment helped me explore my passion in much more
depth. This internship paved the road for my career as now I am more excited than ever to start
my own business when the time comes.
In terms of culture, London has been the perfect city to explore the various cultures found in theworld, as long as you’re ready for their unanticipated British accent. The beauty of this city
leaves me speechless. From its stunning gardens to its exquisite museums, London has been
nothing less than my dream city to live in. The two months in this busy city where everyone isconstantly traveling to work really made me feel like I am ready to go out into the real world andlive in it as a full-time “employed” adult.

75

Marvin Jacobs
Lithuania
College of Arts & Sciences
Political Science
Economics

American Council
EducationUSA InternCompany and Position Description: As an intern at the EducationUSA Vilnius office, I
provided potential students from other associated programs in American Council withinformation on educational opportunities with accredited U.S. institutions. This included
advising and information on different resources students could use to determine how toacquire financial aid and the necessary steps in applying to American schools. My main services
included individual one-on-one sessions online, by phone and by e-mail and group advising.
Every Friday I also developed and presented a webinar to students who were available. This
included both potential undergraduate and graduate student information and what theyshould, as international students, expect during their process of applying. Lastly I traveled tovarious locations to meet with people in-person to give speeches and answer any questions.

Group photo at work formonthly report to
EducationUSA.

Photo of me at my deskfor the first day.
76

Marvin Jacobs
Lithuania

Inside on of the manychurches in Kaunas, Lithuania

Cepelinai and kvass traditional Lithuanian cuisine

Value Derived from the Experience: This experience helped me understand my own
personal strengths and weakness to a greater degree than before. As I worked I began to see
where I struggled in being a good employee and where I shined. This involved finding ways
where I could contribute in meaningful ways when their wasn’t always clear direction in how toprecede. I also learned how to adapt to different environments. Being in a foreign country,
sometimes people would misunderstand my words or not understand my intentions. Learning tochange how I presented myself to others and adapt to them instead of being obstinate wassomething I learned and greatly value. Lastly, my view of the world was broadened greatly.
Learning other people's view of the world showed me how I was somewhat narrow-minded andthat I should look at all different sorts of situations in different ways. Overall, this experience led
me to recognize what I needed to improve in myself and gave me valuable lessons on how to
pursue that growth.

77

Kyra Jenkins-Hunter
Armenia
College of Business& Economics
MarketingEurasia
PartnershipFoundation
Marketing InternCompany and Position Description: I interned at the Eurasia Partnership Foundation
during my time in Armenia. EPF is a non-governmental organization focused on social justiceand human rights. A lot of their work consists of educating the Armenian people on theequality of all people including those who are non-Armenian, non-Christian, and/or a part of
the LGBTQ community. They also continue to strive and hold good relations with thesurrounding countries including Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran, and Turkey. They do most of theirwork by holding conferences, meetings, schools, and workshops. My role in the office has
revolved around my major which is Marketing. I mostly worked with the Communications
department and helped them with social media, website structure and design, and other mini
projects revolving around Marketing. I also did some miscellaneous work as well like translating
documents, transcribing speeches, writing and editing articles, and conducting interviews.

My presentation on theimportance of Digital Marketing

Working on a project inthe office78

Kyra Jenkins-Hunter
Armenia

Picture of me at
the Garni village

Noravank Churchone of the famouschurches in Armenia

Value Derived from the Experience: My experience here has showed me more about
myself that I didn’t even know existed. First off, going to a foreign country on your own at 21 isunheard of for a low-income family. I was unaware of all the responsibility and adapting that had
to take place until I got here. After being there for 8 weeks, I noticed I was more confident inmyself and trusting my own judgement and reasoning. I am very confident in what I stand for asa woman and my beliefs and values. There were many times where others questioned what I
believe, but I never wavered from my values. I now understand my values way more than before.
However, my experience showed me some weaknesses that I do have and how I handle myweaknesses. I’m glad to say that I handle my weaknesses as an advantage and I learned how tokeep them from affecting me. For instance, sometimes I am anti-social, but I found a way to bothhave my space, but also socialize when it is necessary. Also, some weaknesses I thought I had
turned into strengths. I thought presenting was a weakness of mine, however, after presenting
twice in front of the entire office, I soon learned that I am actually great at it. I’ve grown a lot
here and I appreciate Armenia for showing me my strengths and acknowledging my weaknesses.

79Austen Johnson
Hong Kong
RCEAS
Industrial & Systems
Engineering

Hutchison Ports
Group Operations
InternCompany and Position Description: Over the summer, I was able to work for Hutchison
Ports in Hong Kong. Hutchison is the world’s leading port network as they have 52 shipping
terminals in 27 countries around the globe. As a Group Operations Intern, I was tasked withcreating a global terminal profile of all of the shipping terminals in the world. This profile
needed to include data such as the number of shipping containers the terminal handled
annually, size of the terminal, depth of the water approaching the terminal, and various otherattributes of these terminals. Since efficiency is crucial in the shipping industry, this informationis very important to determine how best to implement a system of the highest possible
efficiency at each terminal.

A visit to a Quay Crane

A tour of the company

80

Austen Johnson
Hong Kong

Hike to Sai Kung Beach

Nan Lian Garden withother Iacocca interns

Value Derived from the Experience: This experience has helped me grow tremendously ona personal and professional level. Since the moment I landed, I was fully immersed in the Hong
Kong culture. From the food to the people, it was drastically different from my normal life in theStates. I learned a tremendous amount about the history of Hong Kong and China, adopted theircustoms, and made lifelong friends in just these two months. On a professional level, I was able
to gain valuable experience in the workplace and learned plenty of new skills on the job. The
most impactful part of this internship was my co-workers and learning how to navigate aprofessional workplace, as this was my first job in a professional setting. The skills I learned andthe impact of the people I met will never be forgotten.

81Jessica Jones
Singapore
RCEAS
BioengineeringBiomechanics andBiomaterials

3M
R&D Chemical andMaterial Science
InternCompany and Position Description: Whenever I told people that I was interning at 3M,
people always said “oh like Post-It Notes, Command Strips, and Scotch Tape, right?” While
those are a few of the things 3M is most famous for manufacturing, 3M designs andmanufactures so much more than that; including products for automobiles, communications,design and construction, electronics, health care, safety, transportation, and much more. You
may not realize it, but many products that you come in contact with every day could possibly bedesigned and manufactured by 3M, such as your kitchen sponges, the construction helmetsthat you see workers wearing as you pass by them on the street, the air/water purifier in youroffice at work, the privacy filter on your computer screen, the stethoscope your doctor uses
during your annual check-up and even the paint on the roadways that keeps you safe and inyour lane.
As a research and development intern in the chemical and material science laboratory, I was
paired with a supervisor who is working to create several different epoxy-based coatings for avariety of applications. We designed anti-scratch coatings for use on glass surfaces, anti-stain
coatings for use on road markings so that tires do not stain the road paint, anti-slip coatings foruse on floors, and several others.

The 3M Plant in Woodlandswhere I worked

Mr. Cheng Teck Tan,myself, Erin, Megan,and Mr. Andrew Ong
82

Jessica Jones
Singapore

The Istana is the official house andoffice of the President of Singapore

Boats on the Marina Bay withseveral iconic structures in the
background

Value Derived from the Experience: Interning at 3M in Singapore was full of new
experiences for me. It was my first time out of the United States, and it was my first time having
an official internship. While the thought of being in a new country for 65 days was a terrifying
concept to me initially, I was able to quickly adapt to my new surroundings due to the immediate
immersion into the Singaporean culture. I was suddenly surrounded by thousands of people
speaking various languages (English is the “official” language of Singapore, but most people
speak at least one or two other languages, mostly Tamil, Malay, and Mandarin) in an unknown
city/country, thus putting me way outside of my comfort zone since I am used to living in rural“middle-of-nowhere” Pennsylvania. After the first couple days. the shock of cultural immersion
began to wear off and I was able to dive head first into embracing all of the experiences that
Singapore had to offer. I tasted new foods, lived in an entirely new climate (the temperature in
Singapore rarely drops below 85F, the humidity is constantly 80% or above, and it rains/storms
almost every day), explored my new surroundings, and gained a confidence and sense of
independence that I never expected. Professionally, working at 3M allowed me to get a taste ofwhat working in a research lab is like and how it is different from labs at school. I was able tobetter understand the workings of a professional environment.

83Eric Kersten
Malaysia
RCEAS
Environmental
Engineering

University
Technology
Petronas
Research AssistantCompany and Position Description: During my stay in Malaysia I performed researchunder a PHD student at the leading engineering school in the country, the University ofTechnology Petronas. I collected and analyzed data alongside a small, ethnically diverse team offour. My assigned research project dealt with assessing the forces created by ocean waves
against offshore oil drilling rigs. Within the past year, Malaysia’s gas and oil industry endured atough situation as the oil sales plummeted by nearly half. In order to salvage the economic
situation, the Malaysian oil company turned to cost optimization. My job for the project was tosimulate the most accurate environmental conditions on multiple offshore oil platforms via a
computer program. By assessing the wave forces with new technology, Malaysia can design astructure that is both safe and uses less material to manufacture.

Hakim and I working
in the computer lab

Campus building where I worked
84Eric Kersten
Malaysia

Supporting a good cause at
the Phuket Elephant
Sanctuary in Thailand

On the 86th floor of thePetronas Twin Towers
in Kuala Lumpur

Value Derived from the Experience: My experience abroad far exceeded anything I
imagined. Prior to this program, I had never been outside of the country. Taking that first step
was hard, but well worth it. By living and traveling in South East Asia for an extended period
time, I learned what it’s like to experience cultures that are entirely different than what I’ve
always known. Not only did everyone I met spoke a different language, but small things like
departing gestures were conducted differently. I learned how to approach, talk, joke and makefriends with people that I never thought I would meet.
During my time abroad I had no problems interacting with the locals. No matter where I went, I
was met with friendliness. I learned that no matter your background, kindness is always
reciprocated. In the workplace, I learned how to communicate effectively and be comfortable inan environment that stretched across multiple cultures. Being employed in a foreign country
taught me when to speak up and when to keep to myself. It also enhanced my work ethic.
Though, the largest benefit from my journey came from within. Traveling alone and navigating
difficult, often stressful situations boosted my self confidence greatly. I often doubt myself andchoose the safest route in an unfamiliar situation but going abroad revealed to me that I musttrust my gut instinct, even if it can be frightening. Most important of all, I learned to live in the
moment and take advantage of every opportunity that came my way.

85

Brandon Kleinert
Hong Kong
College of Business& Economics
Supply Chain
Management

Hutchison Ports
Commercial
Development InternCompany and Position Description: For the duration of my time in Hong Konq, I worked
as a Commercial Development intern at Hutchison Ports. Hutchison Ports is the world’s leading
port terminal operator, accounting for a large portion of the world’s sea-borne container traffic.
In the Commercial department, my job dealt primarily with keeping the company informed. On
a day to day basis, I was tasked with gathering industry relevant news from multiple sources,
editing it down for clarity and distributing it via the company news distribution system. I also
had the opportunity to author two analysis articles in my time at Hutchison Ports. One of which
dealt with an analysis of the shifting global manufacturing landscape, and the other provided
an update on the current state of the third party logistics industry. I had the opportunity tointeract with individuals involved in shipping lines, raw materials sourcing, warehousing andport terminal operations. I had an invaluable opportunity to gain insight into many different
aspects of the supply chain first hand, and I took advantage of those opportunities to the fullest
extent.

Colleagues

Hutchinson Port
Headquarters
86Brandon Kleinert
Hong Kong

Hong Kong skyline

Local neighborhood

Value Derived from the Experience: This experience proved invaluable in my personal
development. The opportunity to travel across the world and gain insight into a new culture is
one that I would not have had if it were not for this program. I feel as though my horizons havebeen broadened beyond what I once thought possible. Not only do I now have an understandingof the Cantonese culture found in Hong Kong, but the experience I gained relative to my major
will assist me greatly in my future endeavors. As a supply chain management major, the insideperspective on how a supply chain and its different aspects function on the other side of theworld will set me apart from others, and I could not be more thankful. Hong Kong is a beautiful
place, and I long for the day that I may return to relive my experiences and reconnect with those
I left behind. It is certainly a volatile time in the city, but the passion and love that the Hong Kong
people express for their city makes me believe that no matter what happens, it will have a brightand thriving future. I feel as though I have become a more well rounded individual, newly tooled
to take on a variety of challenges that may face me. I am eternally grateful.

87

James Lamphier
United Arab Emirates
RCEAS
Integrated Business& Engineering
Civil Engineering &Finance

DeSimone
Consulting Engineers
Structural Engineer
InternCompany and Position Description: DeSimone Consulting Engineers is a structural
engineering consulting firm based in the United States. They have offices in China, Columbia,
and the United Arab Emirates. I interned in the Abu Dhabi office. Our office is contracted bycompanies all over the Middle East for improving structural designs. While I was there, I helped
the firm work on improving the design of a high rise building located in Dubai. A previous
company had poorly designed the columns, shear walls and outriggers so the owner of thebuilding hired DeSimone to redesign them. My primary roll was calculating the bill ofquantities. I also worked on buildings in Qatar assisting in checking the safety of the structures.

Modeling a floorusing SAFE

Typical column
schedule
88

James Lamphier
United Arab Emirates

Exploring the desert
with a camel

Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque

Value Derived from the Experience: I came into this internship with very little professionaland cultural experience. I had not yet taken specific structural courses, and I had only left thecountry once (two days in Canada). The office made me feel so comfortable to be there rightaway. In the office, I learned a lot about the structural engineering process. I was thrown right
into new software and complicated drawings, but everyone was more than willing to help me
whenever I was confused. At the end of the internship, I presented my main project for the boss,and he told me that it would be used for their future work. I felt like I was making a realdifference with the work I was doing.
Outside of the office, I deeply explored the city of Abu Dhabi. Some of my favorite spots werethe Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque, a Desert Safari, Central Souk in the World Trade Center and myday trip to Dubai. The food was unbelievable, and I was able to try food from Egypt, Lebanon,
India, Turkey, and many other areas of the Middle East. We even ate together as an office weekly
which introduced me to many new dishes.
Overall, I learned so much about the world, engineering, and myself over these two months.

89

Janelle Laros
Hong Kong
College of Arts &Sciences
Architecture

Calvin Klein
Retail Store Planningand Development

Company and Position Description: This Summer I worked in the Retail Store Planningand Development Department at Calvin Klein in Hong Kong. Calvin Klein is an iconic, American
fashion brand that is famous for their designer jeans and underwear collections. I worked in the
Retail Store Planning and Development department. I spent the first half of my internshipworking with the Store Planning team which focused more on retail design aesthetics and how
to translate the Calvin Klein brand image into store design. This part of my internship was moreinterior design based. My projects were focused on researching stores of the future anddesigning new store fixtures. The second half of my internship, I worked with the Development
team which was more based on project and site management. I researched new digitalelements which could be implemented in Calvin Klein stores and designed multiple versions ofa material sample box. Overall, I was able to apply what I’ve learned in my major as well as
grasp an entirely new set of skills in my field.

Working at my desk

My department and I celebratinga coworkers birthday
90Janelle Laros
Hong Kong

Riding bikes on Cheung Chau Island

Big Buddha on Lantau Island

Value Derived from the Experience: The Iacocca International Internship Program helpedme personally and professionally develop because it gave me the opportunity to work, live, andlearn abroad while exploring a career path in my field and in a completely new city. Hong Kong issuch a diverse city with so much to see and experience. My summer in Hong Kong was also
greatly impactful because of the 2019 Hong Kong protests which were taking place during mysummer living there. Taking the MTR to work, seeing all of the notorious Hong Kong sites, trying
Cantonese food, and learning about Hong Kong’s culture and history not only greatly expanded
my world view but also made the Hong Kong protests more vivid and intense because of myconnection to the city.
Professionally, getting the opportunity to work at Calvin Klein with the Store Planning andDevelopment Department shaped my understanding of the architecture and design field. I had
never before had experience with interior design. It gave me a more clear understanding of thepath in architecture I want to pursue.

91

Minh Le
Italy
College of Arts & Sciences
Journalism
Graphic Design

Luxos Magazine
Editorial InternCompany and Position Description: For two months, I worked at Luxos — a luxury travel
magazine headquartered in Milan, with correspondents across Europe and Asia. Publishedbiannually in print and daily digitally, the magazine provides readers with a multilingual guide to
the best luxury hotels, restaurants and shopping experiences, as well as lifestyle, fashion andbeauty. As an editorial intern, I did research on a daily basis and wrote articles on travel guides
to destinations around the world for the digital version. I also got to write features for small
cities, which are broken down into three categories — do, dine and spend — for print andadapt materials from the archive for web. Another responsibility of mine was to contribute to
the editorial calendar across all social media platforms and specifically cultivate content for
Instagram to inspire readers, promote advertisers and increase engagement.

My supervisor Lavinia, my fellow
intern Brielle and me.

My work space at our openplan office.
92

Minh Le
Italy

Milano Pride 2019

VeniceValue Derived from the Experience: This internship was one of my first nine-to-five jobs, so
having to stick to a fixed schedule while remaining productive and inspired throughout the day
was difficult at first. However, instead of going into a task with the same approach every single
time, I tried my best to improve upon my writing, my research and my articulation one task after
another. As a result, not only did the tasks became lighter because I was actually invested inthem, but I also put more emphasis on the aspect of learning from work, which, in my opinion, isa vital part of doing an internship. Moreover, grounding my sense of creativity within a strictly
structural system based on tasks massively increased my productivity because I felt like I wasconstantly being pushed to finish so that I could move on to something else. Also, my writing
style is very different from that of Luxos, which is something I’m eternally grateful for. I’ve learnt
that adapting does not equal compromising. Asking a lot of questions and being articulate inwhat I was doing, as well as listening to directions, were key factors to striking the perfectbalance between meeting the criteria and being true to my voice.

93

Greg Makris
Malaysia
RCEAS
Environmental
Engineering

UTP (Universiti
Teknologi Petronas)
Research & Data
Analysis InternCompany and Position Description: I worked at the Universiti Teknologi Petronas in Perak,
Malaysia as a research and data analysis intern. I was given the assignment of researching themethods of pollution control and waste disposal on construction and demolition sites. I
worked alongside two PhD students, who were using a program called SuperDecisions ANP(Analytical Network Process). I had to learn how to use the program, which was used to help
companies make complex decisions by creating a ranking system that compared many different
variables in a decision. Each pair of variables was set side-by-side and rated in level ofimportance by a group of professionals on the topic. During my 6 weeks in Malaysia, I was able
to learn so much about the problems of pollution and waste management from construction
and demolition sites, and can now use this new knowledge in my career to help combat theissue.

Working at my deskon the ANP software

The library at UTP, where mostof my meetings were held94

Greg Makris
Malaysia

Visiting an elephant sanctuary
in Phuket, Thailand

Adventuring on the islandof Pangkor, Malaysia

Value Derived from the Experience: My internship in Malaysia was the first time I had beenoutside of the United States. Being so far from home and everyone that I know, I definitely
realized that the comforts, that have been right within my reach for my whole life, were now
mostly gone. I really had to go out of my comfort zone to meet new people, create a newroutine, and adjust to the cultural differences. However, I knew that I should expect thesechallenges and felt prepared to make the adjustments. Malaysia was completely different
culturally. Everyday aspects of life were something new to me. I was surprised by how friendly
and welcoming people were. People did not eat food with utensils but rather with their hands.
Many didn’t go into work until ten in the morning and most would still be back by four in theafternoon. Each day, I was able to pick up on some minute detail of the Malaysian culture
throughout my internship.
I very much value the friendships that I made in Malaysia. I plan to keep in touch with the otherinterns at UTP that I established relationships with long after I have left. I deeply value all of thelife-changing experiences I had with these people during our trips around Malaysia and thememories that came with it. I was able to travel to Phuket and Hat Yai in Thailand and Pangkor,
Penang, Ipoh, and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, all while on my trip.
All in all, the experience exceeded my expectations. It definitely helped open my eyes to aculture unlike the ones I have known all my life. I learned how to constantly adapt to challenges
and I know that will greatly benefit me in my career and the rest of my life.

95

Joseph Malisov
Croatia
College of Arts &Sciences
Computer Science

PAR University
College
Media
Transformation
Specialist

Company and Position Description: PAR University College is a small private university
situated in Rijeka, just one block from the city center. They mostly focus on business-relateddegrees. During this past summer, I applied my skills in photography and videography tovideotape and edit testimonials of past students, make commercials featuring the University
and the city, and create blog posts to be used for marketing. My work included going to various
sites to film past students, including a football stadium. In addition, I used Adobe Premiere Pro
and Photoshop extensively throughout my time at PAR.

Insert work photo
here (with small
caption below)

Photo taken while I videotapeda tour of the university

Photo taken post-interviewing
professional basketball andvolleyball players.
96Joseph Malisov
Croatia

Insert cultural
photo here (withsmall caption
below)
standing atop Mt. Ućka

Insert culture
photo here (withsmall caption
below)
in front of Ancient Ruins

Value Derived from the Experience: It was great to work in an environment where mywork was appreciated, and I truly got the feeling that I contributed something. It was a learning
experience creating artistic work for clients, as taking in others opinions and working with themwas essential. In addition, I had to learn a video editing software that I was unfamiliar with on
the fly. I am grateful of that pressure, as I am sure I learned more by actually doing it then I
would have if my work held no importance. All my hard work paid off when I saw some of myvideos were taken to conferences and uploaded to Youtube to be used as advertising.

97

Laura Marsiglio
FranceCollege of Arts &Science
IDEAS

Laboratoire Ondes
et Matièred’Aquitaine
Research InternCompany and Position Description: I worked as a research intern for the Laboratoire
Ondes et Matière d’Aquitaine as part of the Optofluidics group. The research project I
contributed to was an ongoing effort to develop optorheology techniques. Typical rheometers
require a large sample size, are destructive, and can only be used on a limited range ofmaterials, but opthorheology overcomes these obstacles. I spent the first few weeks
familiarizing myself with optics and Spyder, the programming language we used to analyze ourexperimental data, before starting my work in the lab. In the lab, I used two laser beams to
induce and monitor the deformation of a polymer solution. Using an oscilloscope, I collected
the experimental data and analyzed it with a program written in Spyder. This program allowed
for analysis of the dynamics, viscosity, and viscoelasticity of the solutions and produced values
very near published values for the material properties. At the end of my time at the lab, I
presented my research to colleagues in my lab, as well as to researchers from nearby labs inorder to demonstrate the knowledge and understanding I gained during my internship.

Using a pipette to place thesample solution on a glass
prism for testing.

Safety glasses! The green
laser used in the experiment
was very powerful98Laura Marsiglio
FranceThe Water Mirror which sits
along the Garonne River in
Bordeaux and reflects thePlace de la Bourse.

La Cité du Vin – a wine museumin Bordeaux designed to look likewine swirling in a glass.

Value Derived from the Experience: Travelling abroad for any reason is a thrilling andincredibly rewarding experience but spending nearly two months living and working in a foreigncountry provides a unique opportunity for growth. After returning from a summer in Bordeaux, I
have found that I am more confident, better at problem solving and critical thinking, and more
open to lifestyles that differ from my own. As the only person familiar with the French language
in my group program, I was forced to step out of my comfort zone and take the lead as wenavigated the country. While it was difficult at first for me to take on this role, as the summer
went on, I became more and more confident in my ability to interact with waiters and cashiers. I
had taken four years of French in high school, but there were still many words I did not know. As
a result, my critical thinking skills improved as I used context and cognates to understand signs,
menus, and other posted information. I also feel that I am more resourceful and better atthinking on my feet because there were several situations this summer where public
transportation was not running as expected, or things otherwise did not go as planned, and I wasforced to quickly analyze the situation and create a new plan. Additionally, being exposed to new
cultures as I travelled to other countries and worked in a multicultural environment caused me
to realize that it is easy to be close-minded without being aware of it. We all have unconscious
biases towards people and cultures, as well as expectations for the way that we think things
should be done. However, it was not until I was fully immersed in a new culture that I realizedthat the way I was used to doing things was not necessarily the best way. I now have a desire tosee more of the world because I feel it will help me better understand myself.

99

Morgan Massino
FranceRCEAS
ChemicalEngineering

SolvayResearch InternCompany and Position Description: During my internship I worked in the Laboratoire duFutur, which is owned by the chemical company Solvay. Solvay conducts research on many
topics, including advanced materials and polymers. The people working in the lab had a diverse
range of experiences—full time employees, PhD students, and other interns. My job was toassist a postdoc with his research in microfluidic chips, which are devices that can be used tomodel systems at a very small scale. A majority of my internship was spent perfecting theprotocol for their fabrication, so I would spend many days only making chips. The rest of mytime was spent testing the devices, creating membranes within them, and attempting tocrystallize protein within them.

Taking a coffee breakwith other interns

All of the interns and advisors on
presentation day

100Morgan Massino
FranceDune du Pilat, the tallest
sand dune in Europe

Cathédrale Saint-André, acathedral in city center
Bordeaux

Value Derived from the Experience: Before traveling to France, I had never been outsideof the United States, so leaving the country was an eye-opening experience for me. I was able tointeract with different cultures and form valuable relationships with people from all over theworld. Everyone at Solvay was very welcoming and more than happy to help me in any way
possible, even if communication was slightly challenging due to language barriers. I made a lot ofprogress in my research because of everyone’s help and support. This experience helped me gain
confidence in myself and become more independent. By the end of my two month stay, I had no
qualms about navigating around Bordeaux or taking any kind of public transportation on myown. I can now say that I would be comfortable taking on any sort of opportunity presented tome in the future and know that I will be able to work through it. Additionally, this internshiphelped me to determine what I want to do after I graduate from Lehigh. I used to be very unsureof what to do, whether to get a job immediately or to seek an opportunity in higher education.
Doing research in a chemical lab for two months helped me to realize that I would like tocontinue my studies, possibly even in France! Overall, I could not have been happier with myexperience, and Bordeaux will forever hold a special place in my heart.

101Alexandra Meisse
Germany
RCEAS
ComputerEngineering

TU Dortmund
IUL Research InternCompany and Position Description:

My Iacocca Internship location was Dortmund,
Germany. While there, I interned at one of the many institutes that work in cooperation withTU Dortmund. The institute I worked for, called the IUL, is an abbreviation in German thattranslates to institute for forming technology and lightweight construction.
The research done at the IUL was predominantly in the fields of industrial and mechanicalengineering. Under my supervisor, it was more specifically forming technology and the bendingof metals. My supervisor, Juri, a PhD student was working on creating a new machine for the
3D bending of rectangular metal profiles. The purpose of this invention would be to eliminate
some of the errors caused by bending by former, more primitive bending machines.
My part in the project was to write a code in C++ that would read in a file input of CAD
geometry points, and based on those numbers, make the necessary calculations for where thebending rollers would be located at each moment in time. During this loop, the outputs werealso being formatted into the proper organizational structure to then be physically inputted into
the machine. In order to make these calculations, I was required to research vectors and someadvanced calculus used in similar technology. The final result of my code was saved to a new
file location for future use.

Mascheninbau III: the building
I worked in every day.

Posing in front of theframework for the bending
machine.
102

Alexandra Meisse
Germany

View from the roof of the
Ruhr coal mining museum

Dortmund’s market square

Value Derived from the Experience: I like to think that I have always been an independentand adaptable person, but I didn’t truly know what that meant until I went to Germany
essentially on my own. So many things are different about Germany and the USA—the public
transportation, the lack of use of credit cards, meals and traditions surrounding food, but mostof all, the nonexistence of air conditioning. I had to quickly adjust to these changes in order tofunction daily.
I walked a mile to and from work every day and had to navigate the train and subway systems togo eat dinner every night. There was basically no food nearby, so in order to eat dinner every
evening, my friend and I would have to catch the train to Dortmund center city. One of thebiggest lessons I learned in Germany is that public transit there runs on its on clock. As a result, I
learned to be diligent in double and triple-checking late and early trains and what the weather
was going to be like that day that might affect them. Otherwise, you end up stranded at a train
station for a while. All of this navigation and research in travel really improved my directional andplanning skills in a big way.
One of the other takeaways I had was to respect and partake in the culture of the place you are
in. I quickly discovered, that in Germany, people really don’t waste food. At a restaurant, if you
do not finish your food, the waitstaff gets offended that the food might not have been okay, andin dining halls, if you don’t finish your food, you pass it along your table until someone finishes it.
While this was a new concept for me—being able to take leftovers home and throw food out if
I’m full at home—it was neat to see how seriously Germans take food waste and to partake inthe practice made me feel good about not wasting.

103

Gaby Montes
Barcelona, Spain
College of Education
5 Year Elem. Education
Masters Program, ESL
Certificate
Psychology Major

Col’legi Badalones
Conversational
English Teacher

Company and Position Description: My internship was at Col’legi Badalones, a primarylevel charter school in Badalona, Spain. The school housed grades one through six. I served as a
Conversational English Teacher and was responsible for preparing my own lesson plans andteaching my own lessons to the different sections of grades three to six. For grades four to six, I
would take half of the class with me to my classroom and work through activities I had
prepared that were designed to strengthen their conversational English skills and provide themwith opportunities to practice conversing in English with their peers. An example of a lessonplan I prepared was having the sixth-grade students plan a trip with their partner and fill out asheet with their trip details. This was to enable them to practice using the future tense “I will.”Then, I had students interview other groups and be interviewed to have them converse withpeers and practice both asking and answering real questions. For my third-grade classes (aspictured below), I led instruction of the entire class. I would choose one of many topics
provided to me by the teacher and prepare a lesson plan that taught and enabled them topractice that particular skill.

Interning at Col’legi Badalones, a primary level
charter school in Barcelona
104

Gaby Montes
Barcelona, Spain

Enjoying the many facets of Barcelona
Value Derived from the Experience: I learned and grew a lot from my experiences at my internship inBarcelona. I had the opportunity to apply all the lessons I learned in college about the best ways to teacha secondary language and gained the experience of being a teacher responsible for my own classes andlesson planning. I also learned how to be more flexible and to be able to create lesson plans in a moments
notice because my bosses gave me things as I was already walking to pick up my class. This ability to think
and adapt quickly to a changing situation is a very important skill for my future career as a teacher
because things often do not go as planned. This internship experience in which everyone spoke Catalan
gave me the personal experience of not understanding what people are saying – a frustrating experiencethat will help me relate better to my future English Language Learner students. I experienced firsthandthe frustration and isolation that these students may feel because they do not speak English. In addition,
this internship taught me that I am on the right track because education, specifically teaching language
learners, is something that I am passionate about and that makes me happy to wake up and do each day.
I loved meeting my students and hearing them tell me how much they loved the activities I had prepared.
The best moments were when shy students who normally didn't speak felt comfortable speaking andparticipating openly in English. That really made me feel successful and proud.
This internship gave me direct experience working on everything I am studying at school. I want to be anelementary school teacher and I am working to obtain an English as a second language certification sothat I can have the skills to help my future school students learn languages. This internship gave me direct
experience in preparing lesson plans and teaching my own language student classes. It made me discover
the best and most creative ways for my students to produce English and want to participate incommunicative activities. It allowed me to practice creating a comfortable classroom environment that
motivated students to participate in the language they are learning. It also gave me the experience ofteaching students who speak a language that I do not (Catalan) and navigate that language barrier. Thatexperience is vital because I can have students in my future classes who speak any language. This
internship also made me think firsthand about the cultural differences that may exist and about showing
cultural sensitivity within the classroom, which is something I should always do in the future as a language
teacher. In addition to all this, the cultural difference taught me flexibility and adaptability and preparedme for the reality of being an elementary school teacher. At any given time, the plan may change due tothe needs of the students or a snow day, and I must be ready to adapt in a moment.

105

Anna Nicosia
BermudaCollege of Arts &Sciences
Molecular
Biology

BermudaInstitute of
Ocean Sciences(BIOS)
Research InternCompany and Position Description: BIOS is a multi-faceted research institution thattackles issues from climate change to invasive species and investigates their impact on theearth’s oceans and aquatic ecosystems. Here, I worked as a research intern seeking todetermine the effect of temperature on the light-use-efficiency (LUE) of corals. Essentially, LUE
is a measurement of how effectively corals can utilize the light they absorb, and thus represents
the overall health and productivity of reef systems. Therefore, we aimed to better understandthe impact of warming ocean temperatures, driven largely by global climate change, on themetabolism of coral reefs.

Running incubations to measure
the rates of photosynthesis andrespiration of corals at different
temperatures

One of the two water samplers
we deployed into the Atlantic,
to gain insight into changing
ocean conditions
106

Anna Nicosia
BermudaSunset from Whalebone Bay

Historic St. Peter’s Church in
St. George's

Value Derived from the Experience: The ability to design an experiment and see it throughfrom start to finish was such a unique experience as an undergraduate student. This undertaking
taught me not only the dedication and tenacity it takes to succeed in the research industry, but it
also allowed me to prove myself as an independent, capable scientist. In anyone’s early career,
the first time the training wheels really start to come off can be daunting, but taking that initialrisk and succeeding is an invaluable experience. I will be walking away from this internship as aself-assured researcher who, with great guidance, truly began to pinpoint my strengths andweaknesses, actively collaborate within a diverse research team and more deeply understandthe scientific process.
As the most senior intern on my research project, I was also quickly thrown into a leadership
position that called on me to organize and delegate tasks. I was pushed to communicate morewith the members of my team to ensure expectations were both known and met. Moving
forward, I know I will be more confident taking the lead in lab operations when need be andmore confident in my abilities to see what needs to be done and devise a plan for my team to
execute it.

107John Ogden
Hong Kong
College of Business& Economics
Finance

Hutchison Ports
Commercial
Development
InternCompany and Position Description: During my time in Hong Kong, I worked as acommercial development intern for a company called Hutchison Ports. Hutchison Ports is thesecond largest port operator in the world, handling tens of millions of shipping containers(TEUs) every year in over 27 countries around the world. As a commercial development intern, I
was tasked with conducting research and analysis on various macroeconomic trends that could
potentially impact the operations and business activity of Hutchison Ports. I found that much of
my work was related, in some way, to what I had studied in my business and economics courses
at Lehigh.

Tour of the port, where weclimbed to the top of a quay
crane

The lobby of Hutchison
Ports, where I walked into
work every day
108

John Ogden
Hong Kong

The view of the Hong Kong
skyline from Victoria Peak

One of Hong Kong’s many
beautiful sandy beaches

Value Derived from the Experience: This internship experience exposed to me to work in a
corporate environment, which allowed me to improve my professionalism, communication skills,
work ethic, and ability to work as a team member. Outside of my internship, I was exposed to aforeign culture that, while initially daunting, ultimately permitted me to step outside of mycomfort zone on numerous occasions to explore the many different cuisines of Hong Kong.
Whether I was taking in a view of the skyline from Victoria Peak, or enduring a 90 minute bus
ride to a remote fishing village, I found myself appreciating every aspect of the wholeexperience. When it was eventually time to return home to the United States, I took note in just
how much more open minded and appreciative of exploring foreign cultures I had become as aresult of my time in Hong Kong.

109

Keenan Overa
Moldova
College of Arts &Sciences
International
Relations

AmericanLanguage Centerat American
Councils
ALC InternCompany and Position Description: The American Language Center is located at the
Moldova American Councils office and serves as one of the premier English language schools in
Chisinau, Moldova. Along with coordinating with the other programs of American Councils
hosted in the same office (including FLEX, TOFUL, etc.) , the American Language Center (ALC)
hosts a variety of English courses (such as business, medicine, or IT) both to independent andprofessional clients from throughout Moldova. In addition, the ALC hosts a variety of
extracurricular events to help facilitate intercultural learning and cultural exchange with native
English speakers outside the classroom for Moldovan students.
My internship focused primarily on the fields of International Education and Education
Management. As the ALC intern, I helped assist classes as a native English speaker, organizedand hosted English movie nights with literary discussions, and hosted cultural events such as a
4th of July celebration. I also volunteered at a summer camp hosted by American Councils forEnglish students from former Soviet countries. In terms of Education Management, I conducted
research and compiled reports on student-teacher relations, performance, and feedback. I also
gathered data on past internships in Moldova hosted through American Councils and submitted
a report to better inform American Councils on adjustments that could be made. Finally, I
organized a set of materials for preparing future students for internships in Moldova.

Working on administrative
materials at my desk.

Office co-workers!
110

Keenan Overa
Moldova

The cave monastery at
Old Orhei, Moldova.

The famous Lavenderfields of Moldova.

Value Derived from the Experience: Although neither of my majors are directly in thefield of International Education, my background in International Relations and foreign
language studies was incredibly useful and relatable for my position. In becoming moreaccustomed to working in an international environment, I was able to significantly
practice my Russian skills and use them throughout the program both professionally andin everyday life. Furthermore, I was able to take Russian classes in my spare time as wellas practice Russian at home, as my host family primarily only spoke Russian with me. I
also refined both my professional skills in the fields of project management and foreign
language acquisition, but also improved my soft skills such as critical thinking,adaptability, and resourcefulness.
My time in Moldova also allowed me to better understand post-Soviet society in thecontext of daily life. As my major in IR focuses on politics, history, economics, andsociety, it was remarkably valuable to live in post-Soviet society and witness everything
firsthand. During my stay, I was also able to complete a life-long dream of visiting Ukraine
and seeing the historic and famous cities of Kyiv and Odesa. Finally, I reaffirmed mycapacity to live and work in a foreign environment for an extended period of time andcontinued to appreciate the cultural differences that exist around the world. I havecomplete faith in myself should I work abroad in my career that I not only will rise to thechallenge of doing so but will approach and embrace such a situation with open arms.

111

Leah Pasch
China

RCEAS
Bioengineering

National Instruments
Engineering InternCompany and Position Description: I interned this summer at National Instrument’s
Shanghai branch. I worked in the Applications Engineering department along with another
American intern and several Chinese interns. Most of my internship experience focused onlearning a program called Laboratory Virtual Instrument Engineering Workbench, or
LABVIEW. LABVIEW is a program that uses a graphical programming language that lets users
create programs by manipulating elements graphically instead of textually. After learning
LABVIEW, I learned about its applications by creating an educational video about The NI
Educational Laboratory Virtual Instrumentation Suite (NI ELVIS). The NI ELVIS combines
laboratory instruments in a compact form and comes with laboratory material and complete
experiments that use LABVIEW along with it. Learning LABVIEW and understanding its
applications along with the NI ELVIS took critical thinking and the ability to quickly learn andunderstand the NI ELVIS well enough to be able to teach about it. While at National
Instruments, I not only learned about LABVIEW and National Instruments’ many different
software, but I also learned how an international workplace functions.

NI Educational Laboratory Virtual
Instrumentation Suite (NI ELVIS)

An example of the graphicalprogramming language
used by LABVIEW
112

Leah Pasch
China

Huangshan Mountain Range,
or Yellow Mountain

Lehigh Students inside
The Forbidden City

Value Derived from the Experience: While at National Instruments, I learned and worked a
lot with LABVIEW and its graphical programming language. Beforehand, I had little to noexperience with computer programs and coding. However, I was able to adapt and be
independent by learning how to self-teach, find new resources, and ask questions that would
benefit both my mentor and myself. This has greatly improved my academic skills as well as myconfidence in what I can accomplish. I became more adaptable and open-minded as I became
accustomed to the Chinese workplace and the Chinese way of life.
My eight weeks in China were amazing. In the beginning, I experienced a language barrier andwas exposed to a completely new culture and way of life. This experience pushed me to be theperson I am today. I am now more independent, confident, and unashamed to try new thingsand make mistakes. I came back to America with a new perspective and the ability to handle
anything life may throw at me.

113

Reesha Patel
Amsterdam, Netherlands
College of Arts &Sciences
International
Relations andEconomics

University-Industry
Innovation Network
Global InternCompany and Position Description: The University-Industry Innovation Network promotes
and facilitates interaction and connections between higher-education institutions and industry
partners. Specifically, through studying the relations of actors in fields of entrepreneurship andinnovation, UIIN strives to research and develop best practices that further connect andprosper these relations. I worked to help prepare and promote UIIN’s annual conference held in
Helsinki, Finland as well as networked with industry professionals from around the world.
Furthermore, I travelled to and compiled a case study of the renowned GIANT Innovation
Campus in Grenoble, France, where I conducted interviews and attended the French-American
Workshop alongside other international students. Lastly, I had the chance to visit and explore
the Science to Business Research Center in Munster, Germany where UIIN had its beginnings aswell as speak to passionate entrepreneurs and research students who work to stimulateinnovation in the city.

Working alongside UIIN
team members at the annual
conference in Finland

Presenting to my coworkers
regarding my two monthprofessional experience114

Reesha Patel
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Fellow intern Mustaffa and I
travelling in Geneva, Switzerland

Sitting amongst the French
Alps in Grenoble, France

Value Derived from the Experience: Throughout my two month experience, I was fortunate
enough to have a dedicated team of UIIN employees to learn from and engage with. Without
their support and guidance, I would have never been able to overcome challenges andstrengthen my skills, both in the workplace and beyond. By presenting and gaining feedback
from our coworkers, I derived a greater sense of confidence and ability for public speaking andsharing information efficiently. Furthermore, my networking skills and interpersonal capabilities
developed drastically as I interacted in many cross-cultural social events.
Outside the workplace, constantly navigating between foreign countries greatly improved myskills for international communication and travel. I feel confident that, no matter what challenge
comes along, whether it is my home country or abroad, I can figure out a solution. Meeting andinteracting with people from around the world in the international city of Amsterdam, I learned
countless lessons from their colorful and inspiring stories. Overall, I appreciated this window into
the multitude of lives I never would have ever dreamt of meeting prior to this experience.

115

Brielle Paul
Italy
College of Arts &ScienceEnglishLUXOS Magazine
Digital Content
InternCompany and Position Description: This summer I worked at Luxos, a luxury travel
magazine that is based in Milan. The magazine features guides on the very best ways to spend
time in cities all over the world, providing information on where to shop, dine, and stay for themost luxurious experience possible. One of my responsibilities as the Digital Content Intern wasto write articles for the magazine’s website, which included many city guides and features on
luxury hotels. Often, I would re-write print articles to make them more web-friendly for thesite. I also had the opportunity to create content for Luxos’ Instagram page. This entailed
extensive research for images and interesting places to feature and the creation of informative
captions to engage followers.

Working at my desk

With my supervisor, Lavinia,
and co-intern, Minh
116

Brielle Paul
Italy

Duomo Cathedral Milano

Exploring Venice

Value Derived from the Experience: My time in Milan and at the internship at Luxos, as awhole, has been an experience of learning and growth. I came in to this opportunity withprevious work experience and a solid idea of the career path I wanted to head down. Having that
helped me adjust in some ways and challenged me in others. Knowing what I wanted out of mytime abroad certainly helped me set some goals for myself, but at the same time, my scope wasa little limited. Because I want to go into the digital marketing field, I found it challenging to be
doing a lot more writing and journalism work then I thought I would be. There were times when
I felt like I wasn’t learning the skills necessary for my chosen career path. But as time went on, I
began to build on and master professional skills from past work experiences and tailor them tomy daily tasks at Luxos. Being immersed in Italian culture and learning how to navigate an
unfamiliar setting allowed me to become more open-minded about how I view my professional
path and helped me grow as an independent person.

117

Kristine Phan
Japan
RCEAS
ElectricalEngineering

Nagoya Instituteof Technology
Research InternCompany and Position Description: At NIT, I researched under Professor Daisuke Anzai,

who specializes in electrical engineering– biomedical devices. I was given a project of
researching antennas and their path loss with the hopes of finding better antenna designs; as
distance between transmitting and receiving antennas increase, the signal between the two
declines more and more. The first step in creating an antenna is simulation with the use ofcomputer software – in my case, I learned and used SEMCAD that utilized FDTD, finitedifference-time-domain, to calculate S11 or S22, the amount of power reflected or lost. With
this measurement, I found its range of frequencies where it “worked” and could transmit asignal. The next step consists of constructing the antenna. Learning EasyCAD and Auto Lab(which had its instructions in Japanese characters), I was able to transition the antenna from 2D
to 3D. Lastly, with the help of one of the Master’s students, Kent Kamiya, I was able to learn
how to test antennas, testing both S11, S21, and S22 with the use of the Network Analyzer andliquid phantom, which represents lossy human tissue (and its dielectric properties). By testing
both S11 and S22 first, making sure S22 (the receiving end) could receive the entire range of
frequencies from S11 (the transmitting end), I could finally test S21, the gain of power, to see
how effective the signal between the two was. As there were many graduate students, each
student had his/her own projects focusing on antenna signal; however, each person had
different electromagnetic characteristics and either focused on simulation or on conducting
experiments. In addition, as they were Master’s/PhD students, many of the constants anddielectric properties used in each person’s projects were found through independent research. I
was able to work on my own and learn how to use the many programs as well as conduct
independent research to find the correct parameters. This gave me a better sense of
independence.

Wang and Anzai Lab
during Seminar in Fukui

Final Presentation on Body
Area Communications
118

Kristine PhanJapan

View of Ryozen Kannon, atemple in Kyoto, Japan

Wearing Yukatas at Marine’s
Day Festival at Port of Nagoya

Value Derived from the Experience: Personally, I believe this program has allowed me tobecome more patient and open-minded. I have learned to enjoy many things that I did not likebefore, including research and bean sprouts. My experience really embodies the saying “don’t
knock it until you try it.” I have learned to become more relaxed and appreciative of the little
things. I would usually stress over small things, but I have really come to enjoy simply taking in
my surroundings as I go and immersing myself in the culture and atmosphere around me. I havealso found joy in learning again as it was applied to real-life, revealing how electrical engineering
can impact others as well as me and can contribute to daily life. The application was very special
to me since the things I was learning in my classes were very “basic principal”-esque, so I foundit a bit dull. It reassured me that I was on the right path career-wise and gave me a new-foundsense of “learning for the sake of learning.” I researched many things on my own to simply
broaden my knowledge or make navigation around a foreign environment easier. Thus I haveincreased my knowledge in UWB antennas, dielectric properties of humans, Japanese culture,
Japanese language, and more. Not only was it helpful in my time in Japan, it was also enrichingand engaging. I would not give up the experience for anything and am so grateful to have been
accepted into the IIIP program.

119

Taylor Pistone
Netherlands
RCEAS
IDEAS
ElectricalEngineering/Cognitive
Science

University Industry
Innovation
Network
UIIN InternCompany and Position Description: The UIIN specializes in building relationships between
colleges and businesses. My role as an intern involved creating a case study on Tec Labs at the
University of Lisbon in Portugal and then presenting the information. In addition UIIN holds anannual conference in which organizational members as well as non-members are invited tomeet each other and listen to presentations. I helped with planning for the conference byfinding a violinist for entertainment in Helsinki and I spoke with restaurant owners to make areservation for the company. I also wrote two blog articles after interviewing professors ofentrepreneurship at the University of Amsterdam Applied Sciences in the Netherlands andNova University in Portugal. The UIIN publishes these articles and case studies on their website
for the public to utilize.

the Tecnico
University in Lisbon

the UIIN conference held in
Helsinki, Finland120

Taylor Pistone
Netherlands

ABBA The Museum in
Stockholm, Sweden

The Eiffel Tower inParis, France

Value Derived from the Experience: This was my first time going abroad, so I had very
limited expectations for the experience. The internship and cultural immersion exceeded all of
the ideas I had of the world. I gained much more confidence in my ability to live independently
and handle ambiguous situations. In addition my perception of the unknown changed from one
that is driven by anxiety to one that is driven by excitement for adventure. I created memories inAmsterdam as well as other places in Europe that will last me a lifetime. In addition, I grew
professionally through enhancing my communication skills and creating connections abroad. I
met individuals from London, Spain, Italy, and many other places that I will continue to stay intouch with. Before I went abroad I never imagined going to graduate school or creating a careerin another country, but now I am open to the idea of exploring opportunities in other countries
to grow in my field. I am grateful for this opportunity from the Iacocca International Internship
Program for allowing me to travel to Europe and to step out of my comfort zone. I learned a lot
about myself and I plan to apply these skills in not only my professional but also my personal life.

121

Susie Poore
Ireland
College of Arts &Sciences
English and Political
Science

Universal Media
AgencyEditorial InternCompany and Position Description: I interned with Universal Media Agency, a digitalmarketing and publishing company based in Dublin. They publish multiple trade journals thatare disseminated across the country. Some examples include travel, local government,
business/technology and the Irish police force. I worked in the editorial department withanother American intern. Our coworkers were largely focused on sales, finance, and the
managerial aspect of publishing. There were also a graphic designers who worked remotely andcreated the final copies of the magazines that went to print.
My main task was writing for both the online and print versions of each publication. The topics
my boss assigned ranged widely—anywhere from food recommendations to new Irish
legislation to innovations in public transit. I’d post my articles to the websites daily, to ensure
there was a steady stream of content available, and share the links across the company’s social
media accounts to attract readers. Additionally, I revised existing articles before publication andhelped choose the images and graphic art to include in the magazines. I was also given theopportunity to do work outside the office on two occasions. The first was covering the Velo-City
2019 international cycling conference held at the Dublin Convention Centre with my co-intern.
The second was interviewing leading members at Tangent, Trinity College’s Ideas workspacethat helps students who want to launch their own start-ups.

Covering the Velo-City
2019 cycling conference

Covers of previously
published editions of themagazines

122Susie Poore
Ireland

The view from the cliffs aroundthe Giant’s Causeway

The famous deer in
Phoenix Park

Value Derived from the Experience: This internship really pushed me out of my comfort zone as awriter. I didn’t have any experience with journalistic writing and usually lean toward the creative side.
Writing so concisely was initially a real challenge for me. However, I soon realized it was just anotherexercise in writing creatively. I found a way to put my own voice into every single article I wrote. Many of
the topics were entirely new to me. I started off knowing nothing about Irish local government or thebest places to visit along the Wild Atlantic Way (the west coast). With every piece I published, I gained
invaluable knowledge about the country I was living in. I’d also never produced so much content in such ashort period of time. My work ethic definitely improved since I was consistently managing a large volume
of work and multitasking when it came to other projects. By the end of my internship, I had finishedmultiple articles, the feature story in one of the print magazines and the editorial byline for the travel
journal. After working so hard all summer, it was incredibly gratifying to see my writing and name finallyin print.
Before this international internship, I’d never left the country and had hardly left New Hampshire. It was
humbling to step into another culture and realize I could do nothing but learn. Whether it was as complex
as navigating the city and its public transit or as simple as going grocery shopping, I was introduced to a
new aspect of Irish life with each passing day. I felt myself letting go of everything in my own life that I’dtaken for granted as universal. My capacity for understanding and empathy grew exponentially as aresult, and I now have an intercultural competency that would’ve been impossible to develop in my small
New England state. Traveling across the country also reminded me of how big this world is, how little I’ve
seen of it and how much of it we take for granted. There’s no adequate way to describe sights like theCliffs of Moher or the cliffs surrounding the Giants Causeway. I know I’m now more conscious of the
impact I have on this earth and what I can do to ensure those natural wonders exist for generations tocome. I’m excited to see where my travels take me next.

123Bryan Ramirez-Gil
Hong Kong
College of Business& Economics
Business
Information
Systems

Hutchison Ports
IT Intern

Company and Position Description: Hutchison Ports is a port holding company that
handles the cargo shipping coming into and out of Hong Kong. The company is known to be oneof the larger ports in the world when it comes to cargo shipping and is based in 26 countries
with 52 ports altogether. During my time at Hutchison Ports, I was able to learn about many
facets of the Information Technology department of the company. I began a computational data
analysis of an application that helps Hutchison operate their gates and crates within their ports,
using the Python language. The data analysis will be used to help make their application moreuser friendly and efficient for transporting cargo throughout the ports controlled by Hutchison.
On another facet, I learned about the regulatory and compliance aspect of enterprise security
within Hutchison ports. The Information Technology department handled any insecurities
within the company from the Hong Kong port and every port ran by CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd.
(parent company).

CSR Presentation with
Supervisors and Interns

Meet the IT Department

124

Bryan Ramirez-Gil
Hong Kong

Journey to Lantau
IslandSymphony ofLightsValue Derived from the Experience: My time at Hong Kong was very eye opening anddifferent in many ways especially because of the timing of the program. I was able to experiencea place where there is a common respect for one another and solidarity that is not always
apparent as of recent in America. I enjoyed great food that some would suggest is slightly bizarre
in the Western world but otherwise delicious. The eastern world provided me with a different
perspective of how our world can be so similar yet so different. Hong Kong is one of the only
cities where you can see skyscrapers and hike up mountains in the same day which is part of its
unique experiences. Living on my own across the world allowed me to see how important it is tobe self sufficient and manage financial resources on my own.
Throughout the internship, I was able to get a better perspective of what I can do with my major
in Business Information Systems as Hutchison Ports opened me up to learning more about cybersecurity, cloud computing, and enterprise system designs. While performing my tasks assigned tome, I began to see how important cyber security really is in this day and age for an enterprisewith new emerging technologies. Cloud computing’s prominence has also shown to build
sustainability for a company like Hutchison. Hutchison and Hong Kong made my experience very
insightful and profound. It will be an experience I will never forget.

125Victoria Raso
MyanmarCollege of Arts &Sciences
Mathematics

Youth Society for
Education
Education InternCompany and Position Description: The Youth Society for Education Fun and Learn Centerin Myanmar is a mobile teaching group centered in Yangon, Myanmar. Teachers travel todifferent areas of the country to teach students about STE(A)M through fun and creative ways.
A typical day would start in the office, where I would normally be in charge of creating new
lesson plans, prepping for the lesson later in the day, or assisting the boss in writing emails.
After that, several teachers would drive to a school and teach various lessons. Some lessons I
taught were density and viscosity. A lesson would have an informative portion as well a fun
portion for the kids, so students could participate in a science experiment so they could better
understand the topic.

Students are engaged in
an experiment about
Carbon Dioxide.

After teaching a lesson, I
helped students buildwith LEGOs
126

Victoria Raso
MyanmarThis is in front of a Pagoda
where people are able toworship Buddha.

At the Bagan, there were
thousands of different
Pagodas and Temples.

Value Derived from the Experience: This experience was my first time both in adifferent country as well as in a true professional setting. I developed my communication skills
from learning how to communicate with people where English is not their first language or noteven a language they speak at all. I had to become more creative in my thinking as I was coming
up with new lesson plans for children. I became so much more independent and confident inmyself. Being in a country, I had to learn to really tackle my own problems, even if that problem
is just getting lost on my way to the bus stop. In a more culturally enriching sense, I am so
grateful that I was able to be in such a vastly different country than America. There were some
aspects of my time in Myanmar that made me think over things in America that I maybe took for
granted or maybe just didn’t give a second thought to. The world is such a big place. It’s bigger
than any one person and any one thing. This seems like a simple idea, and it’s something that I
thought I was aware of before, but being able to experience something so different from what
I’m used to really put things into perspective. The world keeps spinning no matter what, and I’m
glad that I was able to be on the other side of it for a while.

127

Meghan Reynolds
Hong Kong
College of Business& Economics
Marketing &Economics

CASETiFY
Marketing InternCompany and Position Description: CASETiFY is the fastest growing tech accessory
company which reaches 1 in 7 Gen Z/Millennials. While the company is based in Hong Kong,its marketing efforts are focused in the US, UK, and Australia. In my time there I assisted theGrowth and Influencer Marketing teams in researching, developing, and executing digitalmarketing campaigns. This meant pitching and sending products to influencers throughInstagram to generate tagged contact and impressions on the company website. I also
researched and facilitated paid product integrations on the YouTube platform .

Working on pitches
for the day.

The CASETiFY office’s
iconic graffiti wall.

128

Meghan Reynolds
Hong Kong

Visiting the Big Buddha
on Lantau Island

View of the city fromNan Lian Garden

Value Derived from the Experience: Coming to Hong Kong this summer was the first time I
had ever gone abroad or had a professional internship. I entered the program knowing very little
about the environment I would be working in, but it turned out to be a life-changing experience.
I am so grateful that I was able to work at a company where I could learn about what goes intocreating successful marketing campaigns and social media strategy, but also one small enoughwhere I was able to make meaningful contributions to my team. Seeing how hard my coworkers
worked and how deeply they care about the company was an inspiring experience. Similarly tothe fast-paced culture of Hong Kong, there was constantly a new collaboration or collection
being released and a new demographic to research.
While I loved my job, I also loved getting to know the other IES Abroad interns and experiencing
the city. Something I really valued about my program was the opportunity to form connections
with people I would never have otherwise interacted with. All of the interns came from different
backgrounds and worked at different companies, but our shared experience living and working in
Hong Kong during such a dynamic time in the city’s history connected us. We spent our nights
and weekends exploring the local food and markets, the scenic beaches, and some of Hong
Kong’s iconic attractions like the Big Buddha. The summer made me more culturally aware andindependent as well as provided me with invaluable marketing experiences.

129

Xavier Rodriguez Silfa
Hong Kong
College of Business& Economics
Business
Information
Systems

PVH Calvin Klein
Merchandise InternCompany and Position Description: I spent over two months working for one of PVH’s most
known brands, Calvin Klein, in their Asia headquarters. My daily activities included excel files,
locating samples, and creating content that would be used for presentations and meetings. The
first month I worked closely with my team to prepare for the Asia Market week. During thisweek all of the Asia markets/countries come to buy the upcoming season styles. I madecatalogs for the Spring 2020 collection, helped select specific outfits to highlight the season
themes and assisted in the creation of the order consolidation form. The next month and a half
I spent working with the different countries, mainly China, helping them finalize and update any
adjustments to their purchase. I would travel to various company buildings to attend fitting
meetings. In addition, I would plan meetings with the design and sourcing team to get markets
on board with a specific style and quantity. Overall, my time at PVH Calvin Klein gave me theexposure necessary to understand how different parts of a company collaborate to deliver afinished good.

Picture on my last day
of work

Trying on somesamples for fitting test
130

Xavier Rodriguez Silfa
Hong Kong

Weekend trip to local
gardenVisiting famous
Japanese artist exhibit

Value Derived from the Experience: Most of my education has revolved around STEM andbusiness and having the opportunity to work for Calvin Klein over the summer widened myhorizons career-wise and personally. Working for the fashion industry allowed me to realize that
there are many, hundreds, of career paths out there besides working in wall street or consulting,etc. Before, I thought I would only get a job if I worked in one of the big four or for a consulting
company. After working abroad, I realize that there are other sectors that I can add value to andthat need my skills. Additionally, my time abroad helped me experience a new culture. At theend of my internship, I now have some idea of the fundamentals and principles that Hong Kongsociety upholds. However, the most important realization that I had while in Hong Kong was that
dedication and passion must be at the root of whatever I decide to do in the future. Traveling toHong Kong and working abroad exposed me to a whole new culture, that I learned to accept andappreciate, and showed me the importance of following your passion.

131

Silvia Rosado
France
RCEAS
MechanicalEngineering

SolvayResearch InternCompany and Position Description: Solvay is a chemical research company partnered with
the University of Bordeaux and the CNRS (France’s National Center for Scientific Research). I
worked in Solvay’s Laboratory of the Future mostly referred to as LOF. My role during my 8
weeks there was to work closely with a PhD student and his advisor on a project focused on
analyzing the heat generation of thin films deposited on glass substrates. This included making
the thin films using blade coating and conducting thermal and flux measurements to quantify
the heat generated. The first 4 weeks consisted of making these films out of PEDOT:PSS andtaking temperature and flux measurements to quantify the heat generated by this material. The
next 4 weeks were spent measuring the properties of the thin films made, analyzing andcomparing the results and looking into ways to improve them.

Insert work photo
here (with small
caption below)

Walking in
between labs

Taking a coffee break withfellow interns
132

Silvia Rosado
FranceBordeaux interns at the Miroird’Eau pool in front of la placede la Bourse in BordeauxGate of Aquitane inPlace de la Victoire

Value Derived from the Experience: There were two things I never thought I would likewhen I got to Lehigh: research and chemistry. Therefore I never thought I would spend thesummer doing research for a company whose motto is “asking for more chemistry,” let alonethat I would love the experience. The first days were a blur of meeting new people I could barely
communicate with and reading articles on topics I didn’t even know existed and even though thearticles were in English, it felt like they were also in French. I am usually a pretty outgoing person
and was not concerned coming into a country where I didn’t speak the language but once I
arrived, not being able to easily communicate with those around me turned out harder than
expected. Luckily, I had a great group of people in the company that were welcoming and willingto help even if I didn’t speak their language. I slowly but surely became comfortable with being
uncomfortable and not understanding 90% of the things around me and giving me theconfidence to ask about anything and everything. Overall this experience taught me bothtechnical lab skills and how to be resourceful and adapt to any environment.

133

Ruben Rosas
India
College of Business& Economics
Business
Management

CoworkinSocial Media
MarketingCompany and Position Description: Coworkin is a small startup up based out of New Delhi
that focuses on growing the entrepreneurial ecosystem by providing other small startups withcollaborative office spaces. While I was in India, I was tasked with creating a social media
marketing campaign for the firm. The work that I did consisted of promoting new and current
locations on their social media accounts such as Facebook and Instagram, analyzing analytics toincrease engagement, and designing brochures to promote our products. In addition to
focusing on digital marketing, I worked closely with my fellow interns to conduct market
research and competitive analysis. With our team, we studied our competition, calculated themarket size, and wrote a report for our CEO. Aside from that, I worked with another intern todo photoshoots in order to create materials for the social media accounts and for future
marketing material.

Insert work photo
here (with small
caption below)

Weekly check-in with the CEO

Working at one of the newest
offices that the company
opened up during our stay134

Ruben Rosas
India

Insert cultural
photo here (withsmall caption
below)

Insert culture
photo here (withsmall caption
below)

Enjoying the many aspects of India
Value Derived from the Experience: Having the chance to come and work in India was alife-changing experience. In addition to developing professionally, I learned and grew personally.
Students usually talk about developing skills such as adaptability, versatility and a few otherclichés from international experiences. Although my experience was very similar in many ways toother students in this program, I learned another very valuable mindset that I'm sure will stickwith me for the rest of my life. When I traveled to the opposite side of the world and learned
from the best and brightest entrepreneurs, they showed me the value of creating value in a waythat has never existed before. They showed me how to focus my energy and make my thoughts
tangible, taking the best ideas you have and making sure they positively impact the world. I
would call this skill execution.

135

Mustaffa Said
The Netherlands
RCEAS
MechanicalEngineering

UIIN
Global Leader
InternCompany and Position Description: This summer, I had the pleasure of working with the
University Industry Innovation Network (UIIN) as a Global Leader Intern in Amsterdam. The
UIIN’s main goal is to help businesses efficiently collaborate with universities to promote areas
such as innovation and entrepreneurship. My role was to conduct case studies on different
campuses around Europe, interview people, write blog articles, assist with the company’s
annual conference, and input ideas wherever I could to help with the company’s growth. I
enjoyed my time at the UIIN because they valued my work and took my suggestions seriously. I
was even able to have articles published on their website. I increased my presentation, writing,and networking skills during my time here and for that, I am very thankful to have had thisamazing opportunity.

At the UIIN conference inHelsinki, Finland!

Getting ready for my final
presentation!
136

Mustaffa Said
The Netherlands

Exploring Amsterdam!

Biking in Amsterdam!

Value Derived from the Experience: This was a once in a lifetime experience that I willcherish forever. Amsterdam is a city filled with stunning architecture, beautiful canals, and somany bikes! I travelled everywhere around the city on my bike. It was so convenient, and it was
the best way to get around. Bikes have higher priority than cars and you can see it by how thestreets are designed. The Dutch did a great job with that! I was able to travel to many countries
while I was in Europe as Amsterdam is strategically located close to many places. I met people
from all over the world because Amsterdam is a multi-cultural hub. Somehow, I used Arabic way
more than Dutch during my time here and ate so many Kebabs because the Kebab shops were allover the place. (I love Kebabs!). The Dutch are very sarcastic but very nice at the same time. I am
looking forward to my next trip to Amsterdam to connect with the awesome people I interacted
with. This was a 10/10 experience!

137Princess Scott
India
RCEAS
Civil Engineering

VIVA Group
Construction
Process Analyst

Company and Position Description: VIVA Group is a large corporation that has multiple
sectors committed to bettering the lives of their customers and residents of Vasai-Virar, aregion of Northern Mumbai in the state of Maharashtra, India. With a family-oriented anddedicated staff, VIVA is quickly evolving and expanding their horizons with ways to giveaffordable housing to low income groups and economically weaker sectors. With a multitude ofbusiness avenues in land development, construction, education, retail, traveling, and more,
VIVA leaves a positive mark on their employees and in the transformation of the growing area.
As an intern for the company, you are given the freedom to choose what sectors within theirdepartments you are interested in. Throughout the summer, you are given a holistic approachas to what goes into the beginning and end of building a residential and commercial complex.
Everywhere from land negotiations, architectural designs, land excavation and foundationlayout, to marketing, financing, and selling the finished apartments. Work ranges from learningfrom department heads, attending business meetings, visiting construction sites, reviewing
government documents and completing reports.

Office tour of VIVA

Campus tour of VIVA’s
colleges in Virar138

Princess Scott
India

Dinner with local
farmers in Pune

Visit to the Taj Mahal in Agra

Value Derived from the Experience:

From my flight over to my flight back, I knew thatcoming to India would be an experience that I would never forget. From the lasting memories
and friendly nature of the passenger sitting next to me, to the welcoming atmosphere of mycompany’s employees, families, and friends. I have been welcomed into Indian culture and theirprofessional work environment with open arms. Throughout my time here, I have enjoyednumerous home cooked meals, witnessed several religious ceremonies and traditions, and had
the opportunity to understand building rules and regulations within the country.
However, in order to truly appreciate this trip, I had to jump over my own personal hurdles andget out of my comfort zone. Sometimes, dealing with more internal struggles than physical.
Through the discomfort and the “pain”, the reward at the end was worth it. I found my voice, mypassion, and my appreciation for traveling. I am beyond thankful for being an Iacocca
International Intern and I look forward to coming back to India in the future to see what VIVA
Group will build next.

139

Melissa Shaw-Patino
Shanghai, China
College of Arts &Sciences
Political Science

MindspanInternCompany and Position Description: This summer I was an intern at an executive coachingcompany called Mindspan. Mindspan is a company that provides coaching services all over theworld. They are the biggest executive coaching network in the Asian Pacific network. Mindspanprovides coaching development programs to help raise the quality of business leadership in
China, while also contributing to the increase of world-class business leaders and companies.
Their coaching programs are effective tools that help develop leaders and build strongorganizations.
One of my chief responsibilities in this position was data mining with the goal of releasing aself-help app in the near future. I was data mining for a new empowerment platform databasecalled Fourth Space that Mindspan is currently in the prcoess of releasing on their commonlyused app by Chinese citizens, WeChat. I was researching acclaimed executive coaches,
motivational speakers, authors, and professional coaches and identifying their publications thatpertain to the new platform. This app will be used for human capital coaching and also will be
used to generate positive thinking in China’s society and other societies.

Insert work photo
here (with small
caption below)

My desk in the officeInsert work photo
here (with small
caption below)

Work lunch! This is Mindspan140

Melissa Shaw-Patino
Shanghai, Chinalearned how to cook
traditional Chinese cuisine

The Shanghai Tower is the 2nd
tallest building in the entire world!

Value Derived from the Experience:

My experience in Shanghai, China was an intriguingone. It was an experience that left me wanting to go back to Shanghai soon! I left Shanghai as adifferent person. My time there has influenced my personal and professional being. I have gained
a better understanding of my culture and have whole heartedly embraced it, as I am a Chinese
descendant. Most importantly, my time in Shanghai has taught me to be open-minded and learn
to appreciate the beauty of customs other than my own. The first couple of weeks being inShanghai was quite difficult due to being in a completely new environment and being
surrounded by different people. However, I was able to quickly adapt after realizing that the
beginning of anything is difficult because it’s a change from what I perceive as ”my normal.” I
learned how to be flexible and have an open-mind. Through this mentality, I was able to be fully
exposed and immersed into the Chinese culture.
Moreover, I have gained greater insight on the practices of business and entrepreneurship. At
work my boss shared many stories with me on how he started his company and the necessities
that will drive success. His stories and the motivation that he shared inspired me to work hardand persevere until I reach my true potential and achieve my dreams and goals. In addition, I wasworking with several other interns from Hong Kong and England and was able to learn more
about their educational and professional lifestyle. My summer in Shanghai, China is anunforgettable one and I will remember the great friends I made.

141

Alyssa Spiller
France
RCEAS
Bioengineering

Universitè deBordeaux, LOMA
Research InternCompany and Position Description: LOMA is a one of the physics laboratories at the
University of Bordeaux. There are many different labs at LOMA such as optics and biophysics.
This summer I worked in a biophysics lab. I was a research intern with a research group thatlooked to correlate the structure and function of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell
membrane in regards to a transmembrane protein, CD95. Our lab group focused on the single
cell mechanics as opposed to an entire cell population. I was able to perform single cell
experiments on cells from three TNBC cell lines using atomic force microscopy (AFM). I wasable to measure the response of the cells during constant speed indentation experiments. In
addition to AFM, I was able to maintain the cell cultures that I used in my experiments. With
help from my advisors, we were able to analyze the data in MATLAB and JPK software to obtainthe Young’s Modulus of some cells in each cell line. Our results showed that the cell lines without the CD95 were less stiff than the wild-type cell line. I was able to present my results fromthe summer to collaborators from other labs at the University of Bordeaux. It was amazing tosee how all this research intertwines and progresses. I learned a lot about the world of
research. Including how to improve and analyze the results we measured, what to look for indata and that timing is everything.

Working with the AFM

All interns with their lab groups andadvisors after final presentations
142

Alyssa Spiller
FranceBordeaux sunset from theeast bank

The Promenade Shops at Rue
St. Catherine in Bordeaux

Value Derived from the Experience: My experience in Bordeaux helped me develop as aprofessional and a researcher. During my time in Bordeaux, I learned what it’s like to be a
researcher. I learned about the intricacies of research, how to plan and design experiments, andhow to interpret results. I believe the reason my experience at LOMA was so insightful is due tomy co-workers. Everyone at LOMA, my lab group especially, was eager to help me with anything
and learn new things with me. I also learned patience in the lab setting. As a research intern, I
had my own projects and responsibilities in the lab.
This experience in Bordeaux has helped me grow to be more independent, understanding andpatient. Before arriving in Bordeaux I was nervous about not knowing any French, but mostpeople spoke a little English. I learned different was to try to communicate with people who
didn’t speak any English. I learned patience through communicating with others, whether it wasordering food or presenting. Being in Bordeaux for eight weeks was a culturally-enrichingexperience. The food and architecture in Bordeaux was all so amazing. I loved exploring thefarmer’s markets on the weekends and buying fresh produce.

143

Emily Tasik
Austria
College of Arts &Sciences
Biology &Psychology

PathologicalAnatomicalInstitute of Vienna
Summer InternCompany and Position Description: The Narrenturm–translated to ‘Fool’s Tower’, wasEurope’s oldest mental asylum. As a part of the greater hospital of 18th century Vienna, thistower housed many mentally ill ‘patients’, incorporating then novel medical ‘treatments’
including bloodletting and emetics. In 1970, the pathological anatomical institute of Vienna
moved its collection of preserved human specimens into the tower–including extensive
collections of complete fetuses, skeletons, human organs, and moulages, which were moldedand crafted to the exact likeness of the diseased patient being modeled. These specimens wereused for aid in medical diagnosis at a time where medical diagnostic technology had notreached the advancement it has today. The 50,000 or so human specimens are currently used
for a number of things. Around 25% of the collection is on public display for visitors. The
remaining 75% are either used for research, are on standby for the development of future
exhibitions, or are placed in indefinite storage. As an intern, I spent most of my time assisting inresearch and aiding in both the artistic and logistic design of upcoming exhibitions. Oftentimes,
doctors and medical anthropologists affiliated with the General Hospital and Medical School of
Vienna work with the institution to conduct multiple types of research using the specimens.
The ones I particularly worked on heavily emphasized diagnostics–as many specimens are overa hundred years old and thus do not have official nor correct diagnoses due to antiquatedmeans of medical practice. Hence, members of our small team worked to accurately rediagnose the prevalent disease by assessing morphological, pathological, and archival data. As
new diagnoses are being made and specimens are being circulated, new exhibitions are being
curated. Using the incoming data and results, our work flows into the construction of acohesive, scientifically accurate exhibition for the public.

While shadowing surgeons, I
witnessed many different surgeries

Chunks of preserved
100 year old brains!
144

Emily Tasik
Austria

Scooting around the historic
Hofburg Imperial Palace

Basking in Vienna’s art culture

Value Derived from the Experience: This experience has contributed a great deal to not
only my professional but also my personal growth. Professionally, I became aware of just how
valuable cooperation and teamwork are to a job well done. Without teamwork, the numerous
tasks and projects that needed to be done would not have been done as quickly, as efficiently, oras successfully as they were done. Each member of our team had something different to bring to
the table. By combining brainpower, both new ideas and new solutions were constantly being
put forth in order to create the best possible result.
My largest growth occurred on a more personal level. Many of us in the United States areconditioned to think that we must do anything it takes to achieve the American Dream and wemust do it alone. The rule of our capitalist system is simple—maximize profits and minimize
losses...however, only for thyself. The thing that really moved me about Vienna (and many EU
countries in general) was the lack of “me before you” mentality. Citizens are offered many morecivil rights than are currently offered in the United States, including free universal healthcare,
free higher education, and far more extensive labor laws. These privileges come at the expenseof each citizen’s income, as their taxes are far higher than that of Americans. However, every EU
citizen I had inquired seemed as if they really didn’t mind. The greater good of the society wasforemost and they understood why higher taxes needed to be implemented. These
conversations, learning about differences like these and even those more subtle, have impacted
me more than I could have foreseen. They have inspired me to pursue seeing more of theworld’s strange complexities and have given me a newfound respect for the human race as awhole: a (semi-) harmonious conglomeration of the distinct.

145

Carolyn Taylor
Montenegro
College of Business& Economics
Finance and BusinessInformation Systems

Erste BankInternCompany and Position Description: I spent eight weeks this summer interning in Erste
Bank in Montenegro. I rotated through six different departments: operational risk, retail,corporate, mobile banking and payment cards, IT, and compliance. In each department I readthrough their specific policies and guidelines. I did research on the economy in Montenegro
and gave presentations to the departments about the work I completed each week. I assisted
some areas of the bank in brainstorming ways to develop and grow their operations andproducts. I gave feedback on their mobile banking app and put together a report on new credit
card products. I also did market analysis on American bank payment card’s comparing the fee
statements of the basic debit and credit cards of Bank of America, Citibank, and JP Morgan
Chase.

Outside my internship office

With my colleagues in theretail department
146

Carolyn Taylor
Montenegro

Horseback riding in Kolasin

Biogradska Gora National Park

Value Derived from the Experience: During my summer in Montenegro I was able toexplore both the city I was based in, Podgorica, the rest of the country and even the neighboring
countries on the weekends. I had never planned my own adventures and excursions before so
this presented a whole new challenge for me. I had to learn how to coordinate buses, housing,and tours in order to make the most out of my weekends. One big lesson I am taking away is that
not everything goes as planned and it’s common to hit bumps in the road, you just need toadjust and keep moving forward. The mindset in Montenegro is that everything will work itself
out and so I have taken that on myself and have found they are right. Through my eight weeks, I
was able to travel to the mountains of Montenegro, the coast of the Adriatic Sea, to a waterfall
in Albania, Kings Landing in Durmitor and Mostar in Bosnia. I never imagined this trip would takeme all over the Balkans. This experience has solidified my confidence and desire to continue totravel when I can and to make sure I make the most of my education and all the opportunities
afforded to me.

147Cheressa Taylor
CapeTown, South Africa
College ofArts &
Sciences
Sociology

The Rainbow Academy
Admin. Assistant &MarketingCompany and Position Description: The Rainbow Academy is a non-profit organizationthat works with seventeen through twenty-five-year-olds that have an interest in pursuing acareer in the Arts Industry. More specifically, the Rainbow Academy offers a one-year bridging
program that focuses on teaching students in these areas: Music, Dance, Drama, Business,
Production, and Life Skills. The Rainbow Academy does a lot of community and partnership
events throughout this one year. In the end, the Rainbow Academy helps students further
pursue a degree in music, dance, drama, journalism and/or hospitality/tourism once they
graduate from the Academy. I was responsible for dealing with the telephone, email andgeneral inquiries. I updated the whiteboard with important events that were approaching for all
staff, attended teacher meetings and created personalized student profiles for thirty-ninestudents enrolled in the academy. I created and revised ten work templates, learned all thecomponents to a road map and curriculum calendar and was in charge of recording andanalyzing student attendance results. Every day I had to check and update the ForGood
Account, which is an online organization that works with non-profit organizations and provides
these organizations with resources for more funding and general assistance. During any type of
performance, I took pictures and videos of the students hard work and talent.

Updating the big whiteboard
with upcoming events

Updating and analyzing
attendance records.
148

Cheressa Taylor
CapeTown, South Africa

Dinner with wonderful
new friends

A tour of courtroom in Langa, which
is a township in South Africa.

Value Derived from the Experience: Before this internship experience, my global
competence was weaker than it currently is because I was not challenging myself mentally andphysically. However ever since I have been interning at the Rainbow Academy I learned how toadapt to the work environment and comprehend how the Academy functions. I have developed
a more reflective side when it comes to dealing with my personal feelings while at work. Even
though I worked on a lot of individual tasks, I was still able to have multiple opportunities topractice collectivism and build relationships with many new faces. I did notice that I pushed
myself to do new things, such as going hiking and starting conversations with the students at the
Rainbow Academy when I had spare time. I have looked at situations from multiple perspectives
besides my own, which has allowed me to learn new things and strengthen my critical thinking
skills. I have learned how to respect and embrace cultural differences from a broader range. And
most importantly, I have learned how to adjust to new social norms while preserving some of mysocial norms from the United States. So, it is safe to say that in the end, I am leaving Cape Town,
South Africa with a better understanding of their cultural and social aspects. From myobservations when there are staff meetings, I noticed that in my work environment here
hierarchy and power dynamics are respected and of high value. In contrast, back home in theUSA, it is not uncommon to see people with high authority in work environments being
questioned and/or challenged. Also, at my workplace I can only refer to my supervisor by thename Mam T. Mam T is the principal for the school, so I am not allowed to call her by her firstname as a way of expressing respect. But, in the USA at work, it is not that big of a deal if you callsomeone that has more authority than you by their first name. These specific observations madeit more clear to me that the work environment in the USA has more flexibility and informality.

149Dana Teach
Montenegro
College of Arts
and Sciences
EnglishAmerican Councils
for International
Education Teaching/
Programming InternCompany and Position Description: The American Corner in Podgorica, Montenegro
bridges the gap between Montenegrin culture and American culture within the country. This
space is affiliated with Education USA, a U.S. State Department initiative dedicated to providing
educational resources internationally, as well as the U.S. Embassy in Montenegro. The
American Corner in Podgorica acts as a community center where one can borrow English books
and novels, screen American films, get advice about studying abroad in America, or develop
English language skills, amongst other things. While interning at American Corner, I was able todevelop programs and workshops for both young children and young adults/adults working
towards improving their English language skills. I hosted a read-aloud program called “Reading
Hour” twice a week that brought young children together for an interactive approach tolearning language, as well as tutored adults hoping to succeed in the Test of English as a Foreign
Language (TOEFL). I also hosted a Facebook Live event detailing all the aspects of American
university life and was able to attend the English Language Teachers’ Association Conference inMontenegro as a representative of American Corner.

Representing American
Corner at the ELTAM Days
Conference in Niksic

Teaching English throughinteractive activities during
Reading Hour150

Dana Teach
Montenegro

Horseback riding on
Bjelasica Mountain

Exploring the Old
Town of Kotor

Value Derived from the Experience: Interning in Montenegro empowered me to grow bothprofessionally and personally. In the professional realm, I was able to improve my interpersonal
skills due to my close collaboration with coworkers, as well as learn how to work as an effective
team member. I also gained skills in program development and was able to plan and executespecific events and programs with ease by the end of the summer. Working at American Corner
allowed me to connect with government officials, ambassadors, diplomats, teachers, Fulbright
Scholars, the Peace Corps, local children and adults, and many other types of individuals frommany different backgrounds, providing me with a healthy and diverse network of friends andcoworkers. On a personal level, interning in Montenegro taught me how to live independently
and improved my confidence. I was fortunate enough to travel to Albania, Croatia, and Bosnia &Herzegovina in addition to my travels within Montenegro, and this allowed me to become
immersed in a variety of cultures. From hearing the Maghrib prayer as I was watching the sun set
atop Yellow Bastion in Sarajevo to visiting the Moraca Monastery in Kolasin, I gained an
appreciation for the various cultures of the world during my internship this summer. Overall, my
experience in Montenegro was invaluable and will be a large component of my success in the
future.

151

Ezra Thomas
Israel
RCEAS
ComputerEngineering

Technion
Lab Research
AssistantCompany and Position Description: This summer I interned at the Cognitive Robotics Lab
in Technion University located in Haifa, Israel. I worked under professor Erez Karpas and wastasked with designing and implementing a ROS based navigation stack to control multiple
robots to autonomously navigate an urban street environment. This project had many aspects
to it including kinematics, localization and mapping, obstacle avoidance, and path planningalgorithms. While working on this system, I also designed, created, and documented a software
package to allow for the simultaneous simulation of multiple robots in Gazebo (a simulator
used in the lab) and published it on GitHub. This proved to be both helpful for my project andfor the graduate students’ experiments at the lab.

Standing next to therobots in the lab.

Writing code and runningsimulations for the robots.

152

Ezra Thomas
IsraelVisiting the original
Bethlehem with the other
Iacocca Interns.

View of the DeadSea from Masada.

Value Derived from the Experience: Aside from the numerous technical skills
gained during the internship, I learned quite a lot from my other experiences thissummer. The most significant of these started once I landed in Israel and
immediately lost my literacy. I found this obstacle to be even more difficult toovercome than the oral language barrier, as it hampered even the most basic oftasks such as referring to signs at the bus stop or reading labels while grocery
shopping. However, by the time I left, while I was by no means fluent, I had a muchbetter grasp on Modern Hebrew and was able to navigate these tasks withsignificantly more confidence. Upon returning to the States, I have found thatmany tasks are much less of a bother than before going abroad, simply because I
have become used to struggling with a language barrier, which is now no longer
present. I intend to continue pursuing the language and take Hebrew classes thiscoming year. Additionally, this international experience gave me a greaterappreciation for the relative geopolitical security we enjoy in the States, andspeaking with many students there (almost all of whom had previously been
conscripted) gave me a deeper understanding of Middle Eastern politics and has
caused me to seriously consider military service post graduation.

153

Alex Torres
Chile
RCEAS and College ofBusiness & Economics
IBE
Civil Engineering &Finance

LivinnX Maintenanceand Finance InternCompany and Position Description: I worked as a maintenance and finance intern at
LivinnX. LivinnX is Chile’s first student housing apartment building of its type and one of the few
in South America. The apartment building was built only two years ago and many of themaintenance and finance systems were still being developed. This allowed me a great
opportunity to propose new ideas to a very receptive company. For the maintenance division, I
helped develop a statistical analysis for their utility usage for more accurate predictions. For thefinance division, I surveyed their financial statements and processed work orders

My workstationin LivinnX

My supervisor, Rodrigo, atthe send-off dinner154

Alex Torres
Chile

Beautiful views of theAndes Mountains

Sandboarding in the Atacama
Desert at 8,000 ft!

Value Derived from the Experience: My experience abroad was truly once in a lifetime. I
was able to work and navigate in a city that that is very culturally and professionally different
than the one in which I have spent my whole life. Working in Spanish every day and having
conversations was also one of the most challenging yet rewarding aspects of the wholeexperience. Prior to the internship, I had very basic Spanish skills. Now, after being a resident inSantiago for two months, I am able to hold conversations and understand jokes.
Additionally, I believe I have come to accept and understand other people’s perspective a great
deal more than before. It is humbling to hear people in other cultures speak about struggles andaccomplishments than I am unfamiliar with. Leaving my experience, I have a greater perspectiveof the world and the people in it.

155Erin Tressler
Singapore
College of Business& Economics
Finance/Marketing

3M
Media andCommunications

Company and Position Description: 3M is a technology company that manufacturesindustrial, safety and consumer products. With over 55,000 products, 3M uses innovation tocreate a variety of products for their many customers. Operating in 70 countries with over
93,000 employees, 3M is one of the largest companies in the world.
As a media and communications intern for 3M, I was able to see how 3M markets theirproducts through media to appeal to consumers. I was assigned projects such as creating
videos that highlight specific 3M products, taking professional photographs of several 3M
events and writing scripts and storyboards as an outline for videos.

The Lehigh 3M interns on
our last day of work

3M Post-It
Collaboration Room156

Erin Tressler
Singapore

The Istana

Gardens By The Bay

Value Derived from the Experience: This internship helped me develop in many ways, both
personally and professionally. I learned how to properly take photos in a professional setting, use
Adobe Creative Suite software and develop creative scripts and storyboards for exciting andinformative videos about 3M products. I also learned to adjust to a 45 hour work week, making
sure to arrive promptly at 8:15 every day. I made the most of my internship experience by
seeking out as many projects as possible and being open to learning new skills every day.
Singapore has a multifaceted culture that is extremely diverse, which allowed me to step out of
my comfort zone. Although Singapore is more westernized than most Southeast Asian countries,
the culture is still very different. I was able to get a true taste of Singaporean cuisine, see all of
the stunning architecture and even travel to Thailand. Adapting to an entirely new culture andcity was not easy, but forced me to become more independent.

157Delton Tschida
Hong Kong
RCEAS and College ofBusiness &Economics
IBE – Industrial
Engineering &Finance

Hutchison Ports
IT Intern

Company and Position Description: Hutchison Ports is one of the largest port companies,
with 52 ports located all around the world, and its global headquarters is located in Hong Kong.
At Hutchison ports, I worked within the Product Development and Innovation team as an ITintern. As an intern, I was primarily responsible for writing code and conducting data analytics.
Because I interned at their global headquarters, I had the privilege of working on projects thatwere being implemented all around the world. My main task was to migrate project financial
tracking data from excel and a database into a data analytics software called PowerBI. It is
important that the financials of these projects are tracked so that other ports are charged
appropriately for the work done. I was also tasked with teaching team members the basics ofPowerBI after having researched it extensively. It was an incredible experience to know that mywork was implemented all around the world and that I helped improve the process forreporting financial data to both team members and managers.

60 meters in the air on oneof the largest cranes

Hutchison Port’s Global
Headquarters
158

Delton Tschida
Hong Kong

A street market inHong Kong

The “Big Buddha”

Value Derived from the Experience: Eight weeks in Hong Kong was long enough to truly
immerse in the local culture. I was able to see how people live their day to day life and contrast
it to a typical American lifestyle. Being in one of the most densely populated cities with thehighest housing prices in the world was an eye opening experience. The effects of these factors
could be seen everywhere from the tall high-rises packed with multiple generation families living
in tiny apartments, to being tightly squeezed on the public transportation during peak hours.
Hong Kong is truly a global city with a lot to offer. As a global company, my office was filled withpeople who came from many different parts of the world. My boss was from Hong Kong, yet thetwo employees I worked with the most were from India and South Korea. It was an amazing
opportunity to interact and work in an office with such diversity. Despite being one of the mostdensely populated cities, Hong Kong has plenty to offer in terms of outdoor activities. I spenttime exploring hiking trails, going to the beach and even kayaking. I also had enough time toimmerse in the local culture by going to temples, street markets and trying local cuisine. Hong
Kong is small place with an amazing public transportation system, which made sightseeing andcommuting easy. My time in Hong Kong was influenced by millions of Hong Kongers fighting fortheir freedoms. At times, nearly one in three people took to the streets in protest. It wascertainly inspiring to see millions of people come together in pursuit of a common goal. I gained
so much by working in Hong Kong over the summer and will forever be grateful for theopportunity.

159

Hadley Webster
London, United Kingdom
College of Arts &Sciences
International
Relations andEconomics

Zen Educate
Content Marketing

Company and Position Description: Zen Educate is an ethical alternative to educational
recruitment agencies for supply (the British word for ‘substitute’) teachers and TAs throughout
London and the Greater Manchester area. Their easy-to-use online platform allows teachers
and TAs to find work and accept/cancel bookings by simply going to their app. Think substituteteachers finding jobs in schools just like someone books a hotel online. The company is a techstart-up at heart but is also a crucial part of the education sector. Their mission is to continue tohelp teachers and schools save money by cutting out the “middleman,” or traditional
recruitment agencies that charge expensive fees. As part of the Marketing team, I worked
directly with their blog brainstorming and producing content, while also completing a variety ofother projects related to marketing. These included press releases for teachers and schools,
promotional videos about some of their highly-rated services, blog posts and eBooks with
helpful information for customers. I also added a customer “success stories” page to thewebsite and implemented an email drip campaign to reach out to potential new schools.

This is a picture of Zen’s logo in their
new office. As a start-up, they are
constantly experiencing growth. It was
really neat to see them meet a major
milestone—moving into a bigger office.

160

Hadley Webster
London, United Kingdom

I had the chance to go
to the London Eye; it isan amazing view!

We did a “punting” tour
guide in Cambridge, whichis their official sport!

Value Derived from the Experience: My experience in London was truly one of the mostimpactful and incredible experiences that I have had thus far. I arrived to London hesitant about
what would lie ahead. I didn’t know the people in my group or the people with whom I was
living. I was doing primarily content marketing at my job, and I had never had any priorexperience. What’s more, I was in charge of creating, leading, and designing my own projects.
Initially, I was apprehensive and timid in my approach to the job. I was scared to share my own
ideas out of fear of them being deemed bad, or even worse, unoriginal. However, after I started
to become more comfortable in my surroundings, I really developed the confidence to becreative with my work and be fearless with my ideas. It can be really daunting to submit an
original idea, especially if you are the only intern. Not all my ideas were accepted and some thatwere ended up not working. Nonetheless, I became more confident and I know that confidence
will aid me in my future endeavors. Living in London was an equally amazing experience. I
learned to live confidently and independently, whether that be through navigating public
transportation alone or figuring out directions when I got lost. Although the culture isn’t
extremely different from the United States, there are still subtle nuances. I faced personal
obstacles along the way, mentally and physically, but I learned how to navigate a solution withthe resources and people around me. Above all, I realized the importance of being a selfadvocate.

161

Bai Hao Yu
New Delhi, India
College of Business& Economics
Finance & BusinessInformation
Systems

Coworkin.Co
Finance/Marketing
InternCompany and Position Description: Coworkin.Co is a startup company based in New
Delhi, India that aims to provide affordable coworking space in prime locations and city centers.
Also, the firm is actively involved in developing the entrepreneurial ecosystem to help otherstartups sustain and thrive. For the first month, I was in the finance department performing
financial analytics. I was responsible for analyzing the past 5 years of financial data, building amodel to forecast the next 2 years of financial data and compiling the information into a reportfor the founder, Yatin Thakur. In addition, I took the initiative to create a template in excel tostandardize the way the firm records their financial data across the different office locations.
For the second month, I was working with their marketing department creating marketing
material for the new coworking space as part of the firm's quadruple expansion plan. My
photographs will be used to showcase the new office space across social media platforms andadvertising brochures distributed to potential clients.

New co-working officespace

In the office during a
blackout at noon
162

Bai Hao Yu
New Delhi, India

Can’t go to India without
going to the Taj Mahal!

The Lotus Temple wastruly breathtaking

Value Derived from the Experience: Professionally, I discovered the importance ofadaptability. Whether that's adapting to a different workplace culture or adapting to an
unfamiliar position. At the beginning of the internship at Coworkin.Co, I thought I was going toremain in one position throughout my time at the company. It "made sense" for a finance major
to stay in the finance department performing financial analytics. Halfway through the internship,
the firm discovered I did photography as a hobby and asked if I was interested to do photography
for the marketing department. That opportunity was unexpected, but I had to adjust my mindset
and adapt to the change. I decided to take on responsible risk and accepted a less familiar role inthe company that had the potential to create more value.
Personally, I learned to be more confident with myself. When the firm asked me to do
photography for the marketing department, I was hesitant to accept the request. I was worried
that my skill wasn't professional enough to match the company's expectations. But after I
received encouragement from my group members, I decided to take a chance and see where theroad will lead me. In the end, the founder was satisfied with the outcome of the office spacephotoshoot. After that experience, I learned to be more confident in myself and become morewelcoming to new and unfamiliar ideas. Influenced by this experience in India and the startup
culture, I am attempting to start my own photography business at Lehigh University. Will thebusiness take off or crash and burn like most startups? Well, I guess only time will tell. Like Steve
Jobs once said, "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life".

163

Kristen Yusiewicz
Thailand
RCEAS
Electrical Engineering

KMUTNB
ElectricalEngineering InternCompany and Position Description: My internship was at King Mongkut’s University ofTechnology North Bangkok in the Electrical Engineering Department. My internship was
specifically on implementing a magnetic levitation control system using an FPAA device. In
Electrical Engineering, there are two types of circuits- analog and discrete. The main downfall
to analog circuits is that they tend to be larger, more expensive and not reconfigurable.
However, the Field Programmable Analog Array (FPAA) device allows an analog circuit tobehave more like a discrete one. It is reconfigurable such that in a computer program theengineer can design the appropriate circuit, simulate it, and then download the circuit design
onto the hardware device. If any modifications are needed, the engineer can revise the circuitdesign and re-download it. The professor I worked under was attempting to verify that his
magnetic levitation design worked but struggled to have his simulation line up correctly. He
tasked me with synthesizing the design with one on MATLAB/Simulink, the industry standard,
and then implementing it onto the hardware and obtaining the same results as the simulation.
This was a big step because it proved that the FPAA device could replace bulkier, more
expensive analog control systems and could be connected directly to the plant.

Implementing the control
system onto the hardware.

Final Presentation starting off
with a wai- the traditional Thai
greeting.

164

Kristen Yusiewicz
Thailand

Visiting Wat Arun with
Lehigh Alum and his wife

Visiting Elephant Nature
Park in Chiang Mai

Value Derived from the Experience: This experience allowed me to grow personally. While I havealways had navigation skills and was confident in traveling by myself, my internship experienceoften pushed me to be more independent. I was the only Lehigh student in Thailand, and thefirst international intern to arrive at KMUTNB by two weeks. Getting around Bangkok completely
by myself was intimidating at first, but the Lehigh community in Thailand greeted me with open
arms. Carol Strange connected me with alumni living in Bangkok via email. Many reached out
with suggestions and two alumni even took me out on excursions! Through the alumni andothers I met, I found the Thai culture very welcoming and hospitable. Even though most Thais do
not speak English, and I do not speak Thai, I found help and directions whenever I needed it.
People were often willing to spend several minutes working through the language barrier todirect me. I found this kindness very comforting since I often needed to travel alone. This
experience pushed the boundaries of my comfort zone and allowed me to thoroughly immerse
myself in another culture.

165

2019 Iacocca International Internship Program
Student Demographics
80 students lived and worked in 32 countries.
IIIP 2019
COLLEGE DISTRIBUTION
AS

BU

EN

IC

IC, 10%AS, 43%EN, 31%

IIIP 2019 PREVIOUS
STUDY ABROAD EXPERIENCENo prior int'l exp.

Had previous int'l exp.

Had
previous
int'l exp.
14%

BU, 16%

IIIP 2019 Financial Aid Representation
MediumNone 6%
4%

No prior
int'l exp.
86%

High
90%
Medium

High

None

166

Acknowledgements
A Special Acknowledgement to the Program Benefactor, Mr. Lee Iacocca ‘45 in remembrance of his life
(1924-2019). None of the student stories in this book would have been possible without Mr. Iacocca’s
forethought on international education or his generosity in giving back to his alma matter in this manner.
May his philanthropy continue to inspire, educate, and make a true difference in the young lives touched by
the Iacocca International Internship Program. Thank you, Mr. Lee Iacocca!
IIIP Staff:
Debra Rubart, Coordinator
Michelle Spada, Assistant Director
Carol Strange, Director

Program Providers:American Councils for International
Education, Liz Cameron
IES Abroad, Eliza Leland

LU Faculty/Staff Program Leaders:
Samantha Dewalt; India & UK
Lori Herz; Israel
Cameron McCoy; Netherlands
Daniel Ou-Yang; France
Dimitrios Vavylonis; Japan

IIIP Steering Committee:
Lia Assad (Mr. Lee Iacocca’s daughter)Paul Brockman (Professor, Finance and Law)
Marie-Helene Chabut (Professor, Modern
Languages and Literatures)
Lori Kennedy (Director, Career Services)Robert Storer (Co-Director, Industrial andSystems Engineering)

Lehigh University Administrators:
Dr. Cheryl Matherly
Vice President & Vice Provost International
Affairs
President John Simon

167

Thank you to the donors who make this program possible!

Air Products Foundation

Trisha S. '11G and James
J. Alexy '16P

Evita and Jefferson F.
Allen '67 '97P

Anonymous

Susan K. Archer '82

Kevin E. Augustyn '17

Jessica M. Baier '16

BD (Becton Dickinson)

Elizabeth and Joseph J.
Bailey '80 '14PPeter S. Bailey '92

Barbara and David M.*
Baldwin '51

Christina E. Bauer '15

Jessica M. DeSantis-Berg'03 and Jonathan J. Berg
'03

Beverly and Harold P.
Bitler '64

Lauren E. Bloch '10

Kim and Robert W.
Bohny '84

Gloria H. and Michael G.
Bolton '65 '67G '94P

Elizabeth T. Brinkman '88

Yutong Chang '17G

Jane L. Johnston andTimothy G. Chelius '16P

Maria L. '87 and John R.
Chrin '85 '86 '10P

Kieren E. Connor '16

Joan and Curts Cooke '58'82P '15GP

Doreen M. and Bryan A.
Costantino '14P '16P

Gretchen F. Cusick

Lynne M. '87 and Sean
Davis '23P

Amanda L. and John R.
Day '98

Claudia De Dougherty
and Eugene T. Dougherty'87 '12P '14P

Marianna R. Deal '17P

Terri R. and Charles J.
Delaney '81

William A. Draper Jr. '65

Patricia and Stewart Early'66 '96P

Jennifer Satz Enslin '18P
and Jeffrey D. Enslin '88'18P

Yiyi N. and John C. Evans'66

Nadine S. Elsayed '18

Charlene Y. Fergus '99

Nikola and Todd M.
Freeman '82 '15P

Wayne D. Freese '59

GE Foundation

Linda L. and Peter M.
GilbertBette G. and Stephen F.
Goldmann '66

Christine and Steven H.
Goldthwaite '87

Oscar J. Gomez '18

Judy and Donald M.
Gruhn '49

Alexis L. Haggert '18

Melanie H. Hanft '20

Julia W. '87 '21P and
Raymond G. Held '85'21P

Kaitlyn M. Hennessy '19

June W.* and Leon C.
Holt '48 '85P through theHolt Family Foundation

Katherine J. Howlin '16

Linda P. Huber '80

Lee A. Iacocca* '45 '17GP'69H

The Iacocca Foundation

Ingersoll-Rand Company

Intel Foundation

Elaine B. Ivy '14

Brodi D. Jackson
Borchardt '98 and
Gregory C. Borchardt

Christopher W. Kohler'08Mariah X. Kozub '19

Kelsey LaBosco '16

Matthew M. Lambert '18

Allison L. Land '88 '19P

Farren Leung '18

Harry B. Levine '56 '91P

Hilary J. Lewis '11

I. Henry Lewis '63

Alice E. and Howard T.
Lieberman

Emily M. Linderman

Victor Lopez-Balboa

Sharon O. and James R.
Maida '85 '17P '19P

Rachael M. Martel '16

Haley G. Maruschak '15

Victoria R. McCulley '19

Medidata Foundation

Merrill Lynch & Co.
Foundation, Inc.

Metem Corporation

Hannah and James D.
Miller '64 '67G '87P '90PDavid A. Morrison '18

Amy L. Moyer '12

Ann C. '91G and Vincent
G. Munley '74 '02P '04P
'05P

Barbara and Ronald
Muse '06P

Sarah J. Muse '06

Minh B. Nguyen '18

Rene Obregon '97P

Noah O. Ongoro '14

Tanairy Ortiz '19

Kristin C. Perry '93

Donald R. Phillips '84

Bernardo J. Pontes '03

Bonnie L. and Frank T.
Pratt '65 '66G '03P

PwC

Seneca S. Rasey '17

RBS Greenwich CapitalFoundation

Kathryn Y. and Alan G.
Rieper '62

Ilyana Sangadzhyieva

Casey L. Snyder '18

Robin and Lawrence M.
Statsky '14P

Megan K. and Charles E.
Stevens

Alex P. Tamm '12

Patricia M. and Lawrence
J. Tamm '12P

Ronni and Arthur C.
Tauck, Jr. '53 '79P

The Freeman Foundation

Cheryl A. and Paul D.
Thomas '78

Christine and Vincent R.
Volpe, Jr. '80 '81

Evan R. Vomund '18

Laurence J. Walsh '92

Ryan L. White '14

Arielle K. Willett '15

Huan Xie '17

Angela K. Young '17

Deborah E. Zajac '97(PricewaterhouseCoopers)

For Additional Information: http://global.lehigh.edu/internships
Carol Strange, Program Director: csh205@lehigh.edu(610) 758-3467

OFFICE OF
INTERNATIONALAFFAIRS