Tag Archives: 2020

Halena Martin ’20: The Innocence Project

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Name: Halena Martin
Class Year: 2020
Major: Political Science and Sociology
Hometown: Eatontown, N.J.

Internship Organization: Innocence Project
Job Title: Intake Intern
Location: New York City

What’s happening at your internship?

This summer I had the privilege of interning for the Innocence Project as a Liman Fellow. The Innocence Project is a national litigation and public policy organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted individuals through DNA testing and reforming the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. I am interning with the Intake Department which is tasked with weeding through the enormous number of requests for assistance that the Innocence Project receives (approximately 2,400 new requests per year). At any given time, the Innocence Project is evaluating between 6,000 and 8,000 potential cases.

As an intake intern, I assist with the identification and evaluation of cases for possible representation. My main responsibility is producing memoranda which include a summary of the facts, possible avenues for DNA testing to prove innocence, and my recommendation on whether the case should move forward to the legal department. The other intake interns and I report to the case analysts who review our work in biweekly meetings.

Interning at the Innocence Project has been an incredibly formative experience. It has exposed me to the early stages of post-conviction legal work, has deepened my understanding of the faults in our criminal justice system, and has helped me develop my reading, writing, and analytical skills.

Why did you apply for this internship?

In one of my classes last semester, my professor posed the question of whether the implicit risk of executing an innocent person makes the death penalty inherently immoral. This question really drew my attention to issues surrounding wrongful conviction. So, I knew when the Innocence Project came up in my internship search, it was the organization I wanted to intern with.

What is most rewarding about your internship?

There are numerous rewarding aspects of my internship. The most rewarding is the ability to do meaningful work. Not only am I able to be a part of an impactful organization, but I am given the opportunity to work hands-on with actual cases.

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

My biggest challenge has been the emotional work of reading through case documents. I read both the testimonies of people who have been the victims of heinous crimes and the letters from defendants who see the Innocence Project as their last hope. It has prepared me well for the areas of law I may go into in the future. It has also made me more appreciative of the downtime I got to spend with friends, family, and (especially) my puppy this summer!

Xenia Kibbelaar ’20: Historical Society of Pennsylvania

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Name: Xenia Kibbelaar
Class Year: 2020
Major: History
Hometown: Curaçao

Internship Organization: Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Job Title: Volunteer
Location: Philadelphia

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I am a volunteer at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in Center City, Philadelphia. For the 10 weeks that I am there, I have been working on a database project called the Encounters Database Project. This project consists of transcribing 19th century records and creating electronic versions of such records. The electronic versions will then be accessible online for the public to use. The records that I have been working with are those from am organization called Orphan Aid Society. The Orphan Aid Society was founded in 1814 and lasted until its merging with Elwyn School in 1965. This organization would take care of orphans or those that were fatherless. I worked on various records from 1846 to 1928.

I applied for this internship because I was interested in the Encounters Database project. I also wanted to learn more about archival work. Furthermore, I thought it would be interesting to spend the summer learning a little bit about the history of Pennsylvania, where I have been living for the past three years.

There are many skills that I am using and also learning at the same time. For instance, one of the biggest skills that I’m learning is how to read the handwriting. The handwriting from the 19th century is a lot different from the handwriting of today. So, at times, it can quite difficult to understand what was written. Besides the differences in how the letters are written, some entries can be so faded that they are hard to read. Thus, at times the entries are like a puzzle, you have to figure out what fits together and what doesn’t. Another skill that I’m learning is how to transcribe all the information found into the computer and how to organize all that information in a way that is accessible for people to use. Another skill that is incredibly important is patience. When working with a volume that’s hundreds of pages and covers several years, it is important to know that you will not finish it in days, but rather in weeks. I learned that with the first volume that I worked on that took me two to three weeks to complete. It is also the type of work where with time, you can see the results.

The most rewarding thing about the internship is seeing all the work that I have done. Knowing that I have done something that can help people have access to a small part of history that may have been inaccessible before is very rewarding.

 

Marilyn Harbert ’20: RepresentWomen

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Name: Marilyn Harbert
Class Year: 2020
Major: Political Science
Hometown: Atlanta

Internship Organization: RepresentWomen
Job Title: Research Intern
Location: Takoma Park, Md.

marilyn

What’s happening at your internship?

This summer I am an intern at RepresentWomen, a nonprofit which does research and advocacy to increase women’s representation in politics. My focus is research on donations to federal political candidates, from PACs and individual donors, broken down by gender. It may sound dry, but it is exactly what I want to be doing this summer, as I get a chance to improve my skills in data analysis tools, and dive deep into systemic barriers that women candidates face.

Why did you apply for this internship?

2018 was fantastic for female candidates, but Congressional representation only rose from 20.6% to 23.7%. That level of progress is not enough. Only with systemic reforms can we ensure this progress is substantial and sustainable. That is why I chose to work for RepresentWomen, because I wanted to do research that helps push forward systemic reforms to make political gender parity a reality.

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

Campaign finance research mixes my two passions perfectly, politics and programming. As a political science major, my classes have prepared me to read the papers, do the writing and the research. But for me, it’s even more fun to stretch the programming skills that I developed through my computer science minor.

For this internship I have been learning Python and R, and developing critical new skills in data science. While my programming background has substantially reduced the learning curve on these languages, some days I still find myself wanting to bang my head against the table. So wish me luck, because I need it!

Although I may get frustrated at times, I am also reminded why I love to program. When everything runs smoothly and my graph finally loads, there’s nothing like the feeling of empowerment I get from seeing the results of my work outputted in my terminal.

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

I did not expect to be in the halls of Congress, lobbying for bills on voting rights and free menstrual products for students.

My boss registered all of the interns for a conference run by IGNITE, an organization that trains and empowers young women to run for office. We were surrounded by dozens of inspiring young women and heard from Congresswomen including several boundary breakers: Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib, Deb Haaland, and Sharice Davids. Sessions on field engagement, media training, and fundraising made me start to think seriously about what a political campaign that I may run might look like. When I was told to look into a video camera, and declare my ambition to run for office, I started to actually believe it might happen.

The last day of the conference, we spent nervous hours rehearsing exactly how we’d pitch the chosen bills to our representatives. Before I knew it, I found myself sitting in U.S. Sen. David Perdue’s office, speaking passionately about voting rights to his chief of staff.

In the accompanying pictures, you can see me in front of the senate office building, with my fellow interns in front of the capitol, and with U.S. Rep. Pressley, excited to support women fighting for change in our country.

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marilyn

Zhi Zheng ’20: ChangJiang Securities

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Name: Zhi Zheng
Class Year: 2020
Major: Mathematics
Hometown: Wuhan, China

Internship Organization: ChangJiang Securities
Job Title: investment management internship
Location: Wuhan, China

What’s happening at your internship?

This summer, I work as an intern at a securities company in Wuhan, China.
As a math major, I was assigned to the investment management department, where they need people to analyze data.

Why did you apply for this internship?

This company is a very famous securities company in China. As a math student minoring in economics, I feel like the financial industry is the right place for me. So I decide to apply for the role at a securities company, which I think would be helpful for my later career choice.

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

Communication plays a very critical role in investment management, especially when you negotiate with your clients. After participating in several meetings with my supervisor, I realized how people talk is much more complicated than I thought, such as how to persuade your colleagues and supervisor to support your strategy, how to negotiate with clients to make a win-win deal. Speaking is another kind of art; sometimes the way you express your statements can decide the outcome of the whole thing.

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

Our job is to find the potential companies which will be listed in the future and decide to invest a certain amount of money to help them speed-to-market. It is a challenge for me because as an analyzer, you not only need to understand data, but you also have to know quite well the industry to which your target company belongs. So for the first two weeks of the internship, I started studying the laser industry, reading numerous economic reports every week, and writing an industrial summary to my team. Thanks to the economics classes I took at Bryn Mawr, this work was not as hard as I thought.

After we got to know enough about the domestic laser industry, we started looking for some local laser companies which will be listed soon. This is a long process. Right now, our team is still working on it, and we have a list of potential companies which satisfy our requirements. Next step, our team will have a direct meeting with each company to further discuss our investment.

Emily Elmore ’20: Global Fund for Children

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Name: Emily Elmore
Class Year: 2020
Major: History
Hometown: Ashland, Ore.

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

GFC

What’s happening at your internship?

I am working with the Americas portfolio, providing general team support as well as developing and working on my own research project. I primarily provide research support in planning partner convenings and helping prepare for an in-office advocacy workshop. For the summer, I am researching and developing a strategy for our partner organizations to start incorporating wellbeing practices for youth activists and youth holding positions within organizations.

Why did you apply for this internship?

I wanted to work in a nonprofit that functions on the principle of supporting local voices and community organizations without overshadowing their work, which the Global Fund for Children does through unrestricted funding to grassroots organizations. One of the things that drew me to GFC in particular was the Adolescent Girls and Migration Project, which supports a cohort of 12 grassroots organizations focused on protecting the safety and rights of adolescent migrant girls in Guatemala, Mexico, and the United States. I was interested in supporting this initiative as well as learning how research skills translate into strategy development.

What has been your favorite part of this internship?

One of the most exciting things about this internship is the opportunity I have had to go to events and panels within D.C. to learn about how other organizations and governments are addressing the Global Fund for Children’s focus areas. I mostly attend events discussing migration, as that is the focus of the largest cohort in the Americas portfolio.

What is most rewarding about your internship?

One of the amazing things about working at GFC is that it is a small organization, so everyone is involved and learning about all the departments in the organizational structure. Because of this I have the opportunity to not only work with the programs team but additionally development and communications. As a program intern I was anticipating doing almost entirely research for a specific portfolio; however, with the fluidity of the office I have had the opportunity to learn more broadly about other departments as well.

Kaia Valentine ’20: Youth Art and Self Empowerment Project

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Name: Kaia Valentine
Class Year: 2020
Major: Political Science
Hometown: Tacoma, Wash.

Internship Organization: YASP (Youth Art & Self Empowerment Project)
Job Title: Intern
Location: Chinatown, Philadelphia

My internship has different parts: I’ll be working with incarcerated youth and giving them knowledge about art and poetry. We’ll do art together, and hopefully they will share their experiences with me as I teach them about me and mine. On Tuesdays, I’ll run a hub designed to inform parents and youth
who are moving into the adult system about that process. Then, on Fridays, I will write grants and to local policymakers. Additionally, I’ll do some regular office work like making copies and coffee, I assume.

I applied because I heard about the organization in my Intersectionality and Philosophy class and I felt I had to work there.

Ashley Boyette ’20, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center

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Name: Ashley Boyette
Class Year: 2020
Major: Environmental Studies
Hometown: Hillsborough, N.C.

Internship Organization: Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
Job Title: Research Intern
Location: Edgewater, Md.

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What’s happening at your internship?

I’ve been working in a lab at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center studying the relationship between nitrogen fixation and biodiversity. I spent a lot of time collecting soil samples out in the field, as pictured, and even more time in the lab analyzing gas samples and running genetic tests on different rhizobia. It’s been really cool to further understand the relationship between these two crucial concepts!

Why did you apply for this internship?

I had never held a true research position before this summer, and it’s always something I wanted to dive into. When I saw a posting for this position at SERC, it seemed like the crux between my passion for environmental conservation and my interest in biological research.

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

Prior to this internship, I was convinced I knew what I wanted to do after graduation; science, and more specifically, environmental education. One of my biggest passions in life is making science accessible and exciting for kids for whom the subject might not resonate. Now, though, I’m learning that I really like doing research as well, much more than I thought I would. It’s making me do some serious self-reflection on what postgrad life could look like.

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Was this internship what you expected it to be?

I went into this internship with few expectations of what it would look like; I knew I was going to work in a lab with people who focused on global change dynamics and nitrogen fixation, but that was it. Having the opportunity to create my own research project and learn lab and field work skills I hadn’t had before was a wonderful surprise. I also wasn’t sure what to expect from the dynamic in the lab itself, but I’m very grateful to work in the lab I was in because my PI, mentors, and fellow interns have made this summer so much fun.

To learn more about the work SERC does and to have a meaningful research-based internship, check out the SERC’s website or the broader Smithsonian Institution!

Ameesha Dugal ’20: Universidad de Autonoma, Chile

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Name: Ameesha Dugal
Class Year: 2020
Major: International Studies
Hometown: Ridgefield, CT

Internship Organization: Universidad de Autonoma
Job Title: Marketing Intern for the International Relations Office
Location: Santiago, Chile

What’s happening at your internship?

I work at the International Relations office in the Universidad de Autonoma in Santiago, Chile. I work directly under a boss, mostly as her assistant. I assist in translating documents among other things to fluid English, working on marketing strategies to market the university to student internationally, and also work with integrating new students into the university.

Why did you apply for this internship?

I applied for this internship because I desperately wanted to have an abroad experience. I also applied for it because it was fully funded through Bryn Mawr, and I knew opportunities like that are once in a lifetime. I knew that if I got it, I would have the full support of the BMC staff as well as the IES staff to help me be successful.

Was there anything special about how you found this internship?

I was able to gain access to this opportunity through Bryn Mawr’s CPD (Career and Professional Development Program). Bryn Mawr sponsors two students every year for this program for a fully funded experience with IES abroad. I picked Santiago, Chile as my internship location because I have been interested in Latinx culture for about a year now. I listen to reggaeton — Latin hip-hop/rap music — and dabble in some Latin TV on Netflix. On top of that, I took a year of Spanish as a freshman. When I learned I got the opportunity, I had to take it. I was determined to immerse myself in as much as possible, and grow as much as possible in every way.

What has been your favorite part of this internship?

The first week of my program, I was able to participate in an international fair hosted at one of the campuses of my university in a barrio in Chile. It was a nightmare getting there myself. I had just arrived in the country, and I did not know anything. I eventually got there two hours late. My boss was understanding and supportive. I realized the work climate in Chile is more relaxed and sociable compared to the States. It is almost like your work environment is your second home. I interacted with so many Chileans and foreigners that day. By the end of it I felt comfortable and confident. I went out of my comfort zone socially and emotionally. I became so comfortable with trying to speak Spanish to people who knew it perfectly. I remember myself changing from a shy, timid girl, to one who started conversation and laughed freely! Overall, I know that experience was instrumental in my adjustment to Chile and shaping my perspective for interning abroad.

I think this internship complements my International studies major. I am able add the politics, culture, and language, I immersed myself in, in Chile, to my greater understanding of society, the international political economy, and international interactions. When I go back to class in the fall, I know I can apply my personal experience to concepts I will be reading about. I definitely recommend students to apply for the IES internship through CPD, especially Spanish, political science, sociology, and IS majors — as these are directly paralleled to an abroad experience! Immersing yourself in a foreign country can enhance one’s understanding of these fields on so many levels!

Adzo Fiagbenu ’20: Physics Research Assistant, Colorado State

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Name: Adzo Fiagbenu
Class Year: 2020
Major: Physics; Mathematics
Hometown: Tema, Ghana

Internship Organization: Colorado State University
Job Title: Research Assistant
Location: Fort Collins, Colo.

What’s happening at your internship?

I spent the summer characterizing the magnetic properties of a sample that had been sent to my supervisor. This process involved the use of the MPMS (Magnetic Property Measurement System) and the PPMS (Physical Property Measurement System), both of which were designed to detect and quantify the magnetic moment of samples by applying Faraday’s law and the concept of Electrical induction — topics that I had encountered in my Electromagnetism class the semester prior to my internship.

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Why did you apply for this internship?

I applied for this internship because I wanted to develop my experimental skills. I wanted to hone my lab etiquette and improve on my ability to understand and effectively analyze data. Furthermore, I found the prospect of experiencing life in a university in another state of the U.S. appealing.

Was there anything special about how you found this internship?

Bryn Mawr College’s Physics Department has a fellowship called the Katherine B. Blodgett 1917 Summer Research Fellowship and I was awarded the funding this summer. At the time, I had no internship planned. But after receiving the fellowship, I spoke with one of my professors who, based on my preferences, suggested that I work with her collaborator at CSU.

What has been your favorite part of this internship?

My favorite part of the internship has been troubleshooting the unexpected issues that arose in my experiments: a characteristic trait of experimental physics. A faulty measuring equipment, a contaminated sample, and environmental disturbances for instance, sometimes turn simple tasks into complex and involving projects. This experience has taught me to not only be calm and rational when things go wrong, but also to not let successes impede my judgement.

adzo

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Sarah Golobish ’20: Energy Vision

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

Internship Organization: Energy Vision
Job Title: Summer Associate
Location: New York City

At Energy Vision, Sarah is conducting research on sustainability within the heavy-duty trucking industry.

What’s happening at your internship?

Energy Vision is a New York-based national environmental nonprofit that advocates for sustainability in the transportation sector. On a day-to-day basis this translates to research, outreach, and a variety of special educational initiatives. Throughout my time there I’ve gotten to attend meetings, hearings and help with a few research projects. My main research focus has been looking into the sustainability of the largest heavy-duty truck fleets in America. Through my work, I’ve found out a great deal about this often-overlooked industry and how efforts to “go green” are hardly as simple as they seem. Given that I want to go into environmental nonprofit work after graduation, the summer as a whole has been an incredibly valuable learning opportunity.

Sarah and Energy Vision founder and trustee Joanna Underwood ’62.

Why did you apply for this internship?

I feel that I work best in environments where I am able to put my odd mix of interests to work and finding that can be hard as a political science major and environmental studies/computational methods minor. However, research and advocacy around clean energy fits perfectly into that niche and has a positive impact on the world. Energy Vision’s work stood out to me as exactly this sort of advocacy that would give me a chance to apply what I’ve learned in my courses — and to practice what I hope to do post-graduation.

Was there anything special about how you found this internship?

I first heard about Energy Vision in a 360° Course Cluster that I took my sophomore year when the organization’s president (a Haverford alumnus) came and spoke about anaerobic digestion and the work that Energy Vision does. The whole concept of creating energy from waste was new to me and turned out to be an interesting portion of what we studied. The work I did in those courses helped me focus in on my passion for environmental advocacy and, funnily enough, taught me the skills that I’m putting to use this summer!

Energy Vision’s relationship to Bryn Mawr is also special in that its founder is a BMC alumna. Joanna Underwood ’62 founded the nonprofit in 2007 and has worked with many Bi-Co alumni and students in the past 12 years. Through this close relationship, EV has been able to offer an internship to a current BMC student for the past few summers.

I had the opportunity to meet Johanna at the opening of NYC’s first fueling station to exclusively offer renewable natural gas (RNG). Over the past 10 years, Energy Vision has helped advocate for this station and ones just like it across the US that provide RNG – a cleaner, low-carbon alternative to diesel.

What is most rewarding about your internship?

It has been incredibly rewarding to work on an issue as important as climate change at a time when it seems like there isn’t much we as individuals can do to help. There is no single solution to a problem like this, but organizations like Energy Vision are looking at issues of sustainability holistically and pushing for strategies that can help to make a real impact right away. It has been wonderful to work with people who are just as passionate about the intricacies of it all and who are working to make positive change. This summer’s internship at Energy Vision has allowed me to dive into some very complicated questions around an issue I care deeply about and has pushed me to develop skills that I know will be crucial in my life after graduation.