UNDERGRADUATE : How did you spend summer 2017?

Anastasia Bodea Crisan '19 (A&S, Politics and Philosophy) interned at the law firm Mayer Brown JSM in Hong Kong, the 17th largest law firm in the world, working in the Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions department as well as Labor and Employment and Intellectual Property. She gained insight into the world of Big Law and will use that experience to further shape her studies in the years leading up to law school.

Amina Chtourou' 20 (A&S, Neuroscience) held two jobs as a teacher's assistant at a preschool and sales associate at Famous Footwear, and traveled to Tunisia where she worked at improving her Arabic language skills.

Noah Coco '19 (A&S, Economics, History, BPHIL IAS), as a recipient of a Nationality Room Scholarship, spent the first five weeks in South Africa, studying American foreign policy and volunteered at an after-school program for local primary schools, and then traveled to Beijing, China, spending two months as a FLAS recipient, studying intensive Mandarin.

Olivia Darr '18 (A&S, Communications and Rhetoric), participated in the Pitt's first Sweden study abroad program, located in Uppsala, about 45 minutes from Stockholm. On weekends she traveled to Stockholm and the surrounding area, learning about the country and Scandinavia.

Lauren Dutton, '18 (CBA, Business, A&S Economics) interned with PNC's Business Credit division traveling to companies outside of the region, testing to approve for customized loans. On Fridays she enjoyed working in the PNC Tower, one of the nation's largest mixed-use green buildings.

Melana Dayanim '19 (A&S, Political Science) spent the summer based in Namulanda, Uganda as a part of Project TEN (a multi-faceted, long-term sustainable development initiative that brings together volunteers from all over the world), teaching English at four schools in and around Entebbe and Kampala.

Fiona Eichinger '19 (A&S, Biology, BPHIL IAS ) interned at a Welcome Center in Berlin dedicated to refugee integration and partnership. Her responsibilities included training women in computer skills, teaching English, tutoring in German, and leading a weekly Women's Language Café and Neighborhood Café.

Dylan Falk '20 (A&S, Microbiology) started his summer with a "Maymester" in Cuba studying revolutionary history and race relations at la Universidad de Habana, and later interned at the Chester County Fund for Women and Girls.

Ami Fall '19 (A&S Political Science, Psychology) interned with the ACLU of Michigan  working on a class action lawsuit seeking to halt the deportation of Iraqi immigrants and interned with Michigan House Representative Yousef Rabhi. 

Meg Harris '18 (A&S, Political Science) worked as a research assistant for the United Nations Development Program's Gender Equality in Public Administration Initiative through GSPIAs Ford Institute and in July, studied language and culture at Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan.

 

Amiya Kalra '19 (A&S Environmental Studies) worked as a counselor and garden helper at Journey's End Farm Camp in Sterling, Pennsylvania.

 

Sloane Kozyak '19 (A&S, German and Political Science) enjoyed her days volunteering at the Sto-Ken-Rox Boys and Girls Club, and working at Pitt's Office of First Year Experience as a First Year Mentor, helping first year students transition to college.

 

Jessica Kerstetter '19 ( A&S, Biological Sciences), studied in Sydney, Australia and interned at a chiropractic and physical therapy clinic, and traveled throughout the country. Upon her return, she worked with kids with Spina Bifida at Camp Spifid.

David Leftwich '18 (A&S, Political Science and Psychology) with the assistance from the David C. Frederick Public Service Award, served as a research intern with the Hudson Institute in Washington D.C. studying global philanthropy and remittances under Dr. Carol Adelman at the Center for Global Prosperity, and researched for Dr. Richard Weitz at the Center for Political-Military Analysis. In addition as part of Marquette University's Les Aspin Summer Program through the Pittsburgh Foundation's J. Steele Gow Political Scholarship, took a weekly class on public policy.

Xinyu Lu '20, (A&S, Psychology) found her work as a groundskeeper with Pitt eye-opening, having the opportunity to get to know the lives of students and the grounds crew staff.

Rose Luder, '18 ( A&S, Biology), spent half of her time working at Cybergenetics, and took courses with Pitt's Summer Edge in Public and Global health. She also worked at non-profit that used computer technology to analyze DNA in order to exonerate innocent people, and assisted with a CMU based project to make the Friendship neighborhood a more beautiful and health-promoting space.

Lauren Manning '18 (A&S, Chinese, BPHIL IAS ) Participated in the Taiwan-United States Sister Relations Alliance (TUSA) Ambassador Summer Scholarship Program, studying Mandarin and volunteering in Tainan, Taiwan.

 

Melanie Malsch '20 (A&S, Environmental Sciences and BPHIL IAS) was a Communications Assistant in the Public Affairs Office of the U.S. Embassy in Astana, Kazakhstan, assisting with the planning of World EXPO 2017. With the Expo theme of Future Energy, she got insight on the participating countries' ideas for cleaner and greener living.

 

Paidamoyo Muzorori '18 (A&S, Biology) worked at a Home-Health Care agency providing geriatric care for seniors, including personal care, encouraging healthy behaviors and companionship.

Mason Palissery '17 (A&S Political Science) studied Russian at Pitt's Summer Language Institute and studied abroad in Russia. She continues to work for Pittsburgh Councilwoman Darlene M. Harris.

Olivia Peters '18 (A&S, Classical Studies and Religious Studies ) served as a Residence Assistance with the Pitt's Governor's School for International and Global Studies, studied Swahili and continued her research with GSPIA's Ford Institute.

Salina Pressimone '20 (A&S, Political Science, BPHIL IAS ) interned at the International Center for Transitional Justice in New York, researching post-conflict strategies, and assisted with marketing and communications, volunteered at the Children of Promise Stable, and worked at Cold Stone Creamery.

Alesandra Roberto, '18 (A&S, Communication/Psychology/Linguistics) studied Arabic at an intensive 2-month language immersion program at the University of Wisconsin's Arabic, Persian, Turkish Language Immersion Institute.

Cory Stillman, '20 (A&S, Film Studies) in Amsterdam, spent a month studying the Dutch and U.S. television industries, comparing and contrasting the economic and creative dimensions of each

Mariel Tabachnick '19 (Anthropology, BPHIL IAS) was a Policy and Advocacy Intern with Pathfinder International, a non-profit that expands access to contraception, promotes healthy pregnancies, saves women's' lives, and stops the spread of new HIV infections. At Pathfinder, she attended panels and conferences shedding light on the global health field.

Kesley Toplak '19 (Swanson School of Engineering, Bioengineering) studied abroad at ORT Braude College in the town of Karmiel, Israel, completing a course on Implant Biomechanics and conducted research under the direction of two Braude professors on hydrogels to be used in the invertebrael disks to reduce back pain. She also volunteered at a local nursery and traveled extensively throughout Israel.

Chukwuemeka K. Ukaga, '18 (Swanson School of Engineering, Civil & Environmental Engineering & A&S History of Art & Architecture ), volunteered for a new organization called Black Tech Pittsburgh, seeking to find ways to include Pittsburgh's black community in the current tech boom, worked as the Carnegie Museum as a Pre-Camp counselor, and was a fellow in the 2017 Hesselbein Global Leadership Academy.

Davis Weaver, '19 (A&S, Political Science) as Pitt's first Swiss Nationality Room Scholarship recipient studied International Studies and Multilateral Diplomacy Program with SIT in Geneva Switzerland, taking classes in international relations and French as well as conducting research on the geopolitical incentives for intervention in the 2011 Libyan Civil War.

GRADUATE

Darius Bittle-Dockery '20 (GSPH, Behavioral and Community Health Sciences & A&S, Medical Anthropology) taught Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, interned in the Consumer Innovations (CI) Department at UPMC on the Population Health & Engagement Optimization Team, focusing on creating a project management (PM) workflow, and creating a division-wide population health implementation strategy with UPMC's Community Strategy Group.

Clay Cook '19 (GSPH, Behavioral and Community Health Sciences) spent the past two years living and working in the Republic of Moldova as a Health Education volunteer with the Peace Corps. During this period he co-taught health education courses to 5-9th graders. He enjoyed his Peace Corps experience so much that he'll be extending his assignment one more year before returning to complete his master's degree.

Andrea Hanna, '20 (A&S, Communications and Rhetoric) delivered a conference paper on Early Christian Panegyric Under Constantine at the 3rd Biennial Philosophy of Communication Conference: The Catholic Intellectual Tradition at Duquesne University and interned with the Global Studies Center to assist with updating website content, and studied French.

John Kennedy '18 (A&S, Creative Writing) conducted archival research in Chile around politics and literature, with a focus on a comparison of the way newspapers treated the Allende Presidency in Chile with the Jacobo Arbenz Presidency in Guatemala, and researched the magnum opus poem "Altazor" in its initial manuscript forms and how that preceded its published form.

Aishwarya Kumar '19 (GSPIA, Governance and International Public Management) interned with the Quaker Valley Council of Governments under the Local Government Academy in Pittsburgh and participated in the Hesselbein Student Leadership Summit 2017.

JoEllen March '19 (GSPIA, Policy Research and Analysis) with a Critical Language Scholarship studied Arabic in Meknes, Morocco for 8 weeks.

Anjali Martin '18 (GSPIA, Human Security) collected data in Malawi for her master's thesis, and studied agricultural interventions in semi-arid environments, interviewing farmers and experts from government and NGOs.

Hanifa Nakiryowa 'Dec 17 (GSPIA, International Development-Human Security Studies) interned at the Pittsburgh Foundation Center for Philanthropy assisting with special initiatives and data analysis for their Development and Donor Services Department.

Adam Shirer, '18 (Law), with a Critical Language Scholarship, participated in the US State Department's Turkish immersion program in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Diego Villada '18 (A&S, Theater Arts) was a awarded a Summer Diversity Research Fellowship through Pitt's Dietrich School, a Public Humanities Fellowship from the Humanities Center and Kelly Strayhorn Theater of East Liberty, received a Research in Diversity Grant from Pitt's Research Council AY17/18, conducted field research on Cultural/Tourism Performance in the USA, and was an understudy at the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera.