Claire Binder ’17 interned in Silicon Valley for a growing start up.

My internship was at an emerging internet company and start-up based in Silicon Valley, called way.com. An acronym for “What’s Around You,” Way is an online service marketplace, through which customers can purchase dining, parking, and tickets for competitive prices (“the Amazon of services”).

At Way.com, I worked as the Market Strategy Intern. My main responsibility was to strategize efforts to grow its customer base and visibility, particularly in its Dining department. My main project was to conduct market research on Way’s industry competitors, create a matrix to define their differences, and analyze the data for future marketing strategy.

Read more

SHARE

Chris Fischer ’17 worked with at-risk youth in Boston.

Working at InnerCity Weightlifting (ICW) provided me with something new every day. I was told I was going to work with Boston’s at-risk youth. I quickly realized that was a euphemism for gangsters and felons- many of whom make up a segment of the population that are most likely to shoot someone, or get shot. I learned about the world from which these young men hail, and how different it is.

Read more

SHARE

Alexandra Marrone ’16 conducting lab research at the National Institutes of Health.

This summer I was able to work for the National Institutes of Health. I worked in the NIDDK, or the Institute for Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney diseases. The NIH is located in Bethesda, MD, but I was lucky enough to live in DC for the summer. My lab was looking at the effects of a certain growth factor, TGF-Beta, on different tissues of the body in regards to diabetes and obesity. My work was primarily with neurons, which was unexpected because I had literally no neuroscience background when I entered the lab! I had to do a lot of hard work and reading in order to get a handle on what I was doing, but it has been totally worth it. Just learning about how to learn all the new topics for lab research has been a great skill in itself. I think that is one of my biggest takeaways from this experience. Lab work isn’t about knowing a ton about your topic of research, but having the mind to ask the right questions.

SHARE

Yaxin Chen ’17 interning at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in Beijing.

Summer is the time you find out who you are and what you want to be.

I spent more than two months working in a bank. I hated the fixed schedule and the redundancy caused by the hierarchy of a state-owned firm, but I loved being an analyst. I loved the feeling of sorting things out and putting my research together for a presentation.

SHARE

Ryan Groffe attended numerous “Breakfast with the Boss” meetings over the Summer.

This past summer I was granted the opportunity to intern for the licensing department at PVH Corporation in New York City. PVH owns some of the largest apparel companies in the world including Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger. In addition, they produce the dress shirts for major brands such as Michael Kors and DKNY. Over the course of the summer I attended a few hour-long breakfasts with some of the biggest leaders in the industry. During these Breakfast with the Boss meetings, interns from various companies had the opportunity to ask questions and learn from the Corporate Executives of companies such as Ross Stores, Macy’s, Burlington Coat Factory and G-III Apparel group. For example, I was able to pick the brain of Burlington Store’s CEO Tom Kingsbury and Macy’s CIO Peter Sachse. On the other hand, I was enjoying life in the city with other Colgate students and playing soccer with former alumni every Thursday night in a men’s league. There are so many well connected people in New York City and it is the best place to learn and grow as a young professional.

SHARE

Yingqi Zhang ’18 interning at Buttermilk Falls CSA & Folk School
in Osceola, WI.

I worked as a garden intern on Buttermilk Falls farm during the summer. It is a 200 member CSA located at Osceola, WI and uses biodynamic and organic farming practices to grow food. My main focus was vegetable production, including greenhouse management, direct seeding, making compost, weeding, and harvesting. Apart from working in the field, interacting with the farm community also made up a huge part of my farm life. The most memorable event was my cooking night. I made 22 people about 300 Chinese dumplings with the assistance of four other interns in less than five hours. It turned out to be a real success. Everyone was enchanted by the food and couldn’t stop raving about it. Surrounded by the pleasant atmosphere, we had our first bonfire of the summer after the meal. It was a great time to bond with the community and get away from the rigorous working routine. After that night, I felt more connected to everyone on the farm.

SHARE