Thanks to the generosity of Skidmore alumni, parents, staff, and friends of the college, forty-six Skidmore students received summer internship funding through the Career Development Center (CDC) this year. To celebrate and learn more about their internships, there will be a “Showcase of Stars” on Friday, November 11th from 2pm to 4pm on the second floor of the Murray-Aikins Dining Hall, where twenty-nine of the students who received funding will display their unique experiences to the Skidmore community. Each student will have a presentation or poster exhibited at their table, and there will be music, performances, food, and a lot to learn from the recipients.
The “Showcase of Stars” is open to all students, faculty, and Skidmore community members who want to learn more about these students’ summer experiences. The Skidmore News gathered quotes from some of this year’s recipients to provide a sneak-peak at what we have to look forward to at this event.
Sanjana Gothi (’17) said, “I’ve always admired the Philadelphia Museum of Art for their commitment to cultural diversity within the collection, as well as their community-centric, accessible educational programs. I was honored to be part of their Summer Internship 2016 Program. Over the nine weeks, I was held accountable as an employee in terms of my responsibilities. I learned indispensable, crucial aspects of museology, especially in terms of how the PMA ensures its relevance to the external world.”
Rebecca Lipstein (’17) an intern at Rutgers Center for Immunity and Inflammation, had a positive summer experience as well. “I gained a tremendous amount of technical skills, made life-long friends, and made meaningful contributions to my lab’s goal of developing treatment for patients with Crohn’s Disease,” Lipstein said, “but I couldn’t have achieved any of this without the generous financial support of Skidmore’s Summer Funded Internship Award.”
“[While] interning at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota, [some of the most unforgettable experiences I had] were releasing of our patients back into the wild,” commented Deborah Kim (’18). “Seeing a robin [with a broken wing and leg] that I had admitted fly away healthy after a couple of weeks [was a] truly rewarding and emotional experience, [because I was able to see] my long hours and efforts save a life.”
Taimur Kahn (’17), another recipient, participated in the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Research in Science & Engineering (RISE) Program, which invites undergraduate students from the US, UK and Canada to apply for summer research internships at German Institutions. Kahn said, “My stay in Halle, Germany, has been absolutely incredible. After [living] in Germany, it is safe for me to say that I will be continuing my education there after graduation.”
In the words of Penny Loretto, Associate Director at the Career Development Center (CDC), “We are very excited to bring these experiences to campus! We hope that the community takes advantage of the opportunity to see what our students have done. Again, we appreciate our donors for making these experiences possible.”