Diving into research��

The internship offered Moya a comprehensive and immersive experience in marine biology. She spent her time doing fieldwork, including boat surveys for population monitoring, acoustic monitoring throughout the Sarasota Bay, fishing to study dolphin distribution and their prey, and gaining skills in photo identification. These hands-on experiences offered a realistic glimpse into the life of a marine biologist.��

“To thrive in this environment, it’s essential to have a growth mindset—being open to change, willing to explore new interests, and understanding that your passions may evolve,” Moya said. “You might discover that something you expected to love isn’t quite the right fit or unexpectedly fall in love with a new area of study.”��

The SDRP challenges students to grow as scientists through real-world research and offers ongoing opportunities to volunteer in diverse projects—from necropsies and offshore acoustic receiver deployments to sea turtle hatchling releases and collaborating with shark researchers.��

“At SDRP, you’re encouraged to be curious, ask questions, read scientific literature, and learn from both successes and mistakes,” Moya said. “Ultimately, the experience is what you make of it—so be a sponge, soak up every opportunity, and allow yourself to grow both personally and professionally.”

Learning beyond the science

Being a scientist means more than just doing science: it requires confidence, courage, resilience, and most importantly, a willingness to face the unknown and embrace failure as part of the journey. These are the traits that have sustained SDRP’s legacy for 55 years and enabled it to produce pioneering research for marine mammals.��

By continuing to take bold steps driven by curiosity and ambition, SDRP has helped lay the foundation for marine mammal conservation and inspired generations of scientists to follow.��

In analyzing the behavior and health of small cetaceans, Moya noted that when dolphins are together, they’re not called pods; they’re called communities.

“The bottlenose dolphins are just like us—living creatures who are curious, trying to survive, and remarkably intelligent with developed communication skills that help expand their complex social structures,” said Moya. “Bottlenose dolphins are self-aware and able to recognize one another through signature whistles.”��

Dolphins serve as vital indicators of the health of the world’s oceans. They play a key role in maintaining the balance of marine ecosystems, help control fish populations, help maintain water quality, and keep the food chain in balance.��

“Their sensitivity to environmental changes makes them sort of like our ocean security guards for detecting issues like pollution and disease, or even with incidents of algal blooms like red tide, which occurred in 2021 throughout the Sarasota Bay,” said Moya. “However, when dolphins are in trouble, it can be a serious sign that our oceans may be at risk too.”

Exploring the opportunities

�������ý��Ƶ students are encouraged by faculty and staff to take on internships to expand their understanding, build relationships, and strengthen their overall career path.��

“‘Ride my wave’—that’s something my mom always tells me, and it’s become a grounding mantra throughout my college journey,” Moya said. “It reminds me to stay present and embrace each moment, whether it’s challenging or joyful. The tough times are temporary, and the good ones pass quickly too—so it’s important to appreciate them while they last.” This perspective has shaped not only how Moya moves through tough moments, but also how she approaches the future.��

“Even when the wave you’re riding knocks you down, you get back on the board and catch the next wave. That mindset is guiding me as I work toward graduate school in marine mammal research while staying open to new opportunities that may come my way.”

Moya is looking forward to using her experiences with underwater photography to improve accessibility to the research, as well as learning more about marine mammal behavior and the impacts humans have on these creatures.

This is the next step in Moya’s career plans. She aspires to study marine animals as a means to improve conservation, integrate photography into research, and improve education on the important role the ocean and marine animals play in our environment.��

“Sometimes we get caught up in publishing papers,” Moya said. “But it’s also important to articulate to the public what you do and ignite that fire for positive change in the next generation.”

In her college search, �������ý��Ƶ quickly stood out as a place where Moya could pursue several of her passions as a first-gen student. She did just that. In addition to seeking out opportunities in marine biology, she minored in studio art and competed in two varsity sports—basketball and lacrosse.

Her love for marine biology has grown in the subsequent years, including her desire to make research more accessible to the public through photography and effective communication.

“It is important for me as a scientist to encourage the people around me and to say that you also have the power to make a difference in the world,” Moya said.��

She first became passionate about accessibility while interning at the Milwaukee County Zoo and the Brookfield Zoo Chicago, where she grew her communication skills while giving tours and improving programs involving biofacts. She gained experience in grant writing, raising funds to improve the biofact room, and creating a safe, fun public space to learn more about the natural world.

Moya then participated in the �������ý��Ƶ Marine Program (LUMP) under the guidance and encouragement of her academic advisor, Bart De Stasio. The program has been around for almost half a century and provides students with the opportunity to analyze a coral reef habitat and then develop a group research project. Last year’s program took Moya to Bonaire, an island municipality that lies off Venezuela’s coast in the southern Caribbean. She and her peers studied fish and coral reef environments.

Learn more about the Marine Term program at �������ý��Ƶ.

“I was excited to incorporate underwater photography as a way to improve communication,” Moya said. “There’s not a lot of visualizations or pictures in research. All we usually have are graphs.”

Underwater photography also proved an ecological benefit, as day and night photography allowed the team to identify early stages of coral bleaching, a phenomenon that occurs in unhealthy coral.��

LUMP was a highlight in Moya’s time at �������ý��Ƶ, as the experience reinforced her love for marine biology.

“It’s a great opportunity to see if you want to do research and get a sense for the feel of what it’s like, not only as a marine biologist but as an educator and advocate for our oceans,” she said.

Cao Le is interested in East Asian studies and international conflict resolution within her major. She has a particular interest in China, South Korea, and her home country of Vietnam.

She has had a deep love for international relations for a long time. She spent a year studying at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam before she came to �������ý��Ƶ, and she declared her major Fall Term of her first year.

In her time at �������ý��Ƶ, Cao Le has been busy with a handful of research projects. She worked on researching Vietnamese foreign policy in a remote internship with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam. She spent time in Vietnam studying cooperation between the United States and Vietnamese governments at Fulbright University Vietnam, and she acted as a Vietnamese delegate at the Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations Conference in Hong Kong. She said she had the opportunity to meet the former vice president of the Philippines and high-ranking political leaders from Hong Kong and China.

This year, she’s been focused on pursuing research and writing articles, although she’s still been traveling. She spent spring break in The Gambia with other �������ý��Ƶ students making observations and conducting interviews in individual projects. She said this was one of the most transformative experiences for her.

“Listening to the community voice, it really matters to understand the bigger picture and to find innovative solutions,” she said.

After graduation, Cao Le wants to complete a fellowship in China. She is interested in studying more about China’s politics and their interactions with her home country of Vietnam. Afterward, she wants to come back to the United States to earn her Ph.D. and become a professor in international relations.

“I’m kind of certain I will end up in Vietnam,” she said. “I really want to come back to contribute to the diplomatic scholarship in my country.”

Leaving Vietnam was difficult for Cao Le, but she said experiencing new worldviews through her research has made it so satisfying that she can forget the homesickness. She was drawn to �������ý��Ƶ by the sense of belonging on campus and the opportunity to work with professors on an individual basis, and she is deeply grateful to �������ý��Ƶ faculty for helping her achieve her goals.

“I want to say thank you for the support of the �������ý��Ƶ professors and my friends,” she said. “Without their support, I could never be this strong. I want to promise I will do something to pay it forward for the �������ý��Ƶ community for helping me achieve all these things.”

Sydney Seeley and Emma Vasconez interned during their time at the London Centre during Spring Term, and both said the connections they made and the experiences they had will be valuable as they consider next steps after they graduate.

“Even when you go to a different country, connections are so important,” Vasconez said.

Seeley, a junior psychology major from Prescott, Wisconsin, worked remotely for an international marketing company while in London, and Vasconez, a junior government and business and entrepreneurship double major from Huntley, Illinios, worked for Member of Parliament Tulip Siddiq while at London Centre.

�������ý��Ƶ partners with Florida State University to match students studying in London with internships that fit their interests, said Lezlie Weber, director of �������ý��Ƶ’s Off-Campus Programs.

“We work with students on preparation,” Weber said. “Interning students are guided on how to apply for internships and the necessary visa.”

According to Seeley and Vasconez, interning abroad is so much more than the work experience. For them, being an intern is all about culture and connections.

Vasconez appreciates now having friends in her field with valuable insight and hopes to work with them again. She connected with her co-workers, often socializing at the end of a work day.

Seeley, meanwhile, connected strongly with her co-workers even though she was working remotely.

“I’m excited to keep in touch with all these people, and maybe come back and work here when I graduate,” Seeley said. “The company has offices in the U.S. as well, so I have connections there, too.”

Interns connect with more than their colleagues. The work environment helps them connect to the local culture and community as well. Vasconez said she found her time outside of the office insightful. She saw London up-close through her commute and time working in the constituency. She helped canvass and deliver annual reports in addition to her drafting work in-office.

“You see what life is really like there,” Vasconez said.

Seeley and Vasconez agreed that learning about the culture was much more impactful while immersed in it.

“In the workplace, you have to know how to interact with your manager versus your coworker,” Vasconez said. “They don’t teach you that in a classroom.”

They learned to adapt to an unfamiliar workplace culture.

“There was such a good work-life balance,” Seeley said. “They were very respectful of others’ time.”

Seeley was part of her company’s partnerships team. She scouted celebrities and influencers for marketing campaigns to present to clients, and she brainstormed social media campaigns with co-workers. Over the course of her internship, the team worked with Amazon Prime Video to promote an upcoming series.

Seeley loved the experience that combined her areas of study in psychology, economics, and entrepreneurship.

“It was interesting getting that hands-on experience,” Seeley said.�� “When you see an ad, you don’t realize all the little pieces that go into it.”

Seely’s internship culminated in a final day on set where she got to see the production, which she helped pitch, being shot while also meeting the celebrities the team had selected.

“It was really cool seeing the production side of things, too,” she said.

For Vasconez, the internship experience in Siddiq’s office assured her that she’s following the right path.

“I definitely like the field I’m in, and it was interesting to see how the UK government works, too,” she said.

Even in countries where internships are unavailable, there are experiential learning opportunities for Lawrentians studying abroad, Weber said. Students can be connected to job shadowing, service learning, and more.

“Our hours for our internships were coordinated around our school schedule,” Seeley said. “It wasn’t super challenging to work and learn at the same time.”

Last summer, Bocanegra worked as an intern with Northwestern Mutual. He loved the opportunity to gain hands-on experience with financial management. He said his personal experience with trading helped him get the position.

“The work I was doing was building retirement portfolios for clients,” Bocanegra said. “If you’re a freshman, and you work for a Fortune 100 company, it’s a huge deal.”

In addition to his work with Northwestern Mutual, Bocanegra was accepted into the Goldman Sachs Investing & Portfolio Management Academy. He was part of the Asset Management Division, beginning in his first year at �������ý��Ƶ and continuing into his sophomore year. He was assigned a mentor for the duration of the program. The finale was his trip to New York City, where he got to meet his mentor in person and network with other students in the program as they worked on case studies.

The internship and the Goldman Sachs program have meshed beautifully with his studies at �������ý��Ƶ.

“The economics program is extremely well-managed,” Bocanegra said of his time at �������ý��Ƶ. “Mixing the liberal arts education with economics, how they teach, helps a lot. You learn a whole new way to learn, which is extremely helpful in the long term.”

Even outside of the Economics Department, Bocanegra has been able to apply his studies to his entrepreneurial ambitions. He said he loved his environmental studies coursework last year.

“It taught me a lot about the different approaches companies take toward the environment,” he said.

Bocanegra said the skills he gained through his internships have been integral to his personal work as an entrepreneur. The real-world skills he’s built have helped him form and manage his own hedge fund, Bocanegra Asset Management, which focuses on energy equities.

Augmented reality lets users see digital creations inserted into the real world; virtual reality immerses users in an entirely digital world.

“You can use a physical mock-up to give you just what you need to touch and interact with … and then have someone put on a VR headset where there’s a virtual model that is lined up with the physical mock-up but has a much higher level of detail,” Brailovsky said.

A role for psychology

The lab is part of NASA’s Human Factors Analysis branch. Human Factors’ engineering work is about making sure designs are user-friendly as well as functional.

Brailovsky said Human Factors analysts look for questions rather than answering existing ones—it’s an intersection between engineering, psychology, and computer sciences.

“My first thought is always the person, and that’s not typical for engineering perspectives,” Brailovsky said.

While virtual reality isn’t perfect for recreating the real world, it can help test scenarios too difficult or expensive for labs.

“We can’t mimic reality without first understanding how our brains construct reality,” Brailovsky said. “Color doesn’t exist, it’s just wavelengths of light. Sound doesn’t exist; it’s all illusions created by our brain processing information. So, we can’t replicate those without knowing really well how we create our own reality.”

Psychology is important in the space industry, especially when considering the rise in commercial spaceflight and possible future Mars landings.

“This is like going back to the old age of sail ships where you could have six people in a boat for months. …,” Brailovsky said. “Only in our case, they’re in zero gravity in a really tight container, and if there’s a hole in the container, they all die. What does that do to a person’s perception?”

Along with making sure everything works properly, Human Factors analysts want space habitations to feel as much like home as possible.

Making dreams reality

Brailovsky has held a fascination with space since childhood. His interest in psychology developed in high school. He also took computer programming courses at �������ý��Ƶ and interned at Iowa State University’s Virtual Reality Application Center last summer.

“It’s very exciting to be a psych student now coming into this industry because attention to it is growing,” he said.

Brailovsky applied for an opportunity he saw on NASA’s website about using augmented reality to test spacesuits. Although his application was unsuccessful, another NASA program leader in need of virtual reality expertise saw Brailovsky’s application and invited him to join.

“This is what I told people my dream job was when I was 15,” Brailovsky said. “I didn’t know what they did here, and I didn’t know this group existed. I invented them for myself and just hoped they were out there. They were, and they called me.”

Brailovsky said he wasn’t planning on interning during his senior year to avoid graduation conflicts, but this opportunity was too good to pass up.

“What they teach you when you study psychology is to always be looking out for the unexpected,” he said.

The internship will last through the summer. Brailovsky intends to return to �������ý��Ƶ this fall for one final term to wrap up his psychology major and minors in cognitive science, computer science, and data science.��After graduation, Brailovsky said he hopes to head back to the Marshall Center.

“I have never felt as professionally respected in my life before; the people in my lab are incredible,” he said.��

Brailovsky said the chance to contribute to future Mars landings with his VR and psychology skills makes him want to stay with NASA. His ultimate goal is to have his own zero-gravity psychological laboratory.

Until then, Brailovsky said driving past a Saturn V rocket every morning on his way to work is a powerful motivator.

“Just the chance to participate in our generation’s version of the moon landing is incredible,” he said.

“We have taken a liberal arts mindset to building this major, emphasizing the importance of multiple perspectives and big-picture thinking,” said Adam Galambos, the Dwight and Marjorie Peterson Professor of Innovation and associate professor of economics. “Students will have an opportunity to learn the foundational skills in accounting, marketing, financial management, and entrepreneurship, and connect these to the broader roles of business in society.”

Galambos is one of seven faculty members from across multiple disciplines who have worked for the past year to forge a plan that would build on the strength of the I&E program, giving students who want a liberal arts path to a business major a place to land. The objective is to build a robust major with intellectual integrity that allows students to understand the role of business within society and develop depth within one of four focus areas—entrepreneurship, arts entrepreneurship, business analytics, and natural resources and energy management.

“Students will have an opportunity to learn the foundational skills in accounting, marketing, financial management, and entrepreneurship, and connect these to the broader roles of business in society.”
– Adam Galambos, associate professor of economics

The academic path through the major will introduce students to foundational business skills through core courses. But where it will separate itself from other programs will be the emphasis on multiple perspectives, the connections across disciplines, and the exploration of critical thinking, said Claudena Skran, the Edwin & Ruth West Professor of Economics and Social Science and professor of government who chairs the I&E program.

“The BUEN major requires students to combine learning critical thinking and problem analysis, but also how to put this knowledge into practice through internships and practicums,” she said. “The major appeals to students who want to think about problems and the world, but who also want to take positive action in that world.”

• The entrepreneurship focus area will appeal to students interested in start-ups and self-employment in business or social enterprises.����
• The arts entrepreneurship focus area will appeal to students interested in the business side of music, theater, or studio art.
• The business analytics focus area will zero in on a more quantitative skill set,��which ties into �������ý��Ƶ’s data science curriculum.
• The natural resources and energy management focus area will bring together perspectives from economics, environmental science, politics, and other related fields to understand important contemporary environmental and energy issues, and the role that business can play in tackling them.

It is about developing core business skills while diving deep into a student’s chosen path.

“This major is not just a one-size-fits-all major,” Skran said.

�������ý��Ƶ’s I&E program was launched in 2014. It created an interdisciplinary concentration for students interested in exploring business ventures—both for-profit and non-profit—that would create positive change in the world. It was not intended to be a business program, but a growing number of students in the ensuing years have indicated an interest in an expanded business program designed through that same liberal arts lens.

That led to the formation last year of a working group that included faculty from Economics, I&E, Government, the Conservatory of Music, Psychology, Religious Studies, Global Studies, and Theatre Arts. With encouragement from President Laurie Carter, they set out to craft an interdisciplinary business major that would build on the gains already made through I&E.

The working group’s proposal was passed in a faculty vote on Nov. 4.

The business major will be integrated into a �������ý��Ƶ education, including the taking of First-Year Studies and the general education requirements that afford students an overview of diversity and provide them with a global context.

From there, the architects of the major set out to build a program that would blend needed business knowledge and skills with an emphasis on working toward the greater good.

Introductory courses will include Business and Society, Introductory Economics, and Fundamentals of Accounting.

Martyn Smith, associate professor of religious studies, co-chair of Global Studies, and First-Year Studies director, has been leading the development of the new Business and Society course.

“Through this major, students will gain the knowledge and vocabulary to understand the global context of business, and they will be introduced to interdisciplinary content that will give them a long view of the role of business and finance play in our planetary future,” Smith said.

Intermediate courses will focus on perspective and skills with a wide breadth—accounting and finance, marketing, entrepreneurship, and business and the greater good.

Students will then be required to select one of the focus areas that brings a deeper level of engagement and understanding. The program will include a heavy emphasis on internships, practicums, study abroad, or international field experience.

The architects of the plan have proposed the addition of two full-time teaching positions to meet the expected interest in the program. Work is already under way to build the curriculum, with input coming from across academic disciplines.

Students interested in the business and entrepreneurship major can see details at lawrence.edu and are encouraged to reach out to Galambos, Skran or other I&E faculty.

To show the myriad ways Lawrentians are exploring their passions and preparing for career opportunities, we caught up with nine students to talk about their internship experiences this summer.

Ava Hillman

Conservation summer intern, �����fari (Brazil)

The environmental studies major traveled to Brazil for a month to intern for an NGO called �����fari.

“P���DzԴdzܲԳ���� on-safari, the name is a play on words with ����ç��, the Portuguese word for jaguar, and the word safari,” Hillman said.

Her work involved monitoring animals—setting up cameras, tracking animal movements, reviewing camera footage and reports of animal sightings—as well as tasks such as vehicle maintenance and Portuguese-English translation.

Hillman got to work in a sprawling wetland called the Pantanal, Brazil’s coastal rainforest, known as the Atlantic Forest, and ����ç��fari’s offices in the metropolis of São Paulo.

“This means I not only got to experience life and work in multiple biomes but I also had the chance to see how the organization works through its different fronts: ecotourism, science, rewilding, social, education, and forests,” she said.

Hillman said she is unsure where her path will take her after college, but she values what she has learned about the environment and conservation.

“I worked with extremely passionate people that work tirelessly to both learn and understand new things about the different ecosystems, as well as educate and share the work they do with diverse kinds of people,” she said.

Amellalli Herrera Alvarez

Social determinants of health intern, Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers (Milwaukee)

A psychology major with both anthropology and health and society minors, Alvarez is working in Milwaukee as an intern with Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers (SSCHC), part of �������ý��Ƶ’s Social & Environmental Justice Cohort program��that launched a year ago. Alvarez’s job is to screen patients at SSCHC’s clinics and ask about “social determinants of health” such as income, neighborhoods, and education to figure out possible causes or risks for health issues. Alvarez then refers patients to other resources.

“I first learned the phrase ‘social determinants of health’ in Mark Jenike’s Global Health class, and since then, it has stuck with me as I’ve taken other health courses across different departments,” Alvarez said.

Learn more about the��Social & Environmental Justice Cohort program

“I believe that society can come together to address and reshape these social and structural factors that contribute to negative health outcomes, and that’s exactly what I see happening at SSCHC.”

Along with the opportunity to help others, Alvarez said identity makes this job extra meaningful.

“The clinic primarily serves low-income Spanish-speaking Latinx individuals, which I am, and I see this internship as a chance for me to give back to a community that I belong to and come from,” Alvarez said.

Alvarez said SSCHC’s BIPOC-majority staff and emphasis on equity has made the job a positive first experience in a health setting.

Delilah Rose

Law clerk externship, Circuit Court of Cook County, Illlinois (Chicago)

The religious studies major is working at the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, for a judicial externship that Rose said “revolves around cultural awareness and identity.”

“Religious studies, my LU major, is the puzzle piece for my aspirations of becoming an ethical and morally sound attorney,” Rose said.

Rose is doing a 3 + 3 Pre-Law program, spending three years at �������ý��Ƶ and three years at Marquette University Law School. Her first year at Marquette replaces her senior year at �������ý��Ƶ, shaving a year off the standard seven to get both a bachelor’s and law degree.

Working with Judge Mary Colleen Roberts, Rose is spending most of her time at the Richard J. Daley Center in Chicago, where Rose said Roberts “dives deep into maintaining ethics, morals, and logic, a primary focus of my personal and educational endeavors.”

Rose also travels to other locations to meet with other justices and judges.

“The location of this internship provides profound access to a diverse group of people that will reflect the purpose of my education,” Rose said.

This fall, after the externship, Rose will be traveling in Carleton College’s Buddhist Studies in Bodh Gaya, India program, available to �������ý��Ƶ students through partnership; another opportunity for Rose to explore cultural awareness and identity.

Maya Lines

Amgen Scholars Program, UC–San Francisco

A neuroscience major, Lines is working a Amgen Scholars Program position at the Weill Institute for Neurosciences, part of the University of California, San Francisco.

Working eight hours a day in a lab, Lines is researching how the mutation of a certain risk gene for autism might affect the activation of cells called microglia defending the central nervous system. She’s using western clawed frogs (Xenus tropicalis) as a model organism, which means an organism used in testing to represent other species.

“I think every new lab experience teaches me a lot about myself and what I want in my future career,” Lines said. “…This program is also geared toward exposing its participants to many different fields of research, as well as preparing us to apply to graduate school, which I think is incredibly valuable.”

Despite exhausting lab work and research, Lines is enthusiastic about her work this summer.

“I am surrounded by very supportive mentors and peers, which makes this summer even more rewarding,” she said.

At the end of summer, Lines will present her research at a symposium. She plans to apply to Ph.D. programs to continue neuroscience research.

Dabin Jeong

Summer undergraduate research fellowship, Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minnesota)

The biochemistry major and anthropology minor is working as a research fellow for Mayo Clinic. In a lab, Jeong helps study a potential combination of drugs to combat ovarian and prostate cancers.

This work is in a field called pharmacogenomics, which studies how genetics influence the effects of drugs, and how to craft the most effective medicines for individuals.

“This program gives me an opportunity to expose myself to cutting-edge clinical research over this summer,” Jeong said.

He said he also helps “test synergistic effects of the drugs, and perform biochemical assays to uncover the mechanism of action.”

Jeong said he’ll apply next year to M.D.-Ph.D. programs, working toward his goal of becoming a physician scientist.

Althea Foster

UW Badger Lab internship, University of Wisconsin (Madison)

The biochemistry major and French minor is working on a clinical research project in sports medicine for Dr. Stephanie Kliethermes ’07, a �������ý��Ƶ alumna. Foster said the experience helps her explore sports medicine careers for a great fit.

“I got in contact with Dr. Kliethermes through so I’m really glad that �������ý��Ƶ has given me this chance,” Foster said.

Foster and Kliethermes’ project is about using pre-existing data from healthy athletes’ jumps to create reference values for athletes recovering from injuries. Without these reference points, Foster said, it can be difficult to gauge an athlete’s recovery.

“I have wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon since I was little but it’s really hard to test my interest in that career without becoming an orthopedic surgeon,” she said.

With this experience and her interest in sports medicine, Foster said she hopes to figure out if her dream job is truly for her.

Kyle Gierman

Equipment analysis intern, Boldt Company (Appleton)

An economics major with a statistics and data science minor, Gierman is interning as a construction equipment and business analyst for Boldt, a construction company in Appleton.

Boldt’s construction portfolio contains buildings across the country, including �������ý��Ƶ’s Steitz Hall and the Warch Campus Center.

As an equipment analysis intern, Gierman analyzes Boldt’s equipment to determine its profitability and how much it will help the company.

Gierman values the experience because “it is with a great company that is allowing me to experience multiple platforms that they use, including PowerBI, which is used a ton in other companies,” he said.

Gierman said he also values the opportunity to expand his résumé.

“This internship is allowing me to grow my network and meet people that have experienced jobs or positions that I might be interested in,” he said.

Becca Salzer

Data science internship, Pew Research Center (Washington, D.C.)

The government and computer science double major with a statistics and data science minor is working with survey data for the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan think tank for U.S. politics. Salzer said the position is a great way to explore her majors and minor.

Salzer is on Pew’s U.S. Politics and Policy Team, where she helps with surveys and other reports. She said the surveys will also provide guidance on how to better represent independents in the future.

“I believe that access to nonpartisan and accurate data is critical,” Salzer said.

Along with the data work, she also helps with other tasks like creating banners.

Salzer said she enjoys Pew’s work environment.

“People are incredibly kind and there’s a strong team mentality; everyone is working together to meet Pew’s goals,” she said.

Oliver De Croock

Business internship, M3 Insurance (Green Bay)

De Croock, an economics major and data science minor with a concentration in innovation and entrepreneurship, has been interning at M3 Insurance, an insurance broker.

De Croock is working for M3’s Property and Casualty and Employee Benefits teams, which are part of M3’s dealings with larger companies. One of his jobs is reviewing clients’ policies for state-money eligibility.

De Croock also did a project where he studied all of the account executives’ unique work methods to develop a standardized and more efficient system.

“I am working alongside two different teams on both sides, which gives me the opportunity to learn more about the entire industry and learn from experts in all fields,” De Croock said.

He said M3 is a growing company, and the internship is very competitive. M3 even has an intern club where interns do presentations on M3’s products for practice.

“So far I have already learned so much and received insights into some fields that I didn’t know were so fascinating to me,” De Croock said.

He also said the summer opportunity helps him “create relationships with people in the Midwest area, and learn from experts in health care, cyber security, construction, and finance fields, as well as sales and risk management.”