Through The Space, Wofford offers four internships in India each summer working with The Manipal Group. The internships are unpaid, but all expenses, including travel, accommodations, meals and incidentals, are covered. “Interning in India has been invaluable to me,” says Berardo. “Through experiences, both in and out of the office, I feel that I have gained knowledge and skills that will prepare me for success in the future.”
Bekah Bowie ’16
(biology and psychology with a neuroscience concentration, LaGrange, Ga.)
“At the beginning of the summer, I was nervous about having my own project, but my mentor and post-doc have been helpful in guiding me,” says Bowie, who worked with the Student Training and Research (STAR) program. “One of the greatest lessons I have learned this summer is that it is OK to ask questions, to admit that you don’t have all the answers and to make mistakes because that is the best way to learn. Through my program, I was able to form deep friendships that I know will extend far beyond this summer despite our varying home states and countries.”
Drake Cassidy ’18
(undecided, Hartsville, S.C.)
“I interned with Dr. Larry Chewning ’71 at McLeod Regional Health in Florence, S.C. We did maxillofacial surgeries, including anything from third molar removals to mandible reconstructions. Interning was important because I got to build a supreme relationship with my mentor while experiencing a profession that I am passionate about,” says Cassidy.
Matt Howell ’16
(biology, chemistry and math major, Boiling Springs, S.C.)
Howell worked this summer with the European Bioinformatics Institute in Cambridge, which is part of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory. “Their work involves all things related to bioinformatics: comparative genomics, genome sequencing, proteomics, metabolomics and more! If all goes well, my work will be incorporated in a paper that will hopefully be published in Nature, a scientific journal,” says Howell.
Nancy Ford ’16
(intercultural studies and finance major, government minor, Sylva, N.C.)
Ford, right, spent the summer as the leader of a large development project with Red de Misericordia, a Christian nonprofit orphanage in the Dominican Republic. “I believe in using gifts, talents, strengths, personality, passions and experiences to become the best you, you can be,” says Ford. “Internships, shadowing experiences, interviews, etc., can be incredibly important in developing highly functional and influential workers.”
Cole McCarty ’17
(business economics major, finance and sociology minors, Lexington, Ky.)
“Liderazgo. Etakchilik. Vůdcovství. Leadership. In almost every culture there is a word to describe the notion of a person who is able to influence and unite many different people toward a single goal. During the Leadership exChanges Global Leadership Program I have met incredible students from all over the world. We all share one thing in common: We are all leaders, and we crave to make the world a better place,” says McCarty.
Kirkland Dickson ’17
(biology major, environmental studies minor, Olanta, S.C.)
An intern at the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge of Westbrook, Conn., Dickson worked with children, performed biological surveys and educated the public about the work of the refuge. “My ideas about what I want to do in the future have been expanded, and I now see another level of work that I could easily delve into if this internship is any indication.”
Elliot Davis Accounting Interns
Envision, Elliott Davis Decosimo’s internship experience, allows students the opportunity to discover potential career paths within accounting. Wofford interns worked at the company’s offices in Greenville, Columbia, Augusta and Charleston.
(Paul Nelson ’16, Joe Nelson ’16, Chad Sanders ’16, Will Ross ’16, Lauren Williamson ’15, Rachel Jones ’15, Craig Calhoun ’11, Kealey O’Conner ’15, Caroline Welling ’15, Courtney Grafmeyer ’15, Chesley Cannon ’16, Kelley Jones ’13)
Paul Walkup ’16
(biology and environmental studies major, Williston, S.C.)
Walkup is planning to attend graduate school in environmental policy. He interned with the University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Lab near Aiken, S.C. “My primary focus is on a project dealing with coyote scat (poop, yes really, poop). It is in relation to invasive and overpopulated wild hogs prevalent on the site,” says Walkup. He also worked with wolf poop from Chernobyl, collected amphibians from protected Carolina bays and analyzed mercury levels in contaminated salamanders.
Zack Morrow ’16
(mathematics and economics with a concentration in applied math, Lancaster, S.C.)
“This summer I have worked with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center implementing and refining a process to estimate underwater topography from Landsat 8 images,” says Morrow. “One of the eventual aims of this project is to link the code to a helicopter drone outfitted with GoPro-like cameras in order to obtain higher-resolution images than Landsat in areas of strategic importance. This project has applications in both the military and civil-works spheres.”
Carol Morel ’17
(environmental studies and chemistry major, Fort Mill, S.C.)
Morel completed an internship at the Smithsonian’s Office of Safety, Health and Environmental Management. “Internships offer a chance to talk with experts in your field of choice and a chance to either develop your professional skills or to realize your skills lie in a different field entirely,” says Morel. “Working for the Smithsonian this summer has persuaded me further to pursue a career in environmental science and policy.”
Katherine Howell ’17
(English and government major, Greenville, S.C.)
Howell interned in the Greenville, S.C., office of U.S. Sen. Tim Scott. “As a government student who intends to pursue a career in the public sector, I have found this opportunity to be immensely rewarding for both its authenticity and its diversity of daily experiences,” says Howell. “When I answer a constituent call, I am able to directly engage in the democratic process; legislation is suggested based on the needs of local communities, pre-existing policies are advocated or opposed and personal concerns are shared, requiring immediate attention and an empathetic manner. I have become much more poised on the phone, especially when placed under pressure. In addition, I have learned that participation in the political sphere is valued and vital to the maintenance of our nation’s constitutional system. Although I initially sought to attain professional discernment, I also have been reminded of the necessity of tolerance and patience—two principles that belong in all aspects of life. I look forward to applying the knowledge that this experience has bestowed me with when I return to Wofford and continue to prepare for the road beyond undergraduate education.”
Jonathan Franklin ’16
(English and humanities major, Columbia, S.C.)
Franklin, along with Katherine Buchanan ’16 (right) and Lindsay Uhlinger ’16, was selected to work as an intern at the Aspen Institute in Colorado. “I’ve met so many people out here in Aspen, including actress Angela Bassett, journalist Katie Couric, the former CEO of Twitter Evan Williams and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham. Internships provide a way for students to gain exposure, see what life is like in a real-world setting and apply what we’ve learned in the classroom.”
Caity White ’17
(chemistry major, Greenwood, S.C.)
White completed an internship at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta. “I worked in the Tobacco and Volatiles branch doing research on aldehydes in human serum,” says White. “Unfortunately, that is all the specific information I can give you because the CDC is a government facility that is doing research that cannot be disclosed at this time.”
Emily Batista ’17 and Leanna Herbert ’16
(Batista: accounting major, Greensboro, N.C.; Herbert: Spanish and English major, Columbia, S.C.)
In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this summer, Batista and Herbert interned with Terra Comum, or “shared earth” in Portuguese. According to Batista, the organization was founded on the belief that all members of a community, including indigenous populations, are entitled to enjoy the benefits and responsibilities of living in that area, especially in regard to environmental conservation. “Some of the highlights of my experience have been fully immersing myself in Brazilian culture and learning Portuguese while making connections with business professionals in the nonprofit sector. Brazil is a beautiful country with a flourishing economy, and I am grateful to have witnessed how environmental conservation serves as a top priority for a city as large as Rio.”
Herbert says that they spent their first few days learning about Kamayurá culture from Takuman, son of the village’s chief, who visited Terra Comum. “It was interesting to hear about the balance that should exist and how some of the laws meant to safeguard indigenous cultures and their land rights are ignored in reality.”
by Sarah Madden ’17