Category: Uncategorized

For years I have wanted to be a computer engineer, but what does that entail? I’ve learned it encompasses many different fields and that technology reaches all aspects of our lives. My internship is at the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the governing body of highways, airports and any other travel for the state of Massachusetts. Going into this, I had ideas of what I would be doing and what I wanted to get out of this. I wanted to gain a better understanding of how the technology industry is used within the department to communicate with others and the essential role that technology plays in the transportation industry. Technology such as computers, Autonomous vehicles, and network shared drives are a huge part of the industry. Being able to share information, receive information and update the public about what is going on in their state is essential. This will help my career path because I am truly unsure of what I want to do with my degree, so to see technology being utilized in many different fields will help me determine where I can use my skills to help improve the technology people use in different industries or help me determine if I want to create new technology. This internship is the beginning of determining what I want to do with my life.

What I hope to learn from this amazing experience is what I need to do as a female individual to be prepared to the best of my ability for my future in law enforcement. In a male dominated field I want to represent females in the most encouraging way possible. I would like to not only meet people from within the USMS (US Marshals Service), but I hope to network with several different agencies and to create for myself a sturdy platform to build off upon graduation. Having contact with people who work for the federal government is a great way to learn little details that the general public may not know, such as agencies I should apply to, things I should avoid, and most importantly how I should prepare myself efficiently and effectively. I anticipate that this experience will also show me what to expect when I enter the work force. Things may not always be what you expect, and I need to learn to take the good with the bad; I expect to encounter both ends of the spectrum while interning for the USMS. I hope to gain information that will help expand on my preexisting knowledge in the criminal justice area that will help me moving forward, not only in my future career, but during my time still here at The University of Scranton.

Below are some pictures!

Allison Santoro
Psychology

My passion is motorsports and it is my aspiration to work in the motorsports industry after college. As a college student, I strive to do all that I can to gain an understanding of the sport and the different facets that exist in it. My internship at SMI will help me to learn about another facet in the sport and will connect me with professionals in the sport that I hope to work in one day.

NASCAR Monster Energy Series Victory Lane at Charlotte Motor Speedway

Coca-Cola 600 Victory Lane at Charlotte Motor Speedway

Mark Miller
Marketing/Business Administration

As my internship has ended, I have taken a look back on the ten weeks I have spent in New York City with the Securities and Exchange Commission. I had experienced such great things that I would not have been able to see and feel anywhere else in the world. I was able to eat some of the best food in the world. This included an ice cream sandwich with two black and white cookies, vanilla ice cream, and everything bagel toppings around the ice cream. It sounds odd but is one of the best desserts I have ever had. Pizza does not compare to anywhere else in the world and I don’t know how many different types of cultural food I had eaten, but it is like I traveled the world in that aspect. I was present for multiple bomb scares. In times of great terrorist turmoil, I fully expected to be threatened by possible bombs and shootings. I fully knew the risks but knew that they could not change the way I live my life or they would win. One was on the subway platform I use to get to work in Grand Central Station. Another affected the commute of many colleagues that caused an eight hour standoff with NYPD in Columbus Circle. Lastly, another one was in the newly built and magnificent World Trade Center Transportation Hub. Seeing first hand what big city workers and dwellers have to live with quite frequently was eye opening. These may have only been threats, but a threat can turn into reality in a second. Lastly, I was able to participate in events in the city as well. I played in two different table tennis tournaments. One was with the SEC, which I ended up winning. The other was at Bryant Park and was truly humbled by a 21-17 win in the first round but a 21-2 loss in the second round.

Those are some of my experience in New York City with my internship but the most rewarding experience was probably finishing up an assignment and submitting it to my supervisor. It always felt amazing knowing that I was helping in some way in the examination of a broker dealer. I was taking work off the hands of the other examiners and we were collaborating and making sure all numbers and detail match up and there were no hints of suspicious activity. Every assignment I was able to work on, I learned something new that I have yet to experience in my college career. This was knowledge that helped me perform better on later assignments and in just a few weeks I was able to take home knowledge I had never even known existed in the financial world.

One of the biggest challenges of the internship was the traveling. My personal discipline was tested each and every day. I am a person that takes fitness seriously. I believe great fitness and discipline lead to a happy and healthy life. Commuting three hours each way to and from the city made it incredibly difficult to continue my fitness goals to the level I wanted. A typical day without working out would have me waking up at 5:45AM to catch a 6:30AM train. This would get me to work at exactly 8:40 with no delays. However, I needed to stay disciplined even in these times of early mornings and late nights, I had to stay disciplined and continue to reach for my fitness goals. That meant waking up at 4:30AM four out of five mornings during the work week to get at least an hour of training in before my work day started. This led to me being incredibly tired at some points but was something that needed to be done. This kept my motivation strong because, to me, it was a major accomplishment waking up so early day in and day out. This may have been the biggest challenge of the internship.

Overall, I was incredibly happy with how my internship experience played out throughout the ten weeks. I learned more than I ever could have imagined, met a few Scranton alumni that worked at the SEC, came home with many contacts, and ate GREAT food many times. I could not have had a more rewarding summer after only my first year of college.

Dan Muenkel
Accounting/Finance

The most rewarding part of my internship had to be the group work my team and I completed throughout the program. I was fortunate to be paired off with a great group of interns to come up with a performance management workshop. This task was rewarding to me, because we started with no background on what performance management was. However by the end of the ten weeks, not only did we feel like experts, but we were also teaching other city employees about performance management. The workshop that we created got great feedback from all the participants and the city is going to use this workshop in the future. We started a brand new project and to see the final result get such great feedback was very rewarding.

Another experience that I fond very rewarding was when the mayor spoke to us at the final ceremony. He seemed to be very appreciative of the work we were doing and handed us all certificates for our achievements. There were several news stations filming this event, and I was able to watch myself on 6ABC later that night. It was a great experience to see that all of our hard work was did not go unnoticed.

While the commute wasn’t great, the most challenging part of my internship was interacting with high level city employees. For the performance management workshop, my team was constantly presenting information to other city employees. At first it was difficult for me as an intern, to feel confident enough to present, and even teach a lot of this information to employees much higher up in the city. However with enough time and practice, presenting to these employees came a lot smoother. The final stage in this project was to present what we have done to the mayor’s “A – Team” who are employees who work very closely with him. We all had to memorize what we were going to say and present to over forty people. Speaking in front of all these people was challenge, but since we spent so much time practicing what we were going to say, and presenting to smaller groups, we were still very successful.

Chris Louin

The most challenging part of my internship is navigating the transitional period that the Bureau of Disease Control is currently experiencing. At the beginning of my internship the Director resigned to take on a new job, the research technician went out on maternity leave, and STD typist also left for a new job. The changes in staff resulted in the department being understaffed and everyone taking on new responsibilities. This transition period has been difficult for me because there has not been one point person in charge of my internship. However, due to the transition, I have been given more responsibilities on research projects because of the lack of regular staff. I have more ownership and input on the projects which has helped grow my research skills.

The most rewarding part of my internship is helping out with the Refugee Assistance clinics. These clinics are held off site, in the part of the county where the most refugees live. The clinic is set up in the basement of an un-air-conditioned church and served roughly 120 refugees a week. This summer, Onondaga County has received an influx of new refugees entering the county. All of these refugees must be screened for Tuberculosis, which is what we do at the clinic. The clinic is often very busy and full of people from many different countries. On any given day, I can hear 5 or more different languages being spoken among the refugees. The staff sometimes finds it difficult to communicate with the refugees because of their limited English, however that does not diminish the level of care which is provided. The staff is compassionate and caring towards all of the patients and the staff serve as my role models for how I want to administer care as a future health care professional.

My time at Good Grief has been one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. Everyone I work with is so kind and devoted to the organization; it is incredible to see what goes on behind the scenes to keep this program thriving. As an intern, whether I am researching contacts to help expand to other communities, or making crafts for Family Fun Day, I can see that my work impacts so many families. Aside from assisting behind the scenes, I also worked with families on Good Grief’s nights of support. It was amazing to talk with the families and hear their stories. If I could sum it up, the most rewarding part for me is that the work I put in every day could potentially help change someone’s life. The most challenging part of my internship was being a facilitator on nights of support. On most nights the kids wanted to play and have fun, rather than just talking about their grief. But at other times the kids had some emotional conversations about the death of their loved one. It was challenging to hear the children talk about the death of a parent or sibling without becoming emotional myself. It was incredible to hear what they had to share with the group, and to see how other children in the group responded. Despite this challenge, I enjoyed every moment I could spend with the families, and I gained clinical experience and knowledge along the way!

Marissa DeStefano
Psychology

Upon reflecting on my time during my summer internship as a molecular biology research assistant at the University of Scranton, I am filled with a sense of gratitude and confidence. I am so grateful for the opportunity to grow not only as researcher but also as a professional.  I had to overcome many challenges in the lab protocols that I had to perform. Reactions and lab procedures were unsuccessful and often resulted in poor data. When this happened I went back to the original protocol and did some trouble shooting.  With patience, knowledge and some luck, I was able to modify a protocol used by other researchers in order to identify plasmodium parasites in avian blood. Solving the issues I was having with the protocol was like overcoming a large obstacle. It is great to have hurtled over that obstacle and carry out the project to completion. I also felt more confidence in my lab techniques and abilities in experimental design. This summer internship has inspired me to further continue this project and hopefully develop a research project of my own.

There were so many amazing aspects of my internship that it is truly difficult to pick just one of them as the most rewarding. After some thought, though, I would say that my favorite part was being able to interact with so many clients and learning their stories and struggles. When I had first decided to become a lawyer, a lot of my family and friends were concerned, worrying that I would eventually grow tired of such a “boring” and stressful job. While these comments did not deter me, this summer has given me the confidence to shut down these misconceptions about this line of work. I won’t lie and say that this summer wasn’t stressful or challenging because it definitely was! For the first time in my life, I was in an office situation working with a very busy and focused lawyer who didn’t always have the time to let me know what she needed from me. For me, this was very challenging because I didn’t have the experience to know how to assist her without guidance and so there was a bit of an awkward adjustment period while I tried to become more accustomed to the law office’s needs and the constructive criticism I received from my colleagues. While it was incredibly challenging, the takeaway was definitely worth it. I read several hundreds of case files during my internship and every single one was unique: each document and photo inside was its own special piece that only fit into that person’s puzzle. I really feel lucky to have had this experience; I learned that the best feeling in the world is to see relief wash over a client’s face as they learn that they are no longer going to be deported or that they have been approved for asylum or a green card. I can’t wait to devote the rest of my life to helping immigrants and this internship has only helped me to fully realize that this is what I am meant to do with my life.

Kylie Mignat
International Studies