by Amanda Dennis | Jun 11, 2019 | Career Exploration, General, Internships, Liberal Arts, Student Perspective |
My Shift Capital Summer: Shattering Expectations By Jessica Lopez Hello from Kensington, Pennsylvania! My name is Jessica Lopez ‘21, and I am an Anthropology major, Health Studies Minor, Economics Minor, and Latin American Iberian studies Concentrator. I am spending my summer as a Whitehead intern for Shift Capital. When I initially saw this internship was available, I knew little about Kensington. But after a quick google search, I was stunned that countless headlines covering Philly’s burgeoning opioid crisis put Kensington at the center of it all. Labeled as the ‘Walmart of Heroin,’ by the New York Times, Kensington’s historically marginalized community is facing this new challenge head on. As one can guess, there are many people trying to help bring Kensington out of this chapter. Shift Capital, a real estate investment group, is aiming to be a part of this effort. But, how can a real estate investment group be a part of the solution? As someone who studies the power structures that trap marginalized folx, this question was at the forefront of my mind, when considering an internship at Shift Capital. As I’ve learned, Shift’s real estate investment model is centered around maximizing what it calls its “social impact,” or how much one’s actions can positively affect the community. Accordingly, Shift’s mission is centered around curtailing the negative effects of gentrification: displacement, job loss, and inter-generational poverty. For example, Shift buys abandoned property and turns it into housing that is 60% AMI (area median income) or less, where the grossing median income for a four person household is $90,000. That means Shift is offering rents that community members...
by Amanda Dennis | Jun 7, 2019 | Career Exploration, General, Internships, Liberal Arts, Student Perspective |
By Maya Ahmed When I searched for a summer internship, I was hoping to find a role that would integrate my interests in economics and environmental studies. Despite this, I never considered that I could work at a firm centered on architectural services until I saw the Handshake listing for MKThink. My artistic skills are too terrible for words, and I’ve never taken a course in architecture or visual studies. However, after doing more research on MKThink, I realized that the internship involved so many topics I was intrigued by: data analysis, public policy, and most of all, environmental sustainability. Fast forward: I’ve been at MKThink for two days so far, and my hopes have been fulfilled. During orientation, my supervisors Josh, Rachelle, and Mayssen explained that MKThink’s mission goes beyond simply “building buildings.” MKThink’s work actually spans three practice areas: strategy, architecture, and innovation. Strategy and innovation projects develop processes to help an organization streamline operations and prepare for the future. The three practice areas frequently overlap. One of MKThink’s specializations is helping clients renovate existing spaces to improve their functionality, aesthetics, and environmental performance. The company takes pride in reimagining better uses for features that already exist, providing clients with significant savings and avoiding the negative environmental impact of extensive construction. From my short time so far at MKThink, I’m really impressed by two aspects of the company. One is MKThink’s emphasis on making their design projects responsive to an organization’s culture and values. From the beginning to end stages of a project, MKThink seeks input from community members who use the space. The result are changes...
by Amanda Dennis | Jun 5, 2019 | Career Exploration, General, Internships, Liberal Arts, Student Perspective |
By Isabel Clements This summer, I’ll be working with Physicians for Human Rights, a non-profit organization located at home in NYC. Although based in the U.S., the NGO documents human rights violations across the world and empowers local communities in addressing these atrocities. In my role as Arabic-Speaking Investigations Intern, I will be researching the mercurial conflicts in Syria and Yemen. In particular, my research will address attacks on healthcare and medical aid in the two countries. Should a video of a recent bombing of a Syrian medical point be posted on YouTube, it will be my job to “decode” the footage and figure out what is being seen and heard (albeit with a lot of support from my colleagues). I have been told that the organization has not hired a non-native speaker for this position in the past, so I am anxious to perform my job thoroughly and immaculately, given that I am still learning Arabic. A mistake in translation could be harmful or misleading, so there will be a lot of pressure on my Arabic skills. Hopefully, this will lead to language acquisition and increasing fluency on my part! Moreover, I am much more versed in Syrian dialect than I am in Yemeni Arabic, so the notion of reviewing documents and media from Yemen is somewhat formidable to me. All in all, it will be an intellectual challenge, but I’m prepared to learn! Several of my colleagues in the research department will be native Arabic speakers, so I am relieved to be having their support. I am excited to be working with a diverse group of people...
by Amanda Dennis | May 24, 2019 | Career Exploration, General, Internships, Liberal Arts, Student Perspective |
Today we kick off our 2019 CCPA Summer Series! In this blog series, we will be featuring students across a variety of disciplines to highlight their summer internships. Take a look at Matthew Sabitsky’s plan to intern at Yale New Haven Hospital through the Jaharis Primary Care Internship Program! CCPA Summer Series 2019: Yale New Haven Hospital By Matthew Sabitsky When planning what to do with my last two summers in college, I came to the decision that I wanted to spend one of them gaining experience in a medical setting, and the other one doing research. As for this summer, I thought it would be a good time for me to find my way into a medical setting and spend some time with patients and doctors. Motivation for this came from my plan to apply to medical school after Haverford, so I wanted to get some hours on my resume, and learn some lessons upon the way. However, for me, the most important thing about my experiences this summer is learning about how to be a good healthcare provider that patients are comfortable with and trust, and I also wanted to make an impact on patients’ lives and experiences. I will be participating in the Jaharis Primary Care Pre-Medical internship, spending my time at Yale New Haven Hospital’s Saint Raphael Campus. I chose this hospital as the site of my internship because it has played an important role in my life to this point, as I have been there as a patient upwards of half a dozen times, including during one severe and very serious illness. During that...
by Amanda Dennis | May 13, 2019 | General, Job Search, Liberal Arts |
Gabe Halperin-Goldstein ’19, Lilian Domenick ’19, Feven Gezahegn ’19, Ceci Silberstein ’19, Hanae Togami ’19, and Amanda Grolig ’19 will spend next year working at Philadelphia nonprofits and strengthening connections between the College and the city. The Center for Peace and Global Citizenship (CPGC) has named its 2019–2020 Haverford House Fellows. These six seniors, who were chosen for this fellowship for their commitment to social justice and community action, will spend the upcoming academic year after their College graduation working four days per week with nonprofit organizations in the Philadelphia region and sharing a house together in the West Philadelphia neighborhood of Cedar Park. The fellows, who serve as liaisons between the CPGC and local social action agencies, as well as collaborators with Haverford community members, dedicate their fifth workday to projects that engage the College with local groups devoted to creating a more socially just, healthy, and vibrant community. The 2019–2020 Haverford House Fellows and their host organizations are: Spanish major Lillian Domenick, who will work at Puentes de Salud‘s Hacia el Futuro Education Program Biology major Feven Gezahegn, who will work for African Family Health Organization (AFHO) Sociology major Amanda Grolig, who will work for Philadelphia Legal Assistance, Save Your Home Philly Sociology major Gabe Halperin-Goldstein, who will work for Drexel University’s Center for Hunger-Free Communities Environmental Studies and Mathematics double major Ceci Silberstein ’19, who will work for the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society Biology major Hanae Togami, who will work for HIAS PA Follow the current class of fellows, who are posting monthly about their work, house activities, and independent projects that connect the Haverford College community with Philadelphia. Read more about Fords who have won fellowships, scholarships, or grants. Originally published by Rebecca Raber, Director...
by Amanda Dennis | Apr 12, 2019 | Alumni Perspective, Career Exploration, Events, General, Liberal Arts |
This weekend, the Haverford College Multicultural Alumni Action Group (MAAG) is offering a “Life Skills Workshop Series.” The series consists of two concurrent, hour-long interactive workshops, each of which will be offered twice! Students can attend one or both, in any order they like. All are welcome! When: Saturday, April 13 from 1:00-3:30 pm Where: Faculty Dining Room & Smith Room, DC Schedule: 1:00-2:00 pm – Financial Empowerment Workshop & Identity Capital Workshop 2:00-2:30 pm – Refreshment Break/Opportunity to Connect 2:30-3:30 pm – Identity Capital Workshop & Financial Empowerment Workshop The workshops: FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT: An interactive workshop tailored to help empower participants to make better financial decisions. During the session, we will share the financial wisdom of our facilitators and best practices as we consider the importance of creating a budget, obtaining credit, and planning for retirement. Location: Faculty Dining Room, DC Facilitators: Lamel Jackson ’04 & Ashley Brewer ’06 IDENTITY CAPITAL: An interactive workshop where we hope to explore several practical approaches to maintaining personal authenticity while strategically negotiating the world of work. During this session, we will use our lived experiences and shared best practices to help you consider the power of your own self-presentation, identify tools for decoding professional spaces, and hone skills for sustaining meaningful relationships. Location: Smith Room, DC Facilitators: Rashidah Andrews ’02 & Maurice Rippel ’19 Register: To register for this event, please follow this link to Handshake and RSVP. We hope to see you...
