What Did YOUR HC UChicago Writers Do This Summer?

Michelle

This summer, Michelle interned at LuminAID, a start-up company that produced inflatable solar lights, working as their project coordinator for their Give Light, Get Light humanitarian program. She helped produce creative and print material, as well as coordinated the distribution of lights to those without electricity in Laos, Afghanistan, Rwanda, and more. Afterward, she worked with orphans and taught English to secondary students in New Delhi, India for a month. It was an incredibly rich, rewarding experience that she won’t soon forget! 

Jing

Jing spent most of her summer as a canvasser for the environmental nonprofit Clean Water Action at its Ann Arbor, Michigan office. She was also a college application tutor and office assistant for her neighbor. She took several trips with her parents, including a 5-day journey to Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons. Besides work and family trips, Jing also reconnected with her high school friends. 

Jessica

After some much needed R&R back in her hometown of Los Angeles, Jessica took the long, long flight to India where she volunteered for the Tushita Foundation, an afterschool located in the village of Amber in Rajasthan. At the school, Jessica taught English to the most adorable children as well as a staff of 20-something year old women who wished to improve their speaking skills. After an extremely gratifying and sweaty two months in India, Jessica returned to the States where she relaxed a bit more and started freaking about her impending thesis project. 

Kristin

This summer Kristin was given the opportunity from the Jeff Metcalf program to intern at a newspaper called the Beaver County Times that circulates outside Pittsburgh. The experience was irreplaceable; she learned so much in just ten weeks. Kristin was a part of a newsroom and had the opportunity to do real reporting and write her own stories; she was actually in print! Kristin’s living situation was one of the most interesting parts of the experience. To save money, she rented a room from a house that was closer to where she worked as opposed to living in the city. She formed relationships with people she probably would never have met and it gave her different opportunities. After the internship was over, Kristin went back to her parent’s house in Ohio where she got ready to go abroad!

Lexi

This summer proved to be a great time for Lexi to regain her love of adventure and risk-taking. Lexi has always loved challenging herself in various ways, but she thinks the pressures of UChicago made her lose sight of her self-confidence. She interned with Bacon Sports, a Chicago-based sports comedy website, and continued working in the Pediatric Neurology office of the UChicago hospital. Additionally, she started a personal blog (www.nakeddiction.wordpress.com) that she has absolutely enjoyed writing for this summer as it gives her an outlet to share her crazy stream of consciousness with a diverse audience. Finally, she travelled out of the country for the first time EVER to the Turks and Caicos Islands for nine days. To say it was a dream come true would be an understatement. She went scuba diving and snorkeling for the first time, tried delicious, locally-caught seafood like Conch and even held her own in a limbo contest at a local restaurant. Talk about wanderlust; she is literally counting down the days until she can travel again.

Annie

Just when she thought she wouldn’t have anywhere to go during the summer, Annie then found herself on a plane headed to DC where she interned with Voice of America once again. This time as a Creative Services intern, Annie spent her days running around as a production assistant intent on helping her supervisor meet the five million promo deadlines that constantly crept up, during which she really got to see all the behind-the-scenes action at a global broadcasting center. When she wasn’t running around VOA, Annie was running around DC. When she wasn’t running around DC, Annie was running around Baltimore, New York, Nashville, LA, Vegas, Williamsburg and…Wilmington? Needless to say, Annie had a more than fulfilling summer and would love nothing more than to go back again…or be employed.