This summer, students plan to embark on myriad adventures across the globe, from London to Nevada, Florida to Israel. The Campus talks to students about their upcoming plans.
Josh Johnson ‘13
Nevada Research Expedition
“Geology rocks,” Josh Johnson ’13 quipped when asked about his plans for the coming months. This summer, the prospective geology major will be joining Professor Jeff Munroe on a two-week research expedition to northeastern Nevada. The trip, led by Munroe and Dr. Ben Laabs, geology professor at SUNY Geneseo, will have students from both schools backpacking through the Ruby and East Humboldt Mountains.
“They’re trying to develop climate change records from the region, looking at sediment cores of high-elevation lakes,” Johnson said.
This is the second year into the professors’ three-year project. With the help of National Science Foundation funding and a team of pack mules, the researchers will be drilling cores and taking sledgehammers to glacier boulders in an effort to collect samples for dating.
As one of just two Middlebury first-years taking part in the project this year, the Washington D.C. native is “super excited” about this opportunity.
“It’s going to be the most exciting part of my summer,” Johnson said.
Maddie Niemi ‘11
London Hedge Fund
Full immersion, it seems, is not a technique reserved solely for language majors. Maddie Niemi ’11 will shortly be crossing the Atlantic and diving headfirst into the business world.
Over the course of eight weeks, Niemi will be working on two major projects for a London-based hedge fund. The first entails researching the legal and economic implications of opening a branch of the company in Turkey. The second involves looking into Middle East- and Southeast Asia-based companies that may be good investment options.
“I’m at a place now where I’m considering a law degree, a business degree or a Ph.D. in economics,” she said. “This might give me insight into all of them.”
Though nervous about being on her own and possibly the company’s only intern, she looks forward to exploring a new city and learning about business practices around the world. After spending last summer doing legal research for her advisor at Middlebury, she is especially interested in the tax and business laws of the regions.
Having joined a firm that rarely takes interns in an already-sparse market, Niemi feels quite lucky. “I’m really happy to have this job,” she said.
Santiago Zindel ‘13
Palm Beach Zoo
After a year in Middlebury, where a glimpse of a deer is a respectable dose of wildlife, Santiago Zindel ’13 has his sights set on some slightly more exotic companions. Zindel, originally from Mexico City but currently residing in Palm Beach, Florida, will be working as an intern at the Palm Beach Zoo this summer.
Zindel is one of many college students participating in the internship program offered by the zoo. The program is divided into four areas of concentration: avian care, primate care, carnivore care and behavioral training. While interns in the first three groups will have feeding and cleaning duties for specific types of animals, Zindel will be shadowing trainers of a wide variety of species.
“I’m planning on a bio major, so I was looking for an internship to do with animals,” he said.
Zindel took a “backstage tour” of the zoo over Feb break where he was able to get a closer look at the training and care of the animals. He was especially impressed by the zoo’s humane approach to the animals’ monthly check-ups.
“Most zoos just tranquilize them, but with Palm Beach’s policy, they train the animals for the least intervention possible,” he said. For example, tigers are trained to keep their mouths open and put their paws up against a fence for examination.
After sending in his application earlier this spring, Zindel was interviewed by phone and selected for the internship. Though he has not settled on a career path just yet, he looks forward to beginning his foray into the study of animal behavior.
Jared Smith ‘13
Birthright Israel
For Jared Smith ’13, a safe and all-expenses-paid trip to a land relevant to both his own roots and current world issues sounded like an excellent summer plan.
Smith is one of seven members of Middlebury Hillel who will be traveling with Birthright Israel this summer. The students will embark on a 10-day journey with an itinerary that includes rafting down the Jordan River, a seminar on Arab-Israeli relations, exploring Jerusalem, camel riding and much more.
Birthright is funded by donations from philanthropists and Jewish communities worldwide in an effort to give young adults a chance to learn more about their heritage and strengthen the international community. Eligible participants are Jewish, between the ages of 18 and 26 and have not studied or lived in Israel after the age of 12.
For Smith, the application process alone, though not all too difficult, was eye-opening. “I think the hardest part was the statement of intent,” he said. “It wasn’t really until I got to that part of the application that I really had to think of why I wanted to do it.”
Though the prospect of free travel was alluring in itself, he was mostly drawn to the trip’s personal value.
“The biggest part for me is getting to experience a culture that would otherwise be difficult to experience, especially for safety reasons,” he said.
Dan Murphy ‘11
Sheperd Poverty Alliance Internship in Atlanta
Dan Murphy ’11 began crafting his summer plans when a campus-wide email from the Alliance from Civic Engagement (ACE) office caught his attention earlier this year. The message mentioned internships offered by the Shepherd Poverty Alliance, based at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia.
“The alliance is a group of colleges that gets together to promote poverty curricula in colleges, studying poverty in America and promoting anti-poverty work,” he said. “It sounded like something that I was really interested in — community mental health and psychosocial well-being in low-income families.”
After a rigorous application process requiring a resumé, transcript, multiple recommendations and an interview, Murphy was chosen to fill one of two available positions. He will be working for Families First, a social services organization in Atlanta, Georgia. His work will consist of “promoting community integration” for primarily low-income families in the area. By making house visits and working on collaborative projects such as a community garden, he hopes to make a difference in these families’ lives.
“We’ll be determining what they need and how we can help,” he said.
Murphy is also eager to live independently for a change, as he and three other interns will be living in an apartment at Georgia Tech.
“Hopefully I’ll make some new friends and connections,” he said, “and I’ll be in charge of my own food.”
Students’ summer plans heat up
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