SUMMER 2011 INTERNS:
Learn more about CASI summer internships by watching two videos (Chintan and SPS) on 2011 CASI Interns Abby Waldorf, Laura Brown, Keena Kang and Julie McWilliams as they share their experiences from the field.
SUMMER 2010 INTERNS:
Samuel B. Ribnick, Class of 2011
Living in Delhi for the summer was a completely unique abroad experience. In my job, I got to take charge of my own work and actually feel that what I was doing really helped to improve the mission of Chintan. Outside of work, we got a chance to be part of Indian life. Staying in our apartment in a real Delhi neighborhood, we got the chance to make friends and feel a part of a real community.
Michelle Lee, Class of 2012
I was assigned to audit Chintan’s Door to Door program, a micro-waste initiative that provides residential neighborhoods with responsible doorstep garbage collection while simultaneously providing our waste-pickers with a way of earning a livelihood. My summer experience in India was definitely an exciting and especially educational one.
Margaret Krasne, Class of 2012
This internship is for people that want to immerse themselves in a foreign culture and who are able to have an open mind. Thankfully, I was able to do those things, and I had an enlightening eight-week stay in India. I had such a good time that I cannot wait to go back to India! There is no better way to understand other people and another culture than to live with those people in it.
Siler Bryan, Class of 2011
I would certainly recommend (and have recommended) a CASI internship to any Penn student interested in International Development or any of the specific issues of rural employment, gender equality, waste management or healthcare, who is willing to be placed out of their comfort zones and in conditions very different that they are used to.
Pavithra Jaisankar, Class of 2011
Through CASI, I was able to spend a transformative summer in the beautiful city of Mysore. I worked for Manasa, a recent initiative of the larger health care non-profit Karuna Trust. Manasa is a home for the mentally ill homeless women of Mysore. My time there provided a challenging yet rewarding introduction to issues of homelessness and mental health faced by women in India.
Koren Jones, Masters Candidate, School of Nursing
My project was to help improve standards of hygiene practice within Karuna Trust facilities. I spent weeks traveling to and observing various Primary Health Centers (PHCs) and put together a tutorial to teach safe hygiene practices among health workers. I had a blast.
SUMMER 2009 INTERNS:
Cassidy Regan, Class of 2010
My experience in Delhi was an extraordinary one. I learned more in the three months spent at Chintan than I have at any other internship. Not only was I able to complete my first independent project (I cannot count how many envelopes I’ve stuffed in summers gone by), I was also able to immerse myself in a fascinating society that is tremendously different from my own…I think the preparation and support I received before I went to Chintan were fantastic. I arrived in India with confidence – I brought what was necessary, I felt safe, and I knew I had support if I needed it.
Erika Lindsey, Candidate for Master of City Planning, GSD Class of 2010
I was able to analyze the workforce development issues from an international perspective and this was especially pertinent to my degree at Penn in City Planning. Further, the Geographic Information Systems mapping that I did for Chintan was also directly related to my program. I was able to create necessary maps using original data from Chintan, and teach the staff members how to create maps after I left.
Cengiz Rahmioglu, Class of 2010
The fellows at GDL were amazing. We set goals for our project on the second day and had weekly meetings to talk about our progress and to provide each other feedback…I would definitely recommend this program to other Penn students. My internship at GDL was probably one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had in my life. I not only grew personally but also managed to use my existing knowledge to solve development problems.
Sasha Riser-Kositsky, Class of 2011
I’m extremely thankful I had the chance to work in Bagar and not in one of India’s big cities. While the cities might be a decent representation of what India could become, towns and villages like Bagar are where the vast majority of Indians come from.
Yuki Hashimoto, Class of 2010
The internship was challenging, as I was given the task of finding an adequate solution to the disposal of waste-water created from making potable water, and implementing the solution as a pilot project within six weeks. Receiving so much responsibility as an intern was exciting.
SUMMER 2008 INTERNS:
Kumari Pooja, Class of 2010
My overall experience of GDL was very rewarding. I made some very good friends, learnt important business skills from professional consultants, learnt about pressing issues of Indian society and also spent time thinking how those issues can be resolved. I thought that I was going to help rural people change for good but, to be honest, I learned much more from them than I actually gave back.
Rahul Reddy, Class of 2009
Work at the employment exchange provided useful insights into the mismatch between the supply of graduates and demand for workers with different skill sets in India today. Yet, beyond work, living in Bagar was also instructive. It taught me much about rural development, reliability of public institutions, and religion in public life. After living in Bagar, I better understood even those topics that featured prominently in classes at Penn.
Stephanie Searles, Class of 2009
Once I arrived at GDL, I do not think there was a single dull moment for the next two months. I was immediately put to work building a website for the village (www.bagar.org) and helping to teach English to intermediate students in the village. Though it was extremely challenging both in terms of workload and living conditions, I will never forget the people I met in India and the things I learned…This internship assured me that I want to pursue a career in India and make a positive impact on the world in the next few years. All in all, I would recommend this program to anyone interested in development in rural India…It was truly a rural experience but I enjoyed having the opportunity to live like the people I was helping.