GRIP: Swicorp Infra Capital (SIC), Tunis, Tunisia I stepped out of my taxi and into Lac II, the financial district that runs along the lake in Tunis. The building was tucked into a quiet corner, its glass windows catching the full force of the Tunisian sun. Inside, I was introduced to a small, close-knit office…
GRIP: Elephant Community Press in Hong Kong From tenth to twelfth grade, I attended a small, college-prep school called Miller. I can say with quite a degree of certainty that I wouldn’t be at Penn with the skills and confidence I now have without that school. Until this summer, though, I don’t think I could’ve…
GRIP: Elephant Community Press in Hong Kong For most of my life, I attended rural public schools where elementary school was a right turn from middle school, and high school one roundabout away. I lived in a little protected world in the middle of a prairie. Few ever left Stuarts Draft. Everyone’s educational ambitions centered…
SA: Università Bocconi, Italy Marilyn, one of the Semester Abroad Correspondents, shares her experience abroad during the Fall 2025 semester. Follow along with the group of correspondents on our blog and look out for their images on the @pennabroad Instagram feed. As a student studying real estate, I knew this interest of mine would follow when I studied abroad in Italy. Whether…
GRIP: Wine, Heritage, and Hospitality in Porto, Portugal Never in my life did I imagine spending a summer in Portugal learning about wine, the tourism industry, and immersing myself in Portuguese culture. But here I am! All thanks to GRIP. A few days before my departure, I felt very nervous. While I had some experience…
GRIP: PR and Marketing in Bangkok, Thailand One thing no one warns you about before arriving in Bangkok is the weather—not just how hot and humid it is, but how quickly it changes. After multiple coworkers asked me how well I had adjusted to all of Bangkok’s rainy season, I naturally wondered: how bad can…
GRIP: Nursing Research in Dublin, Ireland Nervously before my first day of work, I preplanned my attire as if it were the night before a school field trip and anxiously lied down as I played out every scenario in my head. Most notably, the one where I was imagining myself pulling all-nighters because of how…
GRIP: Business in Sydney, Australia One of the more surprising challenges I encountered during my internship was learning how to take initiative in a professional setting. While the office environment has been incredibly warm and supportive, I initially found it intimidating to approach team members directly and ask for tasks. I always considered myself a…
GRIP: Entrepreneurship in Montevideo, Uruguay When people asked me where I was going to spend the summer and I answered “Uruguay,” I was often met with confused expressions or comments like “Where is that?” or “Isn’t that near Argentina?” Few people seemed to know much about the country, let alone its culture or community. But…
GRIP: Engineering Research in Singapore When I arrived in Singapore for my research internship at the National University of Singapore, I knew for sure I wanted to explore the local cuisine, a tantalizing combination of Chinese cuisine, Malaysian cuisine, Indian cuisine, and so much more. However, I didn’t expect the everyday act of ordering cai…