GRIP: Engineering Research in Singapore When I first left India for the University of Pennsylvania, I thought I had already lived it. The traditional, quintessential “study abroad” experience. Moving halfway across the world at seventeen, new country, new culture, new people, new experiences… surely, that was all that “going abroad” meant. But somewhere between my…
GRIP: Wine, Heritage, and Hospitality in Porto, Portugal Cover photo: Cálem Cellar view from Dom LuÃs I Bridge (taken with with Nikon D3200) If someone in the past would have told me that I would be spending my freshman summer after college in Porto, Portugal giving wine tours, I would have called them absolutely insane.…
GRIP: Guatemala Health Initiative Cover photo: GHI student with cloudy background of the San Pedro summit. One may assume that as an Oregon native, hiking and outdoor adventures are part of my regular weekend routine. Despite my home base offering limitless beautiful landscapes, I will confess that I had not gone on a hike in…
GRIP: Business in Sydney Cover photo: Scenic view while exploring the Blue Mountains, NSW If I am being honest, I chose Sydney for a very practical reason. It felt like one of those places in the world that I might not get the chance to visit again anytime soon. I also had a few friends…
GRIP: Engineering Research in Aachen, Germany When I first arrived in Aachen for my summer internship through the GRIP program, I expected the biggest challenge to be the language barrier. I had never studied German before, and while the program includes German language classes, I knew it would take time before I could confidently communicate.…
Contact Ask Me About… My Experience Abroad As a History and Spanish double major, the opportunities I’ve been able to participate in through Penn Abroad have been truly life changing and enriched my educational experience at Penn. It has been a lifelong goal of mine to become fluent in Spanish and my experiences through GRIP…
Contact Ask Me About… I am not a native Spanish-speaker, nor have I taken classes of the language here at Penn. However, I learned Spanish for 3 years in high school and really enjoyed practicing my fluency. I am also from New York City, which is a very diverse city, and I had so many…
GRIP: World Medical Association, Ferney-Voltaire, France Over the past nine weeks of my internship at the World Medical Association, independence has been a defining theme. Not only am I the only intern at the WMA, but I am also the only intern from GRIP in this general region, which has pushed me to adopt an…
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…
