GRIP: PR and Marketing in Bangkok, Thailand Bring Lightweight Clothing Before this program, I had never been anywhere near the Eastern Hemisphere, so you can imagine my surprise when the heat and humidity hit me like a truck. Even though I researched beforehand, the heat still caught me off guard. What saved me was packing…
GRIP: Engineering Research in Singapore Spending a summer in Singapore, I imagined long hours in the lab, challenging scientific problems, and maybe a few late-night reactions. I got all of that, and so much more. What I didn’t expect was how much I’d learn outside the lab: from the chaos of hawker centers to the…
GRIP: KK FundTaipei, Taiwan When I first landed in Taiwan for my internship at the KK Fund, I had no idea what my day-to-day would look like. Venture capital was something I had only studied from the outside — pitch decks, public profiles, theoretical models. But within the first week, I realized VC is anything…
Contact Ask Me About… A unique part of my experience has been the opportunity to study abroad in both Asia and Europe, each offering a distinctly different perspective on the world. In Singapore, I connected more deeply with my cultural roots, surrounded by the rich Chinese heritage present in the country. Through the structured GRIP…
Contact Ask Me About… My Experience Abroad Studying abroad in Korea supported my academic and professional goals by immersing me in the environment I had long studied through my coursework up to this point. I’ve previously explored Korea’s economic development, soft power, and corporate structure in classes. Living and studying in Seoul brought these concepts…
Contact Ask me about… Other students should ask me, “How was it like not being home for almost 6 months?” As an international student studying in the US, I have navigated the complexities of being away from home for extended periods, but this year was particularly unique. I had not been back home since after…
James Tran is a College of Arts and Sciences sophomore studying Political Science with a minor in Consumer Psychology. During the summer, he is in Seoul, South Korea, working as a Marketing Intern through the Global Research and Internship Program (GRIP) at Penn. From the great city of Dallas, Texas, he is excited to be…
Contact Ask Me About… I had the exciting opportunity to live in a homestay in Uruguay. While daunting at first, it turned out to be a beautiful experience. This made for the ultimate cultural exchange where I was able to have deep, heartfelt conversations with my host family. We also shared slang in our languages,…
Contact Ask Me About… My Experience Abroad Japan helped my academic/professional goals in the following ways: Singapore helped my professional/academic goals in the following ways: Other Highlights
Contact Ask me about… My Experience Abroad: Working for a start-up that transformed Ho Chi Minh City’s engagement with public transportation overall gave me insight into the intersection between AI technology and public transportation. More deeply, though, this summer allowed me to explore my strengths and interests, which was especially important after coming out of…