This summer, eight Tauck Scholars engaged in international experiences in five different countries. Endowed by Arthur Tauck ’53, the Tauck Scholarship Program offers international summer internships and other learning opportunities to students in new cultural settings. Read on to learn more about the experiences of our 2017 Tauck Scholars in their own words.
Invitations to apply for the 2018 Tauck Scholars Program have been emailed to eligible students.
Tauck Scholars are selected each fall through a competitive application process. The 2017 Tauck Committee included Professors Doug Mahony (management), Jim Maskula (marketing), Judy McDonald (economics), Haibei Zhao (finance), Ken Sinclair (accounting), and Dean Katrina Zalatan.
For more information about the Tauck Scholarship, see the CBE Global Initiatives website or visit CBE International Specialist Sarah Wing in RBC 107.
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Oscar J. Gomez, Class of 2018 This summer, a joint effort between KPMG, through the Global Internship Program, and Lehigh, through the Tauck Scholarship, provided me an incredible international experience. I was shipped off to Liverpool, England where I interned for four weeks in Audit. Most of the clients that I was on were subsidiary construction companies of larger organizations and my responsibilities consisted of conducting walkthroughs and creating expectations for what the quarter, or year-end, figures should look like based on past trends and industry-specifics. I was on three different teams and I was able to learn a lot about audit because of this internship. Apart from work, I spent a lot of my time exploring different restaurants in Liverpool, going to the gym, and on the weekends, exploring different parts of the UK with a KPMG Boston intern named Mike. We visited Edinburgh in Scotland, Conwy in Wales, and London on our final weekend. These weekend excursions allowed us to learn a lot about the culture of these different locations, and it also allowed us to be adventurous. Mike and I met up with a lot of the other US interns that were also on assignment in the UK and we had a great time exploring the UK. I am very appreciative of both KPMG and Lehigh for this joint effort; they have both provided me with an experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life. |
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Juliet Panichella, Class of 2019 Imagine being in a country where the language, culture and faces are not familiar. Well, this summer I challenged myself to take on an internship opportunity in Shanghai, China. For four weeks I worked in Traditional Chinese Medicine at Shanghai Health Management Center and for two weeks I worked in Western Medicine at Ruijin Hospital. During my TCM internship, I was able to shadow a doctor and be personally trained in treatments such as acupuncture, cupping, tuina, moxibustion, herbal medicine, taichi, qi gong, meditation, singing bowls, and so much more. During my Western Medicine internship, I worked in the prestiged nephrology department of RuiJin Hospital under Shen Yi Sheng. I did morning rounds, saw in-office procedure, spent time in the peritoneal and hemodialysis centers, and witnessed daily consultations. These internship opportunities were amazing and really helped me earn a better perspective on global medicine. This experience has made me more confident that I will reach my aspiration of owning my own private medical practice one day. Overall, the Lehigh in Shanghai program gave me a new sense of independence, strengthened my confidence and allowed me much personal growth. Thank you Mr. Tauck and the Tauck committee for an unforgettable opportunity. |
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George Cooper, Class of 2019 Through the Tauck Scholarship Program, I participated in “Lehigh in Prague.” For six weeks, I lived in Prague, working for the Data Assurance department of PricewaterhouseCoopers. I also took a computer science class called “Computers, Society and the Internet.” After Prague, I traveled around Europe, visiting 11 different countries. To me, the most important part of this experience was the wealth of cultural knowledge I gained. Growing up in the United States, we live in a sort of bubble. Experiencing how people live in other countries was incredibly inspiring. I would like to work in Europe after college, and this program gave me a taste of what working outside of the United States would look like. On the weekends, I took short trips to other cities where I was able to explore some of the most historically significant places in the world. On one trip, I visited the Berlin Wall in Germany. On another, I spent one of the most eye opening days of my life at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. We all read about these places and the events that occurred there in our high school history classes; having the opportunity to visit them in person is a completely different experience. Without the Tauck Scholarship, none of this would have been possible for me. |
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Samantha Ryan, Class of 2018 This past summer the Tauck Scholarship awarded me the opportunity to attend the Lehigh in Prague program, where I was able to intern at E.ON and take a three credit computer science course. Throughout my internship at E.ON, I worked with the “Finance & Accounting Group”, a team of five people. Two of my colleagues were students who were from Germany but attending graduate school in Prague. We focused on researching startup companies within the energy sector that were located either in the Czech Republic or surrounding countries. I helped to plan an event where the selected startups would pitch their ideas to a panel of eight E.ON executives, and the “winning” startups would complete a three month accelerator program before competing in E.ON’s “Demo Day” in Germany. I spent six weeks in Prague, where I spent my time walking around Old Town Square and across the St. Charles Bridge, touring the Prague Castle, eating traditional Czech food, and exploring the beautiful city. I also had the opportunity to travel on the weekends to Rome, Barcelona, Dublin, and Vienna. Of my weekend excursions, I am most grateful for the opportunity to tour Vatican City in Rome and learn more about my Roman Catholic background. This experience truly helped me to grow immensely in both a professional and personal manner, and I am positive my time abroad will have a lasting impact upon my future professional career. I will forever be grateful for my time spent abroad, as it was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and couldn’t have been possible without the Tauck Scholarship. |
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Madison Williams, Class of 2018 Through the Tauck Scholarship Program, I was fortunate enough to spend six weeks this past summer in Prague, Czech Republic. The scholarship allowed me to enroll in the Lehigh in Prague study abroad program, which gave me the opportunity to intern with a multinational company, AAA Auto. While interning at AAA Auto I collaborated with a team of fellow Lehigh students to develop a comprehensive social media marketing campaign to increase recruitment and retention of their employees and present our findings to both the Head of Marketing, and the Director of HR Development. In addition to the internship, the Lehigh in Prague program also allowed students the chance to complete one of three available courses for credit. I chose to enroll in ECO 371 / MGMT 372, an economics class instructed by Professor Balcar, which provided me the chance to research a topic of global economics, work collaboratively with peers, compile a final report and present our findings to the class. In addition to exploring Prague, on the weekends I was able to travel to various countries such as Hungary, Austria and Germany. My time in Prague was not only an opportunity to grow professionally by interning for a multinational company but also personally by challenging myself and expanding my knowledge of different cultures. I am very grateful for the opportunities and experiences that the Tauck Scholarship provided me. |
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Courtney Foshay, Class of 2018 This past summer I was expecting to work for PwC in the firm’s Banking and Capital Markets Assurance practice in New York City. After receiving the Tauck scholarship, I was able to spend two weeks of my internship working in the PwC London office for their Risk Assurance practice. Working in London provided me with opportunities most interns never get the chance to experience. Most notably, I was able to shadow and have “high tea” with the leaders of my engagement; go to the client site to see the audit conducted first hand; and create close friendships with my colleagues whom I will not soon forget. Outside of the office, I was able to travel around the city of London, exploring the magnificent parks, historical tourist sites, and amazing restaurants. Temporarily living in London by myself encouraged me to have conversations with locals and learn more about their unique perspectives. These conversations ultimately shaped my opinions and beliefs to be more open minded. So much so, that on my flight back to New York I had a completely different mindset of what I wanted to do with the rest of my life and an urge to travel back to London as soon as possible. Needless to say this was an experience I will never forget, which has allowed me to grow, both personally and professionally, more than I could have otherwise. |
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Gian Zurlini, Class of 2018 The Tauck Scholarship enabled me to travel to Dublin, Ireland to participate in a seven-week internship with Verizon as a Global Real Estate Intern. After receiving a return offer from Verizon for summer 2017, I was able to relocate my offer to their Dublin office once I obtained the Tauck Scholarship. My internship concentrated on space utilization analysis for Verizon office spaces in the UK and Ireland. I gained hands on experience in commercial real estate management and the use of data visualization software like Tableau to present my conclusions. In addition to working in Dublin, I spent a week in Reading, UK and London to see the office spaces I was analyzing and tour innovative Verizon spaces. My time spent in each international Verizon location allowed me to gain a greater understanding of global business operations and to develop an international business network. In addition to my internship, I spent weekends exploring London and traveling the coasts of Ireland. Two of my favorite trips were to the Antrim Coast in Northern Ireland and to the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare. There’s something about walking amongst only cows and sheep in the rolling green hills of Ireland that make an individual re-examine their perceptions and role in the world. After witnessing such incredible sites and immersing myself in each location’s culture I have become more aware, both culturally and individually. I strongly believe this journey has made me a more balanced and curious individual and I am so appreciative of the Tauck Foundation for supporting my exploration. |
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Daniel Norris, Class of 2018 This past summer, I had the incredible opportunity of studying in both Copenhagen and London. In Denmark I took a course on Corporate Social Responsibility where we got to visit the only sustainably mined gold jewelry maker where she could trace her gold to a small mining community in Chile! We got to check out Wind Turbine Farms and hear from a government official about Scandinavia’s commitment to all renewable energy by 2050. This inspired me to take courses on pollution and sustainability and is definitely a career path I want to explore. After spending 10 days adventuring Ireland and Scotland with my father I headed to the London School of Economics and Political Science for a course on Financial Bubbles and Crashes. Being at a school of that caliber was very motivating to see students from every corner of the globe and learning from them. The course made me realize my love for economics and led me to minor in it. My favorite part of the trip was being able to immerse myself in so many new cultures and get a perspective on what life is like outside of Pennsylvania. I am already looking for ways to get back to Europe. By the end of my time I had visited, Denmark, Great Britain, Scotland, Ireland, France, Sweden, and Holland. I will forever cherish my Tauck experience and know that the people I met and experiences we had will be some of the best I have in my life. |
