DIVISION OF STUDENT SERVICES

International Student Services

Summer Experience Award

The Summer Experience Award offers Reed students on an F-1 visa the opportunity to complement their academic studies with a summer internship focused on an area of interest and possible future employment. The award was created to provide international students on F-1 visas with off-campus experiences that would typically be unattainable because of work restrictions. This year’s Summer Experience Award will be granted to at least three students, each receiving a maximum of $3750 to cover their expenses while participating in an unpaid internship.

The 2012 Summer Experience Award Recipients

Ha

 

 

Ha Nguyen '15

Country Vietnam

Year Sophomore

Major Biochemistry

Bio I grew up in Hanoi, Vietnam and lived in Maine for a while before coming to Reed. My hobbies are skateboarding, snowboarding and playing the guitar. I have long been aspiring to become a surgeon.  
My SEA Story: With the funding from the SEA, I was able to work at the Portland Veteran Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) as a research assistant in an immunology lab last summer. The lab focused on examining and developing a potential immunotherapy for multiple sclerosis (MS) called recombinant T-cells receptor ligand (RTL). My main project was to assess the effect of RTL on the complement pathway in antigen-presenting cells and T-cells from peripheral blood mononuclear cell samples of MS patient. I was also trained to handle mice, prepare and process cell samples, and scan for protein expressions using fancy equipments. In the end of the summer, I concentrated on reproducing a construct in the RTL called the α1 domain, as it appeared to induce the most significant effects on EAE (the mice version of MS) and MS. In general, the internship taught me so much about immunology and biomedical research, as well as sharpened my knowledge and laboratory skills.

amanuel

 

 

Amanuel Melesse Tafessu '14

Country Ethiopia

Year Junior

Major biochemistry/molecular biology

Bio I was born and raised in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. I have enjoyed my time in Portland (has it been 2 years already?!) and I hope to become a researcher.

My SEA Story: The summer experience award allowed me to explore the world of medical research through an internship at CROET, a research center that is part of the Oregon Health and Science University. I had the pleasure of working with a team of researchers peeking into the biochemical puzzle behind Alzheimer’s disease using a fruit fly model. I found the work to be very exciting and left the internship armed with techniques and methods which are generally applicable in biological research. I also got a taste of (and developed a taste for) fulltime lab work. As legal restrictions on payment to students on F-1 visa status would have precluded my participation in the internship program, the SEA made it possible for me to gain this valuable experience.


The 2011 Summer Experience Award Recipients

Amzar

 

 

 

Amzar Faiz '13

Country Malaysia

Year Junior

Major Economics 

Bio In my free time I enjoy practicing capoeira and yoga as well as venturing out into Portland in search of good food. 
My SEA Story:   I am always up for adventures and new experiences, and it is this drive that has led to my experience in Detroit last summer. After realizing that I did not wish to stay in Portland that summer, and that I wanted to see more of the United Sates, I began searching for opportunities that would help me leave Portland. After searching for awhile, I  came across the Center for Community Based Enterprise (C2BE, www.c2be.org). C2BE is a non-profit based in Detroit whose focus is to research and educate people on ways in which the community may benefiet from cooperating with one another. The Summer Experience Award allowed me to undertake this unpaid internship, by providing me with the resources necessary to sustain myself in Detroit. While I was there, I had the chance to apply my theory based economics which I gained from my classes onto a real world situation. I conducted interviews with locals, met city planners, and experienced firsthand the effects of the recession and international markets on the city. A city which once had almost two million people but now remains with a little less than eight hundred thousand because of various reasons which involve: job losses, bad mortgages, etc. This experience has helped me gain perspective on how my knowledge is applicable in the real world, and without it, my life would be severely lacking.

Elizabeth

 

 

 

Elizabeth Dinkova '13

Country Bulgaria

Year Junior

Major Psychology and Theater

Bio  I love directing, but am also interested in acting and playwriting. My psychology interests focus on creativity research, clinical psychology, and cognitive processes.

My SEA Story:   The award enabled me to complete an internship at the Cognition and development lab at Yale University. I worked as a research assistant with a graduate mentor, with whom I explored the relationship between causality and categorization in a series of studies. The experience helped me become a better researcher and student of psychology. It also informed my understanding of graduate school and the various other paths one could take to pursue a career in psychology.
Photo: Elizabeth standing in front of the psychology building at Yale.

Rukayat

 




Rukayat Taiwo '12

Country Nigeria

Year Senior

Major Biochemistry

Bio  My hobbies are reading and shopping. I aspire to become a medical doctor.

 

My SEA Story:   Last summer, I had the wonderful opportunity of volunteering in the Emergency room and Intensive Care Unit at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU). In both places, I took part in various clinical research projects with most of them involving the determination of the efficacy of various drugs and new treatment options. Performing my job required interacting with patients and doctors which was not only enjoyable, but also helped improve my professional communication skills. Observing the day-to-day life of a doctor and patient-doctor interactions for a 3 month duration was an invaluable experience which further influenced my decision to apply to medical school. Since these positions were unpaid, I would have been unable to accept them without some financial support to cover my housing and feeding expenses. The funding given to me through the Summer Experience award enabled me take advantage of this opportunity.


My name is Ezwan Amzar Abdullah Faiz and I am current junior from Malaysia who is studying economics and graduating in May of 2012. In my free time I enjoy practicing capoeira and yoga as well as venturing out into Portland in search of good food. I am always up for adventures and new experiences, and it is this drive that has led to my experience in Detroit last summer. After realizing that I did not wish to stay in Portland that summer, and that I wanted to see more of the United Sates, I began searching for opportunities that would help me leave Portland. After searching for awhile, I  came across the Center for Community Based Enterprise (C2BE, www.c2be.org). C2BE is a non-profit based in Detroit whose focus is to research and educate people on ways in which the community may benefiet from cooperating with one another. The Summer Experience Award allowed me to undertake this unpaid internship, by providing me with the resources necessary to sustain myself in Detroit. While I was there, I had the chance to apply my theory based economics which I gained from my classes onto a real world situation. I conducted interviews with locals, met city planners, and experienced firsthand the effects of the recession and international markets on the city. A city which once had almost two million people but now remains with a little less than eight hundred thousand because of various reasons which involve: job losses, bad mortgages, etc. This experience has helped me gain perspective on how my knowledge is applicable in the real world, and without it, my life would be severely lacking.
My name is Ezwan Amzar Abdullah Faiz and I am current junior from Malaysia who is studying economics and graduating in May of 2012. In my free time I enjoy practicing capoeira and yoga as well as venturing out into Portland in search of good food. I am always up for adventures and new experiences, and it is this drive that has led to my experience in Detroit last summer. After realizing that I did not wish to stay in Portland that summer, and that I wanted to see more of the United Sates, I began searching for opportunities that would help me leave Portland. After searching for awhile, I  came across the Center for Community Based Enterprise (C2BE, www.c2be.org). C2BE is a non-profit based in Detroit whose focus is to research and educate people on ways in which the community may benefiet from cooperating with one another. The Summer Experience Award allowed me to undertake this unpaid internship, by providing me with the resources necessary to sustain myself in Detroit. While I was there, I had the chance to apply my theory based economics which I gained from my classes onto a real world situation. I conducted interviews with locals, met city planners, and experienced firsthand the effects of the recession and international markets on the city. A city which once had almost two million people but now remains with a little less than eight hundred thousand because of various reasons which involve: job losses, bad mortgages, etc. This experience has helped me gain perspective on how my knowledge is applicable in the real world, and without it, my life would be severely lacking.