Name: Indu Upadhyay

Year: 2017

Major: Anthropology

What’s happening? We’d love to hear how your internship is going.

I had a great time working for ‘The Global Fund for Children’ this summer. It is a non-profit organization operating around the world with its headquarters in Washington D.C. I found this internship through LanternLink. GFC has a special relationship with Bryn Mawr, as their founder was an alum and they take mawrters as interns every summer. They usually take one Bryn Mawr intern but this year they made an exception and took two. All the more fun for me, as I got to live and work with a close friend. That made the learning experience just double. I have always been interested in international development and GFC’s grant making as well as capacity building work was just what I wanted to be involved in. I not only learnt about operating a new database management software called GIFTS but also participated in all general programs team meetings to get hands on knowledge of the organization’s administration. I was assigned to two very well structured projects and given significant responsibility to work independently. I honed my basic data analysis skills and also understood the complexities of investing in social entrepreneurship in developing countries. More than anything the thought provoking nature of the job satisfied my thirst for critical thinking and the eventual direct benefit of our decisions going to people who need it back in countries like my own, was very emotionally fulfilling.

Work was not everything that made my summer awesome. D.C has become my favorite city in the U.S. now. I made so many friends through my Bryn Mawr contacts there and went out every weekend. I did kayaking on the Georgetown waterfront, went hiking on the Appalachian trail in Virginia and ate out at a dozen amazing restaurants each month. On the whole, I couldn’t have asked for a better summer experience and I am so thankful for getting this opportunity.

Celebrating a colleague’s birthday over lunch near the White House.

City Hopping with new D.C. buddies.