Name: Ingrid Bethuel

Year: 2018

Major: Mathematics

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

This summer I will be volunteering 32 hours each week to Women’s Opportunities Resource Center in Philadelphia. The organization works to advance social and economic independence for financially disadvantaged women and their families. Amongst these individuals WORC also extends their services to refugees and immigrants, which will be my primary focus during my time here. Part of my job responsibilities include occasionally communicating with refugees/asylums in their native language of French/Swahili to acquire the necessary information in order to better help them with their financial situation. My duties also extend to following up with clients and assessing their progress post-loan received and whether or not they require further assistance or simply would like to discuss the current status of their entrepreneurial endeavors, thereby maintaining relationships. Through my time here thus far I have not only enhanced my communication skills but also learned about a variety of new technology software used to improve the micro-financing loan process. My incentive for choosing to work with WORC is to be a positive change in people’s lives and to empower them, especially women, to not only be financially independent but encourage personal assessment which educates individuals on their strengths and weaknesses and gives them the tools to truly live in their purpose. I hope to open a similar non-profit organization in my own country because microfinance has allowed less privileged individuals usually excluded from the traditional banking system to obtain credit to develop microenterprises and build savings. It is a real means of reducing poverty by improving both people’s standard of living and economic self-sufficiency, as well as offering a pathway to education, health care and equity between men and women. As a Math major and French minor I look forward to pursuing a career in consulting or global wealth management. My career aspirations are part of my desire for economic empowerment in underprivileged communities. I believe that a finance background can be beneficial to a non-profit organization through budgeting and cash management as well as providing some socially desirable need on an ongoing basis.