Scholars Explore Career Paths through Competitive Summer Internships

Last summer, 10 Posse Miami Scholars received Posse Summer Leadership Awards (PSLA), which provide funding for competitive internships that are otherwise unpaid. The professional accomplishments of these Scholars were recognized at Posse Miami’s annual Internship Celebration in August.

Daniel Brooks, Penn Posse 2, spent his summer at the University of Miami School of Epidemiology conducting research in the department of biostatistics. Daniel, a biology major who plans to pursue his Ph.D., collected and analyzed data using statistical methods to examine the relationship between certain genes and Hodgkin’s lymphoma.  

Considering a career in veterinary medicine, pre-med biology major Felipe Garcia (Hamilton Posse 10) interned at the Philadelphia Animal Hospital.

“Within the first week I was taking and developing X-rays, performing blood analysis and preparing shots for injection,” says Felipe. “By the end, I was able to administer anesthesia and monitor the animal’s responses, offer emergency first aid to injured animals and assist in surgical procedures.”

Seeking a professional experience abroad, Scholar Melanie White (Penn Posse 2) spent her summer in Pilón, a mountainous pueblo in southern Costa Rica, where she taught English to adults and school-aged children.

“[I was] experiencing new conversations, people and a lifestyle that … will stay with me for a long time,” says Melanie.

Other PSLA recipients from Posse Miami worked at schools in New Orleans and Hong Kong, community-based organizations in El Salvador and the Heart of America Foundation, a national nonprofit that promotes volunteer service and literacy.

We wish to thank the many individuals from our Career Program partners who make invaluable contributions to the professional development of Posse Scholars.