Blessie Ruelo ’25
Major: Sociology
Minor: Italian

An Italian Summer Through the Lens of Marketing

Over this summer, I interned with the program CIS Abroad as an on-site marketing intern in Sorrento, Italy. In this role, I was designated the primary task of updating a travel guidebook for incoming study abroad students. I merged the research I had conducted online with the research I did in person. In person, I worked closely with my on-site supervisor to help organize local excursions and served as a point-of-contact for students who needed help. Whether that help involved finding a time-table for a late night bus going to Naples, or teaching them colloquial Italian phrases to get around, my work was all-encompassing. My emerging relationship with the culture as rendered by my interactions with the people and the places, allowed me to reconceive creative approaches to marketing as a tool for promoting international education.

Kim Kindred ’24
Major: Psychology and Sociology double major
Five College Certificate of Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice
Nexus: in Law, Public Policy and Human Rights

Envisioning and Revitalizing Human Rights Initiatives

Kim Kindred jumped at the chance to intern with Professor Loretta Ross, Co-Founder of Sister Song and current professor at Smith College in the Women and Gender studies department. Ross announced in their Reproductive Justice colloquium that she was taking the initiative of implementing a human rights major and minor curriculum at Smith. This is a very involved and long process; however, Ross previously founded the National Center for Human Rights Education in Atlanta and Kindred wanted to contribute to this similar groundbreaking initiative in the Five College Consortium. This is an ongoing project that Kindred was invited to continue to be a part of after her internship concluded. Kindred is proud to say that she is forwarding the mission of human rights not only here in the Pioneer Valley, but also worldwide. Come listen to not only how she obtained her internship, but also all that it entailed and what she learned.

Mars Braga ’25
Major: Classics
Minor: Italian

An Oral History Project; Preserving History & Modernizing the Museum, This summer, I interned at the Long Beach Island Historical Museum in New Jersey, a non-profit museum dedicated to preserving the history of the island. I had two main tasks while I worked there; one included working on an oral history project the museum was conducting, and the other was the greater task of modernizing the museum. The oral history project, Island Voices, was a multi-step process that included interviewing people with memories from all around the island with the intention of preserving and highlighting their stories. It was part of a greater effort to modernize the museum, creating a newer, more modern exhibit to attract a newer audience. This included a sense of marketing on my part. Additionally, I worked to create new exhibits around the museum and worked directly with members of the museum board to switch to a digital archival system.

Sitian Cai ’24
Major: Art History and Psychology double major

Internship in the Art World

Last summer, I had an internship in a public art museum, working in the General Management Department. The internship provided me with a deeper understanding of art management and the art world.

I will discuss my internship at the Museum of Art Pudong, Shanghai. While immersing myself in the arts and crafts, I had an “outward” aspect of my internship, offering tour guides to museum partners and visitors, and working with children in related public educational events. I need to work with different groups of people and address their needs accordingly. This experience allowed me to explore my interest in the museum field and immerse myself in the world of art.