LSB Students' Summer Experiences
Leavey School of Business students have been very busy this summer. We asked a few of them to share their summer experiences.
Brandon Sage
Major: Management & Information Systems
Hometown: San Diego, California
Graduation Year: 2020
What did you do this summer? I spent my summer living and working in Cochabamba, Bolivia as a Global Fellow. My placement, called Bolivia4ward, is a free math and science tutoring program under the company AHA Bolivia that is provided to the kids of the artisans employed by the company and local orphanages. I helped the company create a system to quantify the progress of the students and identify the qualitative benefits of the program that would be useful in their mission to obtain a fair trade certification.
What was the most memorable part of your summer experience? The most memorable parts of my experience in Bolivia were getting insight into the extent of the work involved in obtaining a fair trade certification for a company and helping to educate underprivileged Bolivian students. Traveling around the city of Cochabamba to conduct interviews with artisans opened my eyes to the many different aspects involved with fair trade. Another extremely memorable aspect of the experience was the opportunity to take weekend trips to the Andes mountains, the Amazon, and the world renowned salt flats in Bolivia which allowed me to interact with locals and learn more about the culture first hand.
Katherine Seely
Major: Finance
Hometown: Mercer Island, Washington
Graduation Year: 2020
What did you do this summer? This summer I interned at the Jordan Park Group, a wealth management firm in San Francisco. Jordan Park was founded about 16 months ago, after a wealth advisory group split off from Goldman Sachs to establish their own firm. Since Jordan Park is a relatively small company, with only about 50 employees, I had the opportunity to work on many different projects across the three departments - investment, client advisory, and client service.
What was the most memorable part of your summer experience? The most memorable part of my experience was Jordan Park’s family-like company culture. I loved working side by side with such welcoming, dedicated, and high-achieving individuals. Working at such a young firm was also particularly exciting, since I got to witness and participate in building their vision from the ground up!
Brian Schunk
Major: Economics & English
Hometown: Monte Sereno, California
Graduation Year: 2019
What did you do this summer? This summer, I worked as a teaching fellow with a program called Breakthrough Collaborative. I taught a couple writing classes as well as an improv class. Breakthrough Collaborative works with children from low income families to help them get into college. The program spans over six years and provides summer classes as well as year round academic advising and counseling. The Summer Program is for rising seventh and eighth graders and features six weeks of classes designed for students to get ahead on what they're learning the upcoming year. When not in class, students are competing in various games, going on field trips, or performing skits. This program focuses not only on academics but also leadership development and other crucial soft skills.
What was the most memorable part of your summer experience? The most memorable part of my experience was Visitor's Day, when my parents got the chance to come and sit-in on one of my writing classes. I was definitely nervous, but class went well and my parents really enjoyed seeing me in action.
Alyssa Fiddes
Major: Marketing
Hometown: San Diego, California
Graduation Year: 2019
What did you do this summer? Through the Global Fellows Program, I spent six weeks in Kolkata, India working as a marketing intern for a NGO called Destiny Reflection. Destiny's goal is to combat sex trafficking as it works to educate, employ, and empower survivors of trafficking. During this time, I focused on branding as I redesigned Destiny's website and social media.
What was the most memorable part of your summer experience? The most memorable part of my experience was working directly with those impacted by sex trafficking. In addition to being a marketing intern, I taught English and computer skills classes in the red light district community center. I also visited a shelter home in Kolkata for young girls of all backgrounds, including survivors of sex trafficking, domestic abuse, and child marriages.
Matt Sipowicz
Major: Accounting
Hometown: Portland, Oregon
Graduation Year: 2019
What did you do this summer? I traveled to Denmark with the Santa Clara Men's soccer team and competed against Danish teams as part of an extended pre-season. I also toured Copenhagen and went to a world cup watching party.
What was the most memorable part of your summer experience? I thoroughly enjoyed playing soccer against foreign competition and immersing myself into a foreign culture. The overall experience of a foreign sporting experience was something I have dreamed about my whole life, and I loved every second of the trip.