Name: Joyce Kim
School/Year: College ‘15
Major: Political Science
Funded by: Association of Alumnae Rosemary D. Mazzatenta Scholars Award, Civic House Public Interest Internship Fund under CURF
Project: I had an internship at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations, doing background research and policy work for the Legal Committee of the General Assembly. [My assignments were] cabled back to Seoul and used to formulate Korea’s own policy work. I also served as Korea’s delegate on a forum for the Millennium Development Goals, where youth expressed their viewpoints on hot topic issues to members of the U.N.
Reflection: This internship, like many public service internships, was unfunded, and New York is pretty expensive. But I really wanted to go forward with it, and Penn has a lot of funding opportunities. You just have to keep your ears and eyes open, and when an opportunity arises just follow up and apply.
Name: Trevin Glasgow
School/Year: College ‘15
Major: Psychology
Funding/Award: The Millstein Family Undergraduate Research Grant under CURF
Project: I’m researching the effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS), a form of neurostimulation that can inhibit or excite certain brain regions. I’m using tDCS to lower depressive symptoms and improve cognitive performance in the general Penn population over a one-week period. I’ve combined tDCS with a positive psychology exercise known as the Three Good Things experiment, which was developed by Martin Seligman here at Penn. The idea is to enhance the already therapeutic benefits of tDCS.
Reflection: There wasn’t too much work for the application process. The whole process actually helped me better design my project. I also discovered that in addition to CURF, I could go to my specific major department for funding if necessary. It’s a good place to start if you don’t think your project fits the categories of CURF-specific funds or grants.
Name: Aidan McConnell
School/Year: College ‘16
Major: Political Science, concentrating in Political Economy
Funding/Award: International Internship Program award from Penn Abroad’s International Internship Program
Project: I was working in Buenos Aires, Argentina with a think tank called CIPPEC (the Center for the Implementation of Public Policies Promoting Equity and Growth). The think tank works with the Argentinian government on projects ranging from military policy to budgetary oversight.
Reflection: You’re allowed to apply to up to three different internships, so while you may not get your first choice you definitely have a shot at getting something During the interview process, the best thing I [did] was advocate for [a] particular niche interest we had.
Name: Brennan Cusack
School/Year: College ‘15
Major: English, concentration in Creative Writing
Funding/Award: Pincus–Magaziner Family Undergraduate Research and Travel Fund under CURF
Project: I drove throughout the American West and studied localized conflicts between environmental conservation and a current push for economic growth. One I focused on was the plight of the wild horse. I started in California at a wild horse sanctuary, and later on I visited a Bureau of Land Management holding pen in Utah. For my senior thesis, I’ll be writing a series of articles about these conflicts.
Reflection: Penn has money for you to come up with your own project, something that you really care about, and execute it. You might as well try if you have an idea. And if you don’t have an idea, make one, because why not? I got to drive from Los Angeles to Minnesota!
Name: Elizabeth Broden
School/Year: Nursing ‘16
Major: Nursing
Funding/Award: Vagelos Undergraduate Research Grant under CURF
Project: The title was “Parental Perceptions of Invasive Procedures and Bereavement: A Qualitative Study of Family Health.” My goal for my project was to learn more about the bereavement process from a parental perspective. The nurse’s role involves creating an optimal healing environment for the patient as well as the entire family. I developed an interview for bereaved parents with [that informs] nursing practice [that serves] as a therapeutic experience for these families to help them make meaning of this heartbreaking experience.
Reflection: I worked as an undergraduate researcher through the Penn Undergraduate Research Mentoring program this summer, and my mentor and I wanted to continue our work together, so we investigated how to get funding. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, and always be on the lookout for opportunities.
Name: Kelvin Wang
School/Year: Engineering ‘16
Major: Bioengineering
Funding/Award: Vagelos Undergraduate Research Grant under CURF
Project: My project dealt with Skin–mediated Control of Systemic Immune Tolerance. I work in the Department of Pathology at the Penn’s School of Medicine, and I’m looking at how this Vitamin D analog can reduce skin inflammation. If my research and experiments go as planned, it can potentially be used as a compound to treat any type of inflammatory disease.
Reflection: Use the CURF website—a lot of the available grants are geared towards the sciences and mathematics, but there are several offered in different fields of the humanities. Many of these grants are awarded to multiple students as well, so your chances of getting funding are relatively high.
Name: Joe Bruch
School/Year: College ‘15
Major: Psychology
Funding/Award: The Silverman Fellowship from The Netter Center for Community Partnerships
Project: I direct the Silverman Fellowship Program, which consists of four Fellows who go to West Philadelphia schools and teach English with a Bioethics and Social Ethics curriculum. We try to get our students to think more about ethical issues in order to promote stronger writing and critical reading skills, so we’ll read books like My Sister’s Keeper, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, and The New Jim Crow. The impact in terms of quantitative numbers has been great.
Reflection: Make your own project or fellowship and you’ll find someone at Penn who’s willing to fund you! The university has so many little treasures; it’s just up to you to find where they are located.
Name: Kasia Jania
School/Year: Wharton ‘16
Major: OPIM, with a track in Decision Processes
Funding/Award: Individual research grant provided by The Carol and Lawrence Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research
Project: I was doing comparative research on the financial influence of companies and corporations in elections in both the Unites States and the U.K. There wasn't a specific program that I applied to for the grant; rather, I presented a proposal to faculty at the Zicklin Center to go to the U.K., so I could gain a different, international perspective. It was a long process to do myself, but it was so important to my overall research.
Reflection: Although my experience is a funding path less travelled, it is still very feasible to get a grant this way, depending on what is proposed!
Name: Iris Zhang
School/Year: College ‘16
Major: Sociology and Economics (Minors in Statistics, Japanese, and Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies)
Funding/Award: Association of Alumnae Rosemary D. Mazzatenta Scholars Award under CURF with additional funding from Career Services
Project: I was an economics and statistics intern with the civil rights bureau of the New York State Attorney General’s Office in New York City. I had to analyze datasets and parse out significant statistics in support of legal arguments.
Reflection: Be proactive—don’t dismiss CURF or career services email as being just another routine listserv update.
Name: Steven Accione
School/Year: College ‘17
Major: Economics, with a minor in International Development
Funding/Award: Hassenfeld Foundation Social Impact Research Grant under CURF
Project: Last year, I met a graduate student at Penn who was a civil war refugee from Sierra Leone. We traveled to Sierra Leone to launch initiatives focused on enhancing the economic and education development. We started a few businesses in the villages, and whatever revenue locals didn’t use for their families we used towards funding their schools.
Reflection: You can do everything you want to do just through utilizing Penn’s resources. I suggest finding other students who have gone through the process of applying for funding; learning the format of writing one from another student was super helpful. Anyone can reach out to me!
Name: Julia Hintlian
School/Year: College ‘16
Major: Religious Studies
Funding/Award: International Internship Program award from Penn Abroad’s International Internship Program
Project: I studied and worked in a library at the birthplace of the Buddha in Nepal. It was up to me to figure out with my director what I was going to do for the six to eight weeks. I ended up working on preserving old manuscripts about Buddhism and Hinduism.
Reflection: The IIP program was incredibly rewarding. Penn set me up for something that was very challenging, but challenging in the best way possible.
