experience report

Over the winter break, I traveled to Dili, Timor-Leste to conduct fieldwork for my honors thesis to understand how a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) project intended to promote economic development in Timor-Leste by expanding the coffee industry has affected the lives of local coffee farmers.

Thanks to a grant from the ILR International Travel Grant Program, I travelled to Dublin, Ireland where I joined a group of global scholars presenting their research at the 32^nd Annual Conference of the International Association of Conflict Management (IACM) this summer.

During my time at IBM as a Human Resources Generalist, I had the opportunity to experience the creation and transition of a new business unit, Watson Health

Humbling. Energizing. Inspiring.”

After two days of hearing fellow delegates present their papers, presenting my own paper, and engaging in the thoughtful dialogue that followed each panel, these three words, out of the many I could have chosen, were the three I shared.

The first semester of my junior year, I worked as a Human Resources intern at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) which is a multinational Japanese bank based in Tokyo. From the start of my internship in NYC, I was given exposure to all of the functions of HR, including Compensation and Benefits, Talent Acquisition, Learning and Development, Employee Experience, Operations and Planning, and the HR Business Partners.

In Fall 2016, I had the incredible opportunity to work as a Research intern at Jobs with Justice.

I had the amazing opportunity to work as a Global Total Rewards and Medical intern at American Express which is a global services company that provides credit card, financial, and travel services.

In spring ’17, I interned at the Directors Guild of America (DGA) in New York City.  There I worked on important and interesting research projects related to wage rates, discipline, and production information. I had the opportunity to sit in on several contract negotiations, notably NBC and Thirteen television networks.

This winter, I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Southern India to complete some field research for my ILR Honors Thesis. Receiving the ILR International Programs Travel Grant allowed me to pursue my understanding of international and comparative labor through conversations with women waste workers in the Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu, India.

The ILR/UCD Semester in Dublin, to me, is best described by the common mantra of one of its founders: Clete Daniel's "Smart is good, kind is better."

This past summer, I traveled to Shanghai, China, to work for a supply chain management company called Li and Fung Limited. For eight weeks, I worked in their office as an intern. I knew that interning in China would be completely different than interning in the United States, and I was looking forward to learning about Li Fung’s approach to business.

For the winter intersession of 2016-2017, I received an ILR Travel Grant that facilitated my participation in an HR internship located in Córdoba, Argentina.

In May 2016, I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel to Porto, Portugal and work as a squash coach for the ‘Escola de Squash do Porto’ (Squash School of Porto).  

This past summer of 2016, I was granted the opportunity to intern as a volunteer instructor at John William Montessori School for the Voices of African Mothers within Kumasi, Ghana.

This summer I travelled to Nakuru, Kenya, along with five other Cornell students to establish a start-up, self-sustaining catering service for a local disability center in desperate need of a steady source of income.  In addition, by hiring persons with disabilities to cook low-cost, nutritious food, we hoped to help bring an end to the stigma associated with persons with disabilities in Kenya while improving the general health of some of the low-income population of the Nakuru community.

I have always found the ways laws influence the relationship between management and employees (and vice versa) intriguing.

As a French/American national and an avid student of international affairs, my time studying abroad in Ireland was a hugely rewarding experience.

Coming into ILR as a transfer, I was not expecting to have the opportunity to study abroad. I was worried that I would not have enough credits or would be too far behind to take a whole semester away from Cornell. However, the UCD Semester in Dublin Program not only gave me the international experience that I was looking for, but the classes also coincided with what I was studying in ILR.

Coming into ILR as a sophomore transfer, I didn’t think that I would have the ability to study abroad and receive ILR credit. Shortly into my first year at Cornell, I learned about the ILR/UCD Semester in Dublin program and I knew I had to apply. I applied as soon as I could and I never regretted my decision to study in Dublin the fall of my junior year. My time spent studying at UCD was one of the best experiences of my college career.

As a senior, studying abroad for a semester did not seem like a realistic option if I wanted to graduate on time and in good standing. However, I could not have been more wrong. Studying abroad through the ILR-UCD program in Ireland was one of the best decisions I made during my four years at Cornell and I would strongly encourage that all ILR students look into participating in it during their college career.

UCD 2010, ILR 2012, Recipient of the Clete Daniel Memorial Medal - My semester in Dublin was, by all accounts, unusually snowy. The average December snowfall in Dublin totals about 3 inches. By Christmas of 2010, there were about 10.5 inches of snow piled up in Casement Aerodrome, 10 miles outside of Dublin.

UCD Fall 2012; Recipient of the Clete Daniel Memorial Medal - I decided to go to Ireland because I wanted both a great educational experience and I wanted to travel throughout the country. I went out a month early with a backpack and my fiddle and I played for tips (busked) all across the country, staying in hostels. I’ve had quite a few amazing experiences doing that; top among which was my visit to the Aran Islands.

This winter break I spent 3 weeks in Cusco, Peru, participating in a care-giving project offered through UBELONG at the Centro de Desarrollo Integral de la Familia (CEDIF). CEDIF offers health and wellness programs for poor children and elderly people that live in the area of Wanchaq.

I went to Lima to talk with leaders from different unions about their organizations' current and future strategies.

I was part of a diverse and multidisciplinary team with members from Colombia, France, Tunisia, the U.S., and Mexico. Our project had four main objectives: develop a cost analysis, communicate soil quality reports, conduct experiments to identify coffee producers’ risk profiles, and develop an organizational analysis to help improve communication and quality standards.

I had decided to pursue a credit internship because I wanted to have the chance to apply concepts I had learned in the classroom to the real world.

SanDisk, CA - In the spring of 2014, I worked for SanDisk Corporation in Milpitas, California. My internship was with SanDisk's HR Communications function, working on tasks such as recruitment branding on LinkedIn as well as assisting with various on-boarding activities

ILO, Geneva Intern - "I went to the ILO to gain a realistic perspective on global inequality and, in this context; I left with more than a theoretical understanding."

Walt Disney World Intern - As a Professional Intern with the Labor Relations department at the world renowned Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL, I have had an experience like none other.

European Foundation, Dublin, Ireland - My time at the European Foundation in Dublin has perhaps been one of the most valuable learning experiences I’ve had the pleasure to engage in thus far in my Cornell education.

Intern at the US Dept of State, Washington, DC - When I first was accepted to ILR, I took immense pride in telling people I’d be attending Cornell. I felt like I was a neat cocktail made of equal parts lucky and cocky, and that doors would finally open for me as beautiful servants hand-fed me grapes off of a golden platter.

American Express Intern, Hong Kong - This past semester, I had the incredible opportunity to intern at American Express’s Hong Kong headquarter. My time there was one of the most valuable learning experiences I’ve had thus far in my Cornell education.

Segal Consulting Intern - I was very excited when I received word that Segal Consulting accepted my internship. I have had an interest in statistics and studying data for a few years now and I knew that I wanted an opportunity to see how the skills that I learned in class would apply to the workplace.

American Express Intern, London - During the fall of 2013, I worked in London as a Global Benefits intern for American Express. I chose to participate in the credit internship program because it offered me the benefit of gaining meaningful work experience and college credit.

American Express Intern, Sydney, Australia - During fall semester of my junior year, I decided to temporarily say goodbye to our beloved Cornell Ithaca Campus for a Credit Internship in the American Express, Sydney office. It was a difficult decision to leave the beautiful campus behind, but an easy decision to take on this wonderful opportunity and work in a world-renowned company situated in a different continent

Solidarity Center, Lima, Peru - From February to May of 2014 I decided to pursue two academic interests in my credit internship. At The Solidarity Center’s field office in Lima, Perú, I was able to combine my interests in workers’ rights and labor issues and my interests in speaking Spanish.

Working at GE Capital has been a fantastic educational experience.

The ILR School has always been at the frontier of resolving current organizational problems through teaching, research, and outreach.

I had an amazing experience in Ghana that I know I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

When my favorite government professor mentioned a future winter course in Cambodia to me last year, I listened excitedly about an opportunity I didn’t think I’d ever be able to pursue personally.

I was lucky enough to see 16 cities in 9 different countries – try to travel as much as possible! Book flights early because it gets more expensive the longer you wait. My favorite cities were Paris, Prague, Florence and Rome.

Before I even applied for the experience grant I had created a list of goals and expectations that evolved as my trip approached. While searching for an opportunity I knew I wanted to complete my first international trip. I also wanted to make sure I utilized the skills I had learned at the ILR School.

I am indebted towards the International Programs Committee as this experience would not have been possible without their help. Exploring New Delhi and being involved in a relevant and dynamic project was a rare break and great application of my studies at Cornell. I was a part of a project much bigger than myself, and one I that I previously knew nothing about.

After the four weeks of intensive case study writing, I began my internship at Building a Caring Community (BCC), a non-governmental organization. BCC began with an incredibly confident woman who, after seeing a child with disabilities chained outside of his house, decided to take concrete action to help children with intellectual disabilities by creating this organization. BCC has 11 day-care centers for children with developmental problems.

Sanlitun! It’s a major chic and modern shopping hub for Beijing. By day, you can find the most famous brands of America and Europe along with some amazing restaurants. By night, it turns into the center of nightlife for Beijing, with all its bars, clubs, and KTVs. Many expats could be found in the area, generally.

I went on an incredible 10-day mid-semester break trip that took me up along the eastern coast of Australia. The trip is called One Fish Two Fish and I booked it through World Backpackers Travel Agency. If you do one thing in Australia this should definitely be it. You get to visit all the major Aussie tourist-y locations with other study abroad kids (there were 80 on my trip); I snorkeled/scuba dove the Great Barrier Reef, bungee jumped, saw kangaroos and koalas and other Aussie critters, went whitewater rafting, and explored some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I can say without hesitation that it was among the best 10 days of my life.

I wanted to see Australia so I went to Adelaide, Perth, Gold Coast, Brisbane, Melbourne, Blue mountains, and then to Auckland & Wellington in New Zealand. I’d have to say New Zealand was the most incredible most beautiful place on Earth ( I hiked volcanoes, backpacked in nature parks, rock climbed in Wellington, it’s an amazing place I highly recommend!