Thu, 30 Aug 2007 04:00:00 -0400
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Realizing Their Potential:
UMBC Interns and Co-ops

Name: Nadeesha Ranasinghe Arachchige
Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Graduation: December 2008
Placement: Wyeth Research

“What I liked most about my internship with the drug safety and metabolism group was the opportunity to work with extremely talented and skilled scientists in sophisticated labs.”

Duties:

Conduct microsomal incubations.

Use HPLC to analyze data.

Perform protein assays.
Future Career Plans: “It has been my lifelong dream to become a doctor.”

Name: Sarah Blusiewicz
Major: History
Minors: Geography, Judaic Studies
Graduation: May 2008
Placement: Governor’s Summer Internship Program Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation Office of the Secretary

“Not only did I learn how to better prepare my resume and gain interview skills, I also obtained experience in a career that I am considering after graduation.”

Duties:

Research information for press conferences, meetings, legislation and reports.

Attend labor/community meetings and Federal hearings.

Help resolve issues from Marylanders that are forwarded to the Office of the Secretary.

Assist with writing talking points as well as the department newsletter.
Future Career Plans: “I would like to work for the Maryland Department of Labor or the Federal Department of Labor. At this time I am considering becoming a wage investigator.”

Name: Jillian Dembek
Major Financial Economics
Minor: Biology
Graduation: May 2009
Placement: Department of Defense, Washington Headquarters Service Information Technology Management Directorate Business Services Division (WHS/ITMD/BSD)

“This internship has given me a unique insight into the management of funds in the Department of Defense. I am so grateful to the Shriver Center. Without it, I would never have known about this internship!”

Duties:

Research and collect data on government license and maintenance contracts.

Gather law and policy information and ensure it is easily accessible to everyone in the department.
Future Career Plans: “I would love to continue to work for the Department of Defense. It is wonderful to know that through my work I am doing my part to help support our troops and our country.”

Name: Iffat Fatima
Major: Health Administration and Policy
Graduation: December 2007
Placement: Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Compliance

“I was so honored to be selected for the intern position at CMS. I am also very proud to be part of the UMBC community which has been a tremendous help for me since I started my career. My internship at CMS is a great experience because it allows me to understand health administration better and helps me demonstrate my knowledge.”

Duties:

Develop and evaluate national medicare policies and standards on payment methods for services provided by for DMEPOS.

Develop and evaluate Medicare polices for the DMEPOS Competitive Billing Program.
Future Career Plans: “I just obtained a junior analyst position at CMS for the Chronic Care Policy Group. I am really excited and look forward to starting work. I will be attending UMBC full-time while taking graduate level courses and completing my undergraduate degree in December 2007.

Name: Josh Hogge
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Graduation: May 2009
Placement: Otto Bock HealthCare

“Everyday is a day to learn, innovate and change someone’s life.”

Duties:

Research groundbreaking technologies in prosthetic sockets.

Work to improve the manufacturing process.

Research, select, and supervise installation of various machines and systems.
Future Career Plans: “I would like to become involved in Prosthetic R&D or R&D for other health care fields.”

Name: William Joyner, III
Major(s): Psychology and Biology
Minor: Chemistry
Graduation: May 2010
Placement: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Center for Learning and Health

“The Shriver Center gave me an opportunity to earn academic credit while conducting research and gaining work experience at one of the most elite institutions in my chosen career field.”

Duties:

Assist research program in conducting quantitative analysis of alcohol, opiate, cocaine and methadone consumption of substance abuse patients.

Help with urine and breath sample collection, laboratory maintenance and organization, and purchasing and distributing items for participants.

Learn about psychological research, particularly research focused on behavioral therapy.
Future Career Plans: “I plan to pursue a career in psychiatry.”

Name: Guy Kamguia
Major: Chemical Engineering
Graduation: May 2008
Placement: W.R. Grace

“Thanks to the Shriver Center, I am working for one of the best chemical companies in the world. I am acquiring important technical skills and most importantly I am finally applying what I learn in class. My internship has been a tremendous opportunity for me to gain experience as a future chemical engineer and I am loving it.”

Duties:

Use chemical engineering principles to identify and quantify opportunities to reduce materials and energy usage through process improvement.

Collect and analyze operating data from plant process control systems to identify current operating conditions and areas for improvement.

Design and conduct lab-scale experiments to evaluate potential process improvements

Collect and test plant samples to aid in identification of improvement opportunities.

Assist with plant quality improvement projects and testing to confirm the effectiveness of projects.
Future Career Plans: “After obtaining my Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, I plan on working for one of the best chemical companies in the US for a couple years. I also plan on obtaining my M.B.A and becoming a leader in the engineering world.”

Name: Laura Kull
Major: Information Systems
Graduation: May 2008
Placement: T. Rowe Price

“My internship gave me an opportunity to apply knowledge I’ve gained in the classroom to real work experience. I now feel more prepared to enter the workforce after graduation. Through this internship, I was able to expand my knowledge of the System Development Life Cycle, SQL, Oracle and DB2.”

Duties:

Work with a development team in the Retail Department of T. Rowe Price Investment Technologies.

Participated in the steps of T. Rowe Price’s System Development Methodology process.

Draft investigation documents, requirements and test cases; perform testing, and participate in production support meetings.
Future Career Plans: “After graduation, I plan on pursuing a career as a business analyst and continuing the Combined Bachelor of Science/Master of Science program in order to receive a Master’s Degree in Information Systems.”

Name: Winnie Nham
Major: Political Science
Minor(s): Music (Violin Performance), International Affairs, and Intercultural Communication
Graduation: May 2009
Placement: United States Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor East Asia section at the Asia and Western Hemisphere Office

“Working at the State Department has exponentially increased my awareness of the role the United States plays in affecting the lives of so many ordinary individuals throughout the world. My internship has also helped me focus my personal career goals and has provided me with the opportunity to meet important members of the State Department, the NGO community, and other talented college students across the nation.”

Duties:

Write and respond to constituent letters written to the President/Secretary of State on human rights abuses in East Asia.

Meet with NGOs who receive grant money from the U.S. Government to work on humanitarian aid.

Comment on asylum applications for the immigration courts.

Brief checklists for undersecretary/assistant secretary meetings with various ambassadors and diplomats.
Future Career Plans: “Next fall I will be studying abroad for a semester in Beijing, China. After I graduate from UMBC, I plan to pursue a Master’s degree in International Relations and take the Foreign Service Officer Test to hopefully become a Foreign Service Officer and represent the United States overseas.”

Name: Justin Pickering
Major(s): Information Systems and Economics
Graduation: May 2009
Placement: GE Money Americas IT Testing Center of Excellence, Enterprise Platforms

“The best part about my internship was that I was the lead on an actual project that directly impacted the productivity of my team. In other words, my results mattered to my team, in that if I did not complete my project, their process would continue to suffer. That drove me to give 120% all the time. In addition, the fact that I can gain credit for my internship within my major is a huge plus.”

Duties:

Plan, build, document, and capture metrics on a process workflow to allow for the automation and tracking of this process, step by step, in a form online that is viewable and accessible by everyone.

Research additional online tools by which user-defined fields used by many credit card clients are tracked and shared.

Complete some actual account testing that my department is in charge of.

Turn all of the documentation that I have created into a “Best-Practice” model that others at GE will be able to follow in order to automate their own processes using workflows.
Future Career Plans: “I plan on working toward my Master’s degree in Information Systems and continuing to pursue an employment role that blends together both IT and business. I would like to continue to work for GE because of their strong credentials in IT as well as their good reputation for molding their employees into dedicated leaders who motivate others and drive change.”

Name: Amanda Rosenbush
Majors: Political Science and Spanish
Graduation: May 2008
Placement: MD Department of Transportation Fellows Intern Program State Highway Administration, Office of Equal Opportunity

“Having studied this past semester abroad in Spain, the Shriver Center proved to be the link I needed to acquire a meaningful summer internship upon my return home, even while still thousands of miles away. I can’t describe my gratitude for the connections and partnerships that the Shriver Center has established for UMBC students — they get your foot in the door and then some.”

Duties:

Design and develop a Spanish Language Instruction Program partnership between SHA and UMBC.

Translate documents to Spanish as a part of OEO’s Limited English Proficiency Program.

Attend meetings and seminars to help brainstorm changes and improvements for the Limited English Proficiency program.

Research and compose a policy paper for the MDOT Fellows Intern Program.
Future Career Plans: “Upon graduating, I plan to teach in a bilingual classroom in New York City as a part of the Teach for America program or teach international education in Brazil through the Fulbright program. I then aspire to attend law school to study international law in order to prepare myself to advocate for international human rights at an international organization such as the United Nations or the World Bank.”

(8/29/07)