Summer Bears

Internships often are an important part of Baylor’s transformational undergraduate education. There might be no better time for students to focus on extra- or co-
curricular professional work than in the summer. These five Bears share how they are gaining leadership, research and hands-on learning experience during their Baylor summer.

Haley Petersen
Biology

Petersen is seeing pre- and post-op patients as a surgical intern, writing patient workups and aiding in small procedures with opportunities to scrub into the operating room to shadow surgeries. 

“Last summer, I shadowed Dr. Brian Cox at Premiere Plastic Surgery/ Pasadena Advanced Surgical Institute, and I was asked to come back as an intern after building strong relationships with the doctors and staff there. I feel incredibly blessed to have this opportunity to work alongside Dr. Cox because he was the doctor who saved my mother’s life when I was young. Being able to have an internship that has this much meaning is something I will be eternally grateful for, and it inspires me to work diligently and with confidence in a medical setting.”

Andrew Lindbloom
Anthropology

Through Harvard University’s Program for Research in Markets and Organization (PRIMO), Lindbloom’s research internship focuses on analyzing big data to inform human resources decisions such as compensation and promotion at a large utilities company. 

“The idea behind this is that big data can help us eliminate either gender- or race-based bias by informing these decisions without a human mind interfering. It’ll be exciting to work with the students from Harvard and the students coming from all across the U.S. to hone our research skills. I’m excited to come back to Baylor next year and hopefully be able to put those skills to use on new research projects.

“I’ve been afforded research opportunities like this through Baylor’s McNair Scholar program. I had a research internship last summer where I worked with Dr. Alan Schultz, an anthropology professor at Baylor. That previous experience is really what prepared me for this summer’s internship.”

Lauren Jarvis
University Scholars

Jarvis is interning at the United Nations Information Center as a note taker and researcher. She attends congressional hearings on foreign policy issues and reports to the UN headquarters.

“I’m on the Baylor Model UN team, so I’ve been exposed to how the UN works. The idea of having a more hands-on approach and being involved with the UN itself was pretty exciting.

“One of the reasons I was able to take this internship was because the political science department was very gracious in offering me a Mayborn Scholarship that is helping me with tuition and a stipend to live in Washington, D.C. The political science department has been wonderful; many people have advised me about how I’m approaching the internship process, and it has been an absolute blessing to work with them.

“The Honors College emphasizes professional development and learning how to carry yourself and interact with other people. These qualities that I have developed through my time at Baylor will be essential when walking into a realm like the UN that is very professional. I’m looking forward to being a part of international affairs in a very tangible way. It’s one thing to do a lot of research and to learn about international affairs on my own ­— to observe what the UN is doing. It’s an entirely different thing to be working hands-on with the UN.”

Leandro Garcia
Political Science

Baylor Line Camp provides an extended summer orientation experience for incoming first year and transfer students. After a semester of preparation this spring, Garcia is spending his summer as a Baylor Line Camp leader.

 “If you want to be a Line Camp Leader, you have to take a leadership class throughout the semester to prepare for what’s to come in the summer with communicating and facilitating discussions. One of the most important skills from the leadership class was learning how to open up to other people. Line Camp is a really important space for a lot of people because they feel like they can make deep connections with new students. As a Line Camp Leader, you have to be the one to show those connections for other people.

“I want to be the welcoming face that people associate with Baylor when they get here because Line Camp was a very important experience for me. My Line Camp Leader made me feel like Baylor was my home, and she made me feel welcome. I want to be that for someone else.”

Sam Ford
International Studies

Ford is spending her summer in Washington, D.C., interning for Van Scoyoc Associates, a government relations firm. She hopes to gain career guidance and experience and make connections in her field of interest that will help her pursue her career.

“My Baylor education has prepared me for this internship well. Through the Baylor Interdisciplinary Core, I have gained good writing and speaking skills, as well as good interpersonal skills. I feel confident in my ability to get tasks done and engage with my supervisors and their clients. That confidence has certainly been fueled by my experience at Baylor.”