The Pulteney St. Survey

Off to Asia, Africa and South America

Raphael Durand ’13, Brianne Ellis ’13 and Molly Ford Krifka ’13 will
head to Asia, Africa and South America through the Charles H.
Salisbury Summer International Internship Stipend Award.

Since 2007, the Charles H. Salisbury Summer International Internship Stipend Award has given Hobart and William Smith’s students the opportunity to pursue internships abroad. This summer, three HWS students will study and work in Asia, South Africa and South America.

An economics and international relations double major, Raphael Durand ’13 from Menlo Park, Calif., will spend the summer conducting market research on consumer behavior of the Asian traveler with Coach Inc. and DFS Group Limited, two retailers of high-quality fashion merchandise.

“Up until now, my education has given me a theoretical understanding of what international business is,” says Durand. “This internship will give me the opportunity to experience the things I’ve only studied and read about.”

During the course of the three-month internship, Durand will conduct his research by travelling extensively around the world, with stops in New York City, France, the United Kingdom, Spain, China and Singapore. In each place, he will be responsible for researching Asian traveler shopping habits directly in stores, the findings of which he will present to management at the end of his internship.

Brianne Ellis ’13 from Cleveland, Ohio, an anthropology and sociology major with a minor in child advocacy, will work in South Africa at the Global Environment Technology Foundation, which serves as the secretariat for the recently launched U.S. Water Partnership to address water challenges around the globe.

“I cannot fathom a better opportunity that would allow me to take what I have learned at the Colleges thus far and live a life of consequence,” says Ellis. “I can only imagine the people I will meet, the doors that will open, and the things I will learn from an internship working toward improving the lives of disadvantaged South Africans through sustainable water and sanitation projects.”

As a partnership program assistant intern, Ellis will support field staff in day-to-day operations, project implementation, and logistics. She will also have the opportunity to travel to different regions and field sites around South Africa to evaluate potential initiatives.

Molly Ford Krifka ’13 from Amherst, Mass., an ethnomusicology and Spanish and Hispanic studies double major, will travel to Cusco, Peru, where she will serve as an intern at El Instituto Taki (Taki), a museum and cultural outreach center.

“I believe in our time of global multicultural fusion, it is essential that social scholars translate how local communities communicate for future generations to remember and to learn,” says Krifka. “I am anxious to begin my life of understanding and translating traditions that survive our contemporary moment of continuous global transformations.”

While interning with Taki, Krifka will be responsible for producing a museographical guide that details the entire Taki collection. She will also organize workshops and concerts, maintain public relations in Cusco, and participate in the development of current musical outreach programs for local youth. Krifka will also travel to various locales in order to record, collect and catalogue firsthand ethnographic information about contemporary indigenous instruments that Taki has recently acquired.

In addition to her internship responsibilities, Krifka plans to travel extensively throughout the region and engage in cultural activities in order to enhance her musical and cultural expertise of the Andes region.

“I plan to take private lesions in Quechua, Peru’s primary indigenous dialect, to better understand traditional musical dialogues,” explains Krifka. “I also plan to continue taking lessons in the charango, the Andean lute, as well as begin lessons playing two genus of the Andean pan flute.”

Created by Honorary Trustee Charles H. Salisbury Jr. ‘63, P’94, L.H.D.’08, former chair of the HWS Board of Trustees, the Salisbury Internship provides financial support for three students each summer who are interested in pursuing an international internship experience in a location of the student’s choice. By supplementing classroom education with internship experience, students gain a practical understanding of the demands and rewards of future career opportunities as well as an opportunity to test their skills and realize their potential.