Students Explore Career Interests in Internships Around the World
Major: Neuroscience
Internship: Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Mass.
What were your daily responsibilities?
The fun part was that every day was different! I studied Schistosoma mansoni, the parasitic flatworm that causes schistosomiasis, a debilitating disease affecting over 250 million people worldwide. Our group is building a cell atlas of the human-infecting larval stage by characterizing each of its ~1,600 cells based on RNA expression. My work included confocal imaging to localize RNA transcripts, computational analysis to compare transcriptomic profiles with those of well-studied organisms, electron microscopy to study larval ultrastructure, and husbandry of the snails that host the parasite.
How did this internship relate to your major?
I expected to focus on analyzing the neural cell clusters we had computationally identified, but I ended up working on a much broader range of cell types. Along the way, I gained microscopy and computational skills that will be directly applicable to neuroscience research.
What did you gain from this experience?
The MBL is a renowned hub for summer science, and I wanted the chance to both work in the lab and interact with scientists from around the world. I especially enjoyed dropping into lectures from the advanced research training courses and learning about the wide range of research on non-model organisms.
What knowledge did you bring back to Hamilton?
I came away with a clearer understanding of how science works as an institution and which labs are pushing the field forward: knowledge that will be invaluable for my future research career. I also gained confidence in my ability to work independently and engage with cutting-edge science.
What did you enjoy the most?
Working alongside my wonderful and talented colleagues during the day, and then walking just five minutes to the beach in the evening!
Major: Creative Writing
Internship: American High (film production company), Liverpool, N.Y.
What were your daily responsibilities/tasks?
I worked in the production office, which you can think of as the logistics behind the movie magic — like who’s arranging everyone’s transportation and living spaces. As a production office intern, your main tasks will probably look like sending packages, bringing items to and from set, lots of spreadsheets, and driving people around. I hopped on set as well and helped out for a day.
How did this internship relate to your major?
As a creative writing major, I thought this was my chance to see what was out there in the film industry. I wanted to know how a screenplay was made — what are the limitations, the processes, to making that script a reality.
What did you gain from this experience?
Really, it was exploring what my future could look like. I don’t want to put myself into a box for what my career will end up looking like … I’m too young for that, but this was a chance to see what [is] out there. I wanted to see if I had the drive to commit to 12-hour shifts in a freelance style where you might not know what your next job is, where it’s more about knowing certain people than what you know. I think I entered this position with a lot of questions I wanted answers to … what it’s really like to be in film outside of all the glamor.
What knowledge did you bring back to Hamilton?
I learned more about the film industry pipeline, that if you’re starting at the bottom — which most people are — you could expect to spend a lot of years there at low pay. Your expectations can really differ from reality, and that’s something you learn on the job. I also realized how much of film production is logistical over creative, though this depends on your department and how high up the ladder you are. If you have a particular career you’re going toward, then be ready to spend a lot of your time at the bottom, and even then, the career path isn’t always clear or linear. So, I guess the question is, what are you entering the film industry for? And how much of your life are you willing to dedicate on the off-chance that you’ll get there?
What did you enjoy the most?
You meet a lot of passionate, great people in film in all sorts of departments. People are always talking to each other, meeting each other. There’s still a corporate hierarchy, and people are often really busy, so it’s more a quick moment here or there that adds up. No specifics as I’m under an NDA, but you get to meet a lot of cool people. Also, I didn’t really realize how many people were involved in the film. You see the list at the end of the film, but it’s not until you’re meeting people from so many departments that you understand just how long that list is.
Major: World politics
Internship: Micron Technology, Washington, D.C.
What were your daily responsibilities?
Working at Micron was a dynamic experience, and each day brought new sites for discovery and learning. My primary responsibilities were to digest the activity of Congress, the White House, and political stakeholders in Micron’s footprint states into concise packages of information for team members. This [included] attending or watching committee hearings on Capitol Hill, observing press conferences, and reading materials released by relevant congressional committees. I assisted the Government & Public Affairs team leadership with scheduling and compiling briefing memos for meetings and panels, and created a relevant legislation tracker for the 119th Congress, which proved very useful in helping to monitor and coordinate responses to legislation.
How did this internship relate to your major?
Advanced technologies will shape and redefine global relations in our increasingly digitized world. Thus, working for Micron, the only American manufacturer of memory and storage semiconductor chips, helped me better understand how these products will define the future. I know how critical it is that we, as Americans, help companies like Micron to sustain technology leadership and work to build manufacturing ecosystems that make it possible for more of these chips to be made, designed, and tested domestically.
Micron’s chips are fueling AI and other cutting-edge technologies that are already revolutionizing numerous industries and practices. Being able to couple the knowledge I gained from my internship with the knowledge I’m developing in the classroom is an immensely enriching experience. I’m now able to anchor my observations from working with Micron to academics and better understand how to bridge interests to lead to a sustainable relationship between government and industry. I can challenge myself to link the theory I’m learning in the classroom to real-world implications, which is an exciting prospect.
What did you gain from this experience?
Going into my internship with Micron, I wanted to learn how industry works with the public sector to influence policy. As someone passionate about manufacturing and industrial policy, I was eager to have the chance to work with Micron, given its commitment to expanding its American manufacturing footprint, with the most significant investment being right here in Upstate New York.
What knowledge did you bring back to Hamilton?
I learned that specific industries, particularly capital-intensive and onshoring newcomers such as the semiconductor industry, need to have a voice in crafting policy as they seek to establish operations in the U.S. market. There are considerations that lawmakers may be unaware of, which could unintentionally hinder the feasibility of expansion efforts. Companies like Micron need to be able to articulate their needs to policymakers to ensure the creation of effective policies that enable the actualization of a semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem.
What did you enjoy the most?
Working for a company committed to investing in and manufacturing in America. Each day, I helped advance Micron’s expansion efforts and contributed to the creation of advanced technology ecosystems surrounding Micron’s investment sites. I loved being able to see how policy was directly impacting the revitalization of communities like Clay, N.Y.
Major: Economics
Internship: First Citizens Bank Energy Project Finance team. New York, N.Y.
What were your daily responsibilities?
My work consisted of shadowing deals, researching energy markets and policy around the country, contributing to the due diligence efforts for analysts while they did other work on their deals, and lots of practice in Excel. I was often analyzing macroeconomic trends that applied to our team, such as interest rate and federal policy decisions.
What did you gain from the experience?
I wanted to learn about project finance and the renewable energy industry. I don’t have a background in finance, so this was a huge opportunity for me to learn from industry professionals. I want to be in the renewables space and help build out renewable energy technology throughout my career, and this was a great opportunity to start out on that path.
What knowledge did you bring back to Hamilton?
I’ll look to pull from my experiences this summer as I participate in the Levitt Center’s Justice Lab, which is renewable energy focused this semester. I’ll use the knowledge I learned about energy markets and risk analysis for renewables projects to contribute to classroom conversations with our cohort.
What did you enjoy the most?
I loved my experience with the team as a whole, but being a huge baseball fan, I really enjoyed when the company brought the intern and incoming analyst class to a Yankees game with box tickets. It was a great game with lots of great people!
Here’s a sampling of where Hamilton students interned this summer:
- Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce in Idaho
- Massachusetts Audubon Society in Boston, Mass.
- Central Overseas Education Services in Rome, Italy
- Rag & Bone in New York, N.Y.
- Warner Brothers Corporate Social Responsibility in Atlanta, Ga.
- Siemens Energy in Orlando, Fla.
- York County Superior and Biddeford District Courts, State of Maine Judicial Branch in Biddeford, Maine
- U.S Nuclear Industry Council in Washington D.C.
Internships & Careers
Hamilton offers numerous options for internships, including summer internship funding sources, that provide important ways to explore careers.
Representing Bhutan on Campus ... and at the United Nations
Jampel Payldon ’27 hails from the Kingdom of Bhutan, a small nation nestled in the Himalayas. This summer, Payldon had the opportunity to represent her country on the world stage as an intern at the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Bhutan to the United Nations.
Bringing 250 Years of U.S. History to Life at the Smithsonian
As the United States prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday, one Hamilton College student is getting intimately acquainted with our nation’s deep and storied history. Lily Watts ’26 spent her summer on the National Mall working as a curatorial exhibition development intern at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. By sifting through troves of ancient documents and designing object display layouts, Watts reanimated the past two-and-a-half centuries of American life in preparation for 2026’s celebration.
