Nicole Porter First W&L Student to Win US-German Internship
Nicole Porter, a sophomore at Washington and Lee University, is the first W&L student to be awarded an internship by the US-German Internship Program established by the American Chamber of Commerce and the Bridgehouse law firm in Atlanta, Ga.
The internships with German companies in different industries have traditionally been awarded to students from schools in the Atlanta area. However, due to the work of Paul Youngman, associate professor of German at W&L, the leaders of the internship program agreed to expand the consortium to include Washington and Lee.
The paid internships are competitive and are open to all majors, except for politics, at W&L’s Williams School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics and to all science majors. Applicants must also have a major or minor in German.
Porter, a business administration and German double major, will spend May through August working at TE (formerly Tyco Electronics) in Bensheim, Germany, after first attending a pre-orientation program for all interns in Frankfurt.
“I’ll be working in the procurement department, and there will be one other intern there and possibly some German graduate students as well. TE wants the internship to fit what I’m interested in, which is management and working with international companies,” said Porter. “I’m really excited about it, and one of the most important parts for me will be immersing myself in the German culture.”
“The future of academia lies in interdisciplinarity,” said Youngman, “and this kind of program that requires something from the liberal arts and something from the Williams School or the sciences is just the type of program that we want to push. Nicole is a very polished student with good grades, she presents well both on paper and in an interview situation, but most importantly she embodies the best of a liberal arts education with her diverse interests.”
The US-German Internship Program enables American students to spend time in Germany during the planning phase of their student lives, gain a better insight into the German economy, sharpen and improve their German language skills and engage with cross-cultural challenges. For more information, visit www.amchaminternship.org/or contact Professor Youngman at youngmanp@wlu.edu.
