Global experiences advance student learning

Over 70 undergraduates learned career-shaping lessons in the field last summer with support from Global Cornell.

Funded Global Internships from the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies and Office of Global Learning and research and leadership opportunities with Einaudi's Laidlaw Undergraduate Leadership and Research Program sent 41 Cornellians to 14 countries in 2024.

Applications are open now for summer 2025 internships, and the Laidlaw Scholars Program opens on November 15. Students will share their international work at the November 19 Global Cornell Experience Showcase.

How to become a global citizen

Global intern Haruna Floate '26 (College of Human Ecology and College of Agriculture and Life Sciences) spent ten weeks at India's Ashoka University, a Global Hubs partner, in the Integrative Genetics and Evolution Laboratory led by Sudipta Tuna. Floate contributed to a project investigating the effects of diet on behavior and aging in fruit flies.

Her work in the lab taught her some surprising fundamentals: how to cook food for flies, collect their eggs and differentiate between male and female flies. By the end of the internship, she took the lead on experiments.

"It was a challenging but rewarding experience, and I am grateful for all of the lab members who guided and trusted me in this process," said Floate. "As a nutritional sciences major at Cornell, I loved being able to connect my classroom knowledge to laboratory research, all while immersing myself in the rich and vibrant culture of India."

"My summer at Ashoka helped me to strengthen my sense of cultural awareness, intercultural communication and empathy," she said. "I will carry these takeaways with me as I pursue my professional goals of serving as a multilingual healthcare provider."

How to think internationally to solve problems

Hadley Flanagan '26 (CALS), environment and sustainability major, was a Global Intern in Sydney, Australia. The University of Sydney, a Global Hubs partner, placed Flanagan with the Sydney Sustainable House. She worked on a community composting project called Coolseats-public benches that hide compost systems with a place to sit and a surrounding garden bed.

Flanagan's work included making promotional materials, helping to redesign the product, managing composts and supporting the development of a Coolseats business strategy.

"My favorite part of the summer was planning and giving a tour of the community gardens and compost systems offered to residents," she said. "I could show off what I learned throughout the summer about how sustainable changes can be made to houses, parks and other public spaces."

"In university, we are often taught US-centric views," she said, "which can be limiting as environmental problems are global. Seeing how another country is tackling these problems and how citizens are engaging in sustainability reinvigorated my passion for environmental studies."

"It has influenced how I want to continue my future studies and career with a more international approach," Flanagan said.

How to adapt to new roles and places

As a Laidlaw scholar, Eliana Amoh '26 (CALS) has spent two summers engaging in international research and leadership experiences.

In her first summer as a Laidlaw scholar, global development major Amoh studied barriers to education in Ghana. Her work with faculty advisor Tristan Ivory, assistant professor of international and comparative labor, found that economic growth is directly correlated with educational investment.

In 2024, Amoh continued her work in Ghana with a Global Internship. The Einaudi Center's Institute for African Development helped place Amoh at Lead for Ghana, an educational nonprofit that works to cultivate leaders who can drive systemic and social change throughout Ghana.

Her internship fulfilled her Laidlaw requirement to complete a leadership-in-action experience. Amoh helped to recruit and support leadership fellows, including the introduction of AI programs into fellows' classrooms to accommodate different styles of learning.

"The number one lesson I got from the experience was the importance of being teachable," she said. "I had to go outside of my comfort zone."

"With the support of staff and having an open mind, I was able to learn more about the vast opportunities within the development sector," Amoh said. "Outside of the internship, I had to be teachable in accepting advice and guidance from the people around me on how to navigate Ghana."

Megan DeMint is new media manager for Global Cornell.

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