What Do Wellesley Students Do On Campus Over the Summer?
While many Wellesley students spend their summers back home or elsewhere in the world, some choose to stay on campus. Here, three students walk us through their on-campus summer experiences.
Tune in to the Wellesley College Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts on August 24 to find out about the last student we’ll feature in our summer series, What Do Wellesley Students Do On Campus Over the Summer?
As Teran Chapis ’22 (right) easily navigates the equipment cage located behind the front room of the Knapp Media and Technology Center, it’s hard to believe that eight months ago she didn’t know how to use a 3D printer or any of the center’s other software and equipment.
As a first-year student, Chapis didn’t know what on-campus job she wanted. “One of my friends told me, ‘A position just opened up in the Knapp Center, I work there, this is what I do, you should apply.’” After working throughout the academic year, Chapis found out she could continue her job into the summer.
Working directly with Shane Cox ’18 (above left), the makerspace technology coordinator, Chapis got to see what resources students can access at the Knapp Media Center. “My favorite part of working here this summer probably has been getting to learn how to use all the equipment here, like learning how to use the 3D printer, plotter printer, and all the different software,” she said. The day before the Summer Research Poster Session, Chapis helped anxious peers who were trying to figure out why their posters weren’t printing right. “Let me take a look,” she said, as the plotter printer started to whir.
If you were to ask her friends, they’d say Karina Alvarado ’20 is the type of person most likely to become Instagram famous. This summer, Alvarado (left) worked as a digital marketing and administration intern at the Davis Museum along with Aviv Shimoni ’21. Her previous experience as an Instagram story reporter for the office of communications and public affairs gave her a sneak peek at life behind the scenes of content creation.
“As a cinema and media studies major, I am interested in working in art, and so I thought this would be a fun experience to see what other industry I could go into,” she said. “My big interned [at the Davis] a few summers ago so I knew it was something I could apply to.”
Alvarado’s passion lies in film and photography, but she’s enjoyed learning how to promote the Davis through digital media. She and Shimoni have been working on updating websites and creating the layout for the Google Arts and Cultures story project. “My favorite part about working at the Davis Museum is meeting all the great people here and working with the other digital marketing intern Aviv,” Alvarado said.
Holly Bourque ’21 often heads to Cheever House to meet with Nancy Marshall, senior research scientist at the Wellesley Centers for Women, to discuss Bourque’s summer research. As a student fellow in the Social Science Summer Research Program, she analyzed different career pathways and outcomes for Wellesley alumnae.
At the end of last semester, the Knapp Social Science Center emailed students with information about various professors and their research. Students were asked to apply directly to the professor whose research appealed the most to them. After Bourque’s interview, Marshall asked if she wanted to work with her over the summer.
Marshall helped Bourque develop her presentation for the Summer Research Poster Session. “I’m getting that direct mentorship that you might not get at other internships,” Bourque said.
At the poster session, Bourque presented her findings to Pamela Taylor, assistant provost of institutional planning and assessment and director of institutional research. The Office of Institutional Research uses data, including the kind Bourque researched over the summer, to help inform institutional planning and decision-making. Of Taylor, Bourque says “she’s literally my idol!”
