“My internship at the EPA allowed me to pinpoint and work on specific areas of interest within the field. My supervisors were eager to help me create a semester of challenges and successes in both the office environment and in the field. I was able to review permits, contact various environmentalists via phone and email, organize a hydrology workshop, test several wetlands and assist my supervisors on different sites.”
Travis Kohl, Alma College
Fall 2002 and Spring 2003
Environmental Protection Agency, Wetlands Division Intern
Global Issues
Exploring global issues is another reason students spend a semester in Philadelphia.
I loved every single moment at TPC. I use the word “loved” because it was a very unique and a life full long experience. It was a challenging experience but I am glad that I was part of this adventurous opportunity where I did not only had the opportunity to discover my direction in life but I also had the opportunity to create new relationships, and develop the Notion of self and others.
Working at Controller’s Office and living in Philadelphia did not only made me more confident to go outside of my comfortable zone but it also allowed me to put in practices what I have learned from books and classrooms. From my international point of view, I must say that it was very unique and significant experience. It did not just give the opportunity to visit another city in the U.S.A. It also gave me the opportunity to understand the Culture, the History, and the People. It provided me the tools to improve my communication skills, my knowledge about certain issues, and take challenging situations as an opportunity for growth.
My independent living, internship, Marketing class, and City Seminar experiences gave me the opportunity to discover what best works for me and I start to see these experiences as a major resource for my learning process. It was not only about doing something and completing certain activities. It is about taking a raw experience that is processed through an intentional learning format and transformed into working, useable knowledge. TPC helped me to Discover my Direction in life by helping to think and reflect about every experience critically by asking questions such as: what? So what? Now what? There is so much to explore in Philadelphia and so much to learn from.