Summer Stories: Jade Poli '25

As a Creative Writing Major and Gender & Sexuality Studies Minor, Jade has made Bryn Mawr her second home. She’s heavily involved on campus: Night Owls A Capella, Nimbus Literary & Arts Magazine, as well as Spanish Peer Tutoring, are just a few examples of how she’s made community for herself on campus. This summer Jade will take on German in Vienna. Using her creative talents in an internship she found through Bryn Mawr, she’ll prepare for and market the Amadeus Music Festival hosted by the Amadeus International School. 

How did you find this program?

 I found this internship through the Institute for the International Education of Students (IES), which is one of the programs that works with Bryn Mawr students. I went to one of Bryn Mawr’s summer career opportunities events at the Career and Civic Engagement Center, and asked them if they had any programs that would be in the artsy realm, like creative arts, music, performing arts, etc.  They told me about IES and I liked it the most because it aligned with my interests in music and is in such a cool city!

What will you be doing while you’re there? 

My day-to-day activities will involve preparing for and marketing the music festival hosted by the school. Seems my experience as a Tour Guide will come in handy as well as I will be helping out their admissions team!

One of the best parts of this program is that they guarantee you an internship placement. So, if I had for some reason not gotten the job with the people that I’m working with, they would have found me something else to do while I’m there!

What are you most looking forward to about this experience?

Living in a city and having a lot of independence in that space!  As much as I’m independent at school, Bryn Mawr is a space that’s very similar to my home so the transition was not particularly difficult for me.  Now, I’m going to a space that is very different from Bryn Mawr and New Jersey. 

I am excited to grow the skills I’ve started to plant the seeds of while working at Bryn Mawr. A vital part of the program is “professional development”. We will have what they call the “Internship Seminar” twice a week, where you work on professional development skills like getting your resume ready and interviewing.

I’m also taking a German class that comes with the program!

In what ways has Bryn Mawr prepared you for this experience? 

Bryn Mawr has made me more independent and more confident. If I had dropped into Vienna after high school, I probably would have been more stressed and less prepared for it. Now, as much as I’m anxious to be in a new environment, being halfway through my undergraduate career gives me the confidence to feel like I know what I’m doing. Bryn Mawr has high standards and it’s a space that is very community-oriented. Because of this, I think it’ll make it really easy for me to connect with my coworkers and to organize events as part of my work. 

Despite her packed schedule, Jade is also looking forward to some down-time after her travels: "When I get back after two months, I will go to Arlington to see my Bryn Mawr roommate. She’s going abroad to Copenhagen this fall! Then, I usually go to Cape Cod to visit my grandparents. I’ll also just chill out with my dog after, because you know, I won’t be with my dog while I’m abroad!"