Name: Grace Tsai
Class Year: 2026
Major: Economics
Minor: Data Science
Internship Organization: Library and Information Technology Services (LITS)
Internship Title: Digital Technology Intern
Location: Bryn Mawr, PA
What’s happening at your internship? We would love to hear what kind of work you are doing!
I had the opportunity to work on three projects throughout my internship.
The first project, completed in June, was the Institute for Liberal Arts and Digital Scholarship (ILiADS) Conference. The conference brought together teams of participants to build upon existing digital scholarship projects or even launch new projects entirely. It was an incredible experience that fostered collaboration, idea exchange, and innovation, and gave me the chance to see the process of developing digital scholarship projects firsthand.
The second project focused on creating interactive data visualizations primarily with Tableau. I worked on designing clear and engaging visuals that will be featured on the Bryn Mawr College website. The goal of this project was to transform public data concerning the college into more visually appealing graphics for prospective students to reference in the future.
The final project centered around lab safety. Alongside other interns, I created a series of videos to promote awareness of safe practices in laboratory environments.
Why did you apply for this internship?
My main goal for the summer was to build experience in data science, and the opportunity to build data visualizations interested me the most when applying. Investigating more, I was particularly intrigued in how digital scholarship was related to the data science field. I learned how digital scholarship could be a platform to improve public access to information, preserve cultural records, and tell stories with data. This internship has opened a door for how I think about the kind of work I want to pursue going forward.
What has been your favorite part of this internship?
My favorite part of this internship was the collaborative environment and the sense of purpose behind the three projects. From the start, I felt genuinely supported by the team. My supervisors encouraged me to ask questions and grow both personally and professionally. That support not only made it easier to connect with them, but also with my fellow interns and build a strong working dynamic.
Can you talk about the skills you are learning and why they are important to you?
I also gained valuable experience in project management. From the beginning, the team defined goals for each of the three projects and developed timelines to guide our work. I learned how to communicate effectively, adjust deadlines, and prioritize tasks to keep projects moving. The skills I learned through this internship are applicable in any professional setting, and I know I will continue to hone these skills as I take on future roles after graduation.
Being an economics major, a summer internship in Freiburg, the “Green City” known for its environmental and sustainable practices, at first sounded pretty unconventional. However, food security and sustainability education have always been great passions of mine which has driven many of my projects and papers both in and out of Bryn Mawr. As I go deeper into my major curriculum taking classes like Developmental Economics have greatly shaped my view of the world and how economics can be used as a tool to better promote cultural competency and community. Pairing that with my involvement in community belonging through the Enid Cook Center and the Intercultural Learning and Living Center makes this the perfect way to spend my summer. Especially considering Vauban, the communal district where many homeowners actually took part in the planning of the city in late 1990’s, happens to be where zusammen garten, our community garden is located. It’s a great intercultural meeting place where around 250 people from 16 different countries regularly garden here together: whether on monthly action days or in their own garden plots it’s where I’ve also been working and spending much of my free time!