REID CALHOUN, ‘17: IDAHO

Reid Calhoun completed the A. Paul Knight Internship Program with W&L’s Science Department at the Henry’s Fork Foundation, a nonprofit organization in Ashton, Idaho, whose mission is to restore, protect and conserve the Henry’s Fork River and the surrounding watershed area.

Every summer, the department sends four students to Island Park, Idaho (nearby to Ashton) to work with local nonprofits.

Each week, Calhoun collected water samples to keep a watch over the water quality in the river. Earlier in the summer, he oversaw a fish trap to track what kind of fish came and went through the Ashton fork of the river. He worked on various projects including cleaning fish ladders. He also monitored the numbers and sizes of the fish and whether or not certain fish returned annually during spawning season.

“I learned so much about the politics of working for a conservation organization,” Calhoun said. “Due to serious droughts every summer, the irrigators, fishermen and conservationists have to work together to manage the water in the Henry’s Fork watershed as best they can.”

Calhoun explained how the farmers needed the water for irrigation, which affected the flows coming out of various res- ervoirs. Meanwhile, the fishermen preferred certain flows for better fishing that often did not coincide with the farmer’s preferences.

Through his experience, Calhoun was able to learn firsthand what it is like to run a nonprofit as well as enjoy the “hands- on” scientific fieldwork that attracted him to Idaho.

LUKAS CAMPBELL, ‘19: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Lukas Campbell interned in the Dominican Republic with a nonprofit organization devoted to giving kids in at-risk communities around the world the chance to have a better life by improving their overall communities through providing food and water, orphanages, schools and care centers.

The organization, Kids Alive International, is a nonprofit ministry program that provides children a well-rounded edu- cation, teaching them about God as well as art and literature. Through Kids Alive, Campbell worked at a school in the Dominican Republic as a teacher’s assistant in a second-grade class.

In the month and a half that Campbell was there, he helped local children by not only teaching academics, but also by guiding his students through their social and personal development.

In his last week, Campbell met up with the entire intern team in Santo Domingo and helped with the construction of a new school.

“It just shocked me how they would always be so hospitable and give me stuff like water and snacks, despite having so few of those resources,” Campbell said. “It made me really think of my own selfishness and how much better I could be using the resources and privileges I have here for the benefit of others.”

COREY GUEN, ‘17: CHINA

Corey Guen marketed for GoPro in Shanghai, as half of a Chinese studies and internship program called CET. Most of his work involved social media and market research.

Since GoPro does almost all of its marketing on social media, such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, the company faced challenges entering the Chinese market beyond the standard difficulties, because none of those sites are accessible through the Chinese “Great Firewall.” So GoPro was nearly starting from scratch in China.

Guen helped the company evaluate content for all the equivalent Chinese platforms, such as WeChat, Weibo, Youku and Flashshow. Guen’s role was to assist the social media and marketing supervisors to tailor content to these platforms for a Chinese audience— a significantly different consumer base from Americans. With one exception, the entire office was Chinese-born.

Guen also helped run GoPro’s booth at the Shanghai “Slide the City” tour. He also performed market research on the action camera and drone in China in preparation for the launch of GoPro’s latest line of products.

“Seeing how an American company has chosen to navigate the complicated Chinese landscape is very interesting,” Guen said. “The team is still relatively small, and the market entry has been cautious, but given the competitiveness of the Chinese tech marked, the methodical approach is understandable.”