What do Franklin & Marshall College students do during the summer? Some opt to stay in Lancaster to conduct research on campus, while others return home to pursue internships in their fields of study.

Below, hear from 10 students and recent graduates.

“I have been engaged in all fronts of the community-engagement process.”

– Roselyn Ovalles ’26

Roselyn Ovalles ’26

• Hometown: York, Pa.
• Double major: Earth and environmental science, Spanish

I will be interning at the Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association, focusing mainly on bacteria monitoring. I am nearly three weeks in, and I am very much loving it. I have been engaged in all fronts of the community-engagement process, from student macroinvertebrate studies to publishing results of our E. coli monitoring findings.

Likewise, I also have been involved in the Spanish translation process, ensuring that members of the nearby Hispanic communities are able to easily access information and healthy swimmable recreational waters, which is a right I want to keep protecting. 

Hanna Matusiak ’25

• Hometown: West Chester, N.Y.
• Double major: Psychology, sociology

I'm going to the Manhattanville University Graduate School of Education this fall for teaching (elementary education), so this summer, I’m teaching at a preschool for experience. 

Kyle Evancho ’26

• Hometown: Easton, Pa.
• Major: Business, organizations and society
• Minor: Economics

I got an internship in wealth management at Monocacy Wealth Partners in Bethlehem, Pa. Then, I'm going to North Carolina to do some shark fishing and golf.

Aliza Sheflin ’25

• Hometown: Holly Springs, N.C.
• Major: Public health (sociology)
• Minor: Jewish history and culture

I'm taking my birthright trip to Israel right after graduation, and I’m going to travel across Europe before I go to graduate school in Florida this fall. I'm going to pursue a degree at Palmer College of Chiropractic in Port Orange.

“I’ll be a researcher and archivist, helping to digitize and catalog countless records.”

– Richardson “Richie” Dockery ’26

Richardson “Richie” Dockery ’26

• Hometown: Los Angeles
• Major: Government
• Minor: Psychology

After completing the F&M in D.C. program, where I got to meet with Sen. Cory Booker, I’m working under Professor Christina McSherry [anthropology] at Historic Rock Ford in Lancaster. At Rock Ford, I’ll be a researcher and archivist, helping to digitize and catalog their countless records of the times and tribulations of Gen. Edward Hand, the right-hand man to eventual President George Washington.

Zaeem Zia ’26

• Hometown: Lahore, Pakistan 
• Major: Computer science

I'm doing research with Professor Ed Novak [computer science]. It will be about security issues within WhatsApp and different messaging apps, trying to find out what caused them and trying to debug them. I'm also part of the rowing team, so we will be rowing during the summer and going to some regattas. 

Max Goldman ’27

• Hometown: Ambler, Pa.
• Major: Business, organizations and society

I'm interning at Davidson Kempner Capital Management in Philadelphia, an international hedge fund. I'm also going back to my summer camp where I went as a child, and now I'm going to be an assistant division head there. 

Piper Lidstad ’27

• Hometown: San Diego 
• Double major: Government, sociology

I'm doing research here over the summer working on F&M Global Barometers with Professor Susan Dicklitch-Nelson [government]. 

Jason Shapiro ’27

• Hometown: Owings Mills, Md.
• Major: Business, organizations and society

I'm taking classes on campus for part of the summer, including quantitative methods and a mathematics class. Then I’ll be working in Florida doing sales.

“Learning new research techniques and gaining more experience in the lab.”

– Juliana Scheick ’26

Juliana Scheick ’26

• Hometown: Middletown, N.J.
• Major: Biology 

I am working as a student research assistant in the equine pharmacology laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. The main goal of our research is to identify potential precursors of injury on the racetrack, as well as the effects of drug use in the racehorses. We will be working closely with the Pennsylvania Equine Toxicology Research Laboratory and the Pennsylvania Racehorse Commission to improve the welfare of horse racing. Besides learning new research techniques and gaining more experience in the lab, I have the opportunity to better the lives of the racehorses and the reputation of the sport. 

Summer Experiential Learning

See how students have spent their past summers at F&M. "Pursuing summer experience can ultimately shape and inspire their paths in both expected and unexpected ways," said Ashley Fry, director of career development.

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