Hello readers! I’m Meghan Fersten! I am writing to you from my hometown of Montreal, Canada, almost ready to board my flight to Delhi in just a couple of days where I will be an intern at the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI). Just two weeks ago, I celebrated my graduation from the College […]
CASI Student Programs Blog
Since 2007, the Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI) at the University of Pennsylvania has supported nearly 200 students! Welcome to the home base for CASI students and alumni to share their thoughts, reflections, and ongoing learnings about their internships, research projects, and travels in India and beyond.
Hi! I write to you from a conference room in Riobamba, Ecuador, having just spent the past 2 hours talking to a doctor about the challenges of starting an ophthalmology residency program at a local hospital. Just 2 weeks away from going to the Aravind Eye Care Hospital–arguably the pinnacle of low-cost, high-volume, high-quality ophthalmology–I’m […]
Hello dear reader! Did my title catch your attention? My name is Eric Lee, I’m originally from New Jersey, and I’m a rising sophomore (’26) in the College of Arts and Sciences studying biochemistry and biophysics. I’m involved in research at CHOP and student government, and I enjoy playing the violin and running. Before my […]
Hi! My name is Melissa Bell, and I will be an intern at the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) this summer. I am a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences, majoring in Health & Societies with a concentration in Health Care Markets & Finance. I am also pursuing a minor in Gender, […]
Happy Spring! With the school year just coming to a close and June fast approaching, I am beyond excited to get to introduce myself, my interests, and my expectations for this summer as an Aravind intern in Madurai! My name is Sage Leland and I am a rising sophomore in Penn’s College of Arts and […]
Hi everyone! My name is Achint Das, and I will be a CASI-Aravind intern for Summer 2023 in Madurai. I was born in Delhi, but I grew up for most of my life in New Jersey. I am a sophomore (Class of 2025) at Wharton concentrating in Healthcare Management with an interest in international health […]
I know the reasons I chose to spend my summer in Madurai at the Aravind Eye Hospital. When I look back at it, the actual ways in which Aravind is so unique and influential are clearer. Here is my pitch for why you should spend your summer at AEH. Aravind is, at its core, a […]
Even to this day, there are still times when I wake up and long to be back in our bustling, historically rich summer abode that was Madurai. Memories of late night talks with Manya, Celeste, and Suhaas in our Inspiration “living room”, eating home-cooked lunches in the canteen amidst busy days of work, and making […]
I am presently working on a project that aims to study the impact of loneliness on migration and reverse migration among textile factory workers in Bangalore, India. The objective is to design and implement an Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) inspired intervention that will target the loneliness and depression experienced by migrant women factory workers. Typically […]
Earlier this year when the team of curriculum designers at The Community Library Project and I first started speaking about the possibility of studying the role of informal spaces in young people’s lives, our research interests, though essentially looking at similar aspects, differed. While I was interested in looking at youth engagement in informal spaces, […]
CASI Student Programs Blog 