Ethan Wang, COL ’26, Naperville, IL
This past summer, I was fortunate to complete an internship with E-Strategy International Inc. as a Software Engineer Intern, supported by funding from Penn Career Services. The internship, based in Hoboken, NJ, lasted nine weeks and focused on AI-related projects, including the development and implementation of machine learning models, participation in code reviews, and documentation of technical specifications. In addition, I completed an Azure certification as part of my professional development. Although the opportunity was unpaid, receiving the Career Services Summer Funding Award made it financially possible for me to dedicate myself fully to the role. Without this support, I would not have been able to pursue this opportunity, which would not have allowed me to engage deeply with the technical challenges and collaborative learning opportunities the position provided.
I especially valued this internship because of its alignment with both my academic studies at Penn and my long-term career goals. As a student majoring in Computer Science and Cognitive Science, I had been drawn to the intersection of artificial intelligence and human-centered applications. Over the summer, I was able to apply my coursework in real-world settings—particularly in assisting with designing and evaluating machine learning models—which helped bridge the gap between theory and practice. I learned about a robust and widely used technique to train large-scale models in class at Penn, but this opportunity allowed me to see how it provides benefits to businesses implementing AI into their products. E-Strategy’s emphasis on collaboration and professional development provided a structured environment that strengthened my technical abilities while building professional skills that extend beyond the classroom. This internship offered me a unique opportunity to explore the practical challenges of AI implementation, expand my technical expertise, and grow in my ability to contribute to a professional engineering team.
The Penn Career Services Summer Funding Award was also meaningful because it represented more than financial assistance—it reflected an investment in students’ ability to pursue meaningful opportunities that might otherwise have been inaccessible. By supporting unpaid internships, Penn acknowledged the importance of experiential learning and the inequities that can arise when students are unable to afford to accept unpaid roles. For me personally, this award allowed me to pursue an internship directly relevant to my academic and professional interests without compromising financial stability. I am grateful for the support that enabled me to represent Penn in this role and to contribute to E-Strategy’s projects in a meaningful way. Looking back, I am proud of the lessons I learned, the skills I gained, and the ways in which this experience shaped my perspective on the future of AI and technology’s role in society. Ultimately, I carried these insights back into my studies and shared them with peers and mentors in the Penn community, ensuring that the impact of this summer extended far beyond my individual experience.
This is part of a series of posts by recipients of the 2025 Career Services Summer Funding Grant. We’ve asked funding recipients to reflect on their summer experiences and talk about the industries in which they spent their summer. You can read the entire series here
