Name: Prianka Ball

Class Year: 2017

Internship Placement: I will be working in the Welcoming Center of New Pennsylvanians. This summer I hope to work with small businesses run by immigrants in Philadelphia.

What’s happening? We’d love to hear how your internship is going!

I interned at the welcoming Center of New Pennsylvanians this summer. To be more specific, I was working with the Small Business Development Department. I learned a lot about small businesses and the important role immigrants play for the economic development of Philadelphia. Throughout my summer I have helped make a toolkit on how to establish a street vending business, assisted street vendors get the required licenses, and helped put up KIVA ZIP profiles for other entrepreneurs. However, my biggest project was helping my supervisor make the marketing plan for the Philadelphia Immigrant Innovation Hub in Mt. Airy, which is set to start sometime in the end of this year. Through my work I got to interact with a lot of small business entrepreneurs and tried to find out ways that would help them succeed.

How I heard about my internship:

I was interested in working with small business entrepreneurs in Philadelphia area. I learned about the Welcoming Center of New Pennsylvanians by simply searching on Google. As I am an international student who knows the struggles of coming to a new country, I thought it would be a very good fit for me.

Why I applied for my internship:

I applied for my internship because I wanted to learn more about small businesses. I am planning of going into business school after Bryn Mawr so I wanted to see if I actually like working with businesses. My interest to work with small businesses is also connected with my current efforts of establishing a platform for volunteers and non-profits that would make it easier to share volunteering opportunities in Bangladesh. My summer internship has taught me a lot about non-profits and their outreach strategies which can help me to implement my project.