1. Bringing W&L to Santiago

Bringing W&L to Santiago Four Washington and Lee University students traveled to Santiago, Chile, this summer through the CIEE Summer Global Internship program.

By Kelsey Goodwin
September 16, 2025

"This program really opened my eyes to the possibility of living abroad after graduation, and I feel much more prepared to do so now."

~ Hannah Grace Kornberg '27

Four Washington and Lee University students joined a cohort of 15 interns in Santiago, Chile, this summer through the CIEE Summer Global Internship program for eight weeks of immersive work experience with a side of adventure.

W&L's Center for International Education (CIE) has long worked with CIEE as a program provider for internships and study abroad. This year, CIEE reduced the cost of their 2025 summer internship programs in Latin America by one-third as part of the organization's Leading Change in Latin America initiative, an opportunity that made getting a taste of life in Chile even more accessible for W&L students.

Ana de Oliveira '27, an economics major with a minor in education policy from São Paulo, Brazil, said it was important to her to gain work experience in South America since she plans to return to her home country after graduation. De Oliviera worked at a Chilean NGO called Fundación Por Una Carrera, which provides support to marginalized high school students during their college application process and scholarship search.

"With my professional long-term goal being to work in policymaking in the area of education back home, this internship was a great opportunity for me to better understand the barriers some students face when trying to attend university in South America and what the possible solutions are," she says. "This internship reassured me that I want to be one of the many people who are trying to make South America a place where everyone has access to quality education, no matter their financial circumstances."

Business administration and Spanish double-major Hannah Grace Kornberg '27 is involved in multiple leadership positions on campus that made studying abroad for a full term challenging and says she jumped at the chance to fit a summer abroad into her schedule. Kornberg worked for a company called Nagare, which promotes Japanese technological solutions in Latin American and European markets, and was tasked with supporting the company's marketing and sales efforts in Chile. Kornberg says she discovered a newfound interest in potentially living and working abroad after graduation, particularly in a Spanish-speaking country. The Cusseta, Georgia, native says that the experience has opened her eyes to international career opportunities and personal growth that far exceeded her initial expectations for her summer.

"This program really opened my eyes to the possibility of living abroad after graduation, and I feel much more prepared to do so now," Kornberg says.

Both students were also able to take advantage of the CIE's summer grant funding, which allows students to either pursue faculty-directed research or complete an internship through W&L-approved third-party providers in a variety of countries, allowing many students a summer experience not otherwise available to them on campus or at home. Students interested in summer funding and studying or interning abroad work closely with Cindy Irby, associate director and study abroad adviser for CIE, who says these opportunities are often a great fit for students who want to go abroad during their time at W&L but may not be able to do so during the academic year.

"We are grateful to CIEE for supporting W&L students with financial incentives that open doors to less traditional internship destinations in Latin America," Irby says. "Combined with W&L's summer grants, these opportunities provide transformative experiences that build global awareness and career readiness."

The group's experience in Santiago was not all work and no play. CIEE organized some group outings, including classes in empanada-making and ceramics, which included overnight trips to nearby towns. Members of the internship cohort also branched off to do weekend excursions to the Atacama Desert, Valle Nevado and Patagonia.

"The trip to the Atacama Desert was also phenomenal," de Oliveira says. "I got to see one of the most beautiful views of my life: entering a saline lagoon called Laguna de Cejar, sandboarding, seeing flamingos and more. The atmosphere in that desert was just surreal."