As the summer is coming to a close, Team Pengyou looks back on fond memories with all of our spring and summer 2015 Golden Bridges interns. You have each filled our little courtyard with light and laughter, and we are grateful to have had the chance to work with you and learn together.

This year, we were lucky to have two part-time spring interns and four summer interns from schools across the US (and even Singapore) all with a wide variety of China experiences. Read each of their China Stories below to get to know them a bit better:

Spring

Kim Chen, University of California, Santa Barbara (UCEAP Program)

Nate Levin, University of California, Santa Barbara (UCEAP Program)

Summer

Hannah James, Yale-NUS ( School Year Abroad)

Kamilla Yunusova, University of Pennsylvania

Olivia Robertson, University of Michigan (IES Beijing)

Shirley Kuang, Yale University (Harvard Beijing Academy)

It was an absolute pleasure to work with these bright students, and on days when schedules overlapped and all six interns, part time and full time, were in the office at once, we frequently heard peals of laughter across the courtyard. From the daily agonizing decision over where to go for lunch (which was largely an alternation between two favorites: malatang and guoqiao mixian,) to brainstorming content ideas and more, things were always interesting in the office with this crew. Although in the spring there were only two of them, Nate and Kim were a steady and cheerful presence each week, bringing fresh new ideas and stories of life at Beida.

As the spring turned to summer, Nate and Kim were joined by four new eager interns, and they all quickly became fast friends, each of them bringing something of their own to the team. We loved hearing stories about Hannah’s time spent at her gramma’s house in Beijing, and both her and Shirley brought a special brand of wit and humor to the office. Olivia’s quiet confidence and maturity put everyone at ease, and we were impressed by Kamilla, who although it was her first time in China and she had very little Chinese language skills, adapted extremely quickly to life here.

In the Pengyou courtyard, one summer can feel like a lifetime of friendship, and although each of them came from different parts of the US and had very different experiences with China, the Pengyou intern team explored China together, worked hard on each new project, brainstormed creative ideas, and laughed together. We could always count on them to be passionate, helpful, and reliable.

The six of you are part of our family now, and we hope that you will visit us often for KTV and hotpot! Here are some of our favorite memories of this year’s intern crew:

Thank you all so much!

Many of our interns came through our partners at the International Internship Program at UPenn, and the Yale Internship Abroad Program and through the UCEAP Program.

If you’re looking to intern at Golden Bridges, you’re in luck! We accept interns on a rolling basis so positions are available for the fall and spring. Check out the requirements here and take the leap.