Group finds internships in Israel

A summer job can be difficult to find. Many students wonder if they should stay in Philadelphia or go home to find work. Last summer, however, the Wharton Israel Business Connection helped several students make this decision by finding them internships with companies in Israel. Steven Wagshal, a Wharton junior, worked in Tel Aviv in the financial services division of Israel's largest hotel chain, the Dan Hotel Corporation. He said that the internship gave him the chance to do things that he doubts he could have done if he had worked at home during the summer. "The internship allowed us to set up meetings with CEOs of some of Israel's largest companies," Wagshal explained. "As a student working in the U.S., I never would have had the opportunity to meet people at such an influential level." Wharton junior Halyce Richard who had a marketing internship with Sun Microsystems in Tel Aviv said that she found the internship to be a beneficial educational experience. "Overall it gave me the opportunity to see how business worked abroad," said Richard. "Also, it was a great experience to learn about a different culture." Mark Felsen, a Wharton graduate student, worked with El-Op in Rehovot. He said that as a graduate student he was given much greater responsibities than undergraduates. He said that MBA students were involved in some of the actual planning of business strategies in the corporations for which they worked. "I was very happy," Felsen added. "The work I did was very interesting." Wharton alumni David Sokolic and Benji Karsch began the program in the summer of 1989 to find summer internships for students who are interested in getting hands-on experience in Israeli businesses, Wagshal said. The program works together with the Economic Committee of the Israeli Forum, a group of prominent Israeli businessmen, to coordinate activities and find jobs for the students in the program, according Wharton senior Sagi Mizrachi. Students from all across the nation have applied to the highly competitive program, according to Wagshal. Forum members review the applications and decide who will be accepted, Mizrachi said. Three Wharton undergraduates and one Wharton MBA student were among the 12 students accepted by the program last summer, WIBC member Ronen Stauber said. The program is still accepting applications for this summer's Gesher program and encourage any student that is interested in learning about Israeli business to apply, he added. WIBC is also trying to set up another internship program with the Young Business Forum of Israel, according to Stauber. "The concept of summer internships is a new thing in Israel," said Stauber, a Wharton junior. "We're trying to promote the idea."