This week we had our first two classes of Corporate Social Responsibility with Professor Gupta. Although the three hour blocks are long, I found myself enjoying numerous aspects of the class. However, an aspect that I did not enjoy was being the first picked to discuss my Wall Street Journal entry. It caught me off guard and I was a bit unprepared, but I managed to recover my thoughts/takeaways and initiate insightful discussion. When I was on the other side of things and listened to Addie’s WSJ about transgender rights, I was very engaged and interested. I honestly wasn’t sure what my stance on the ethical dilemma was. I’ve also enjoyed learning about Adam Smith and his ideas of the invisible hand and the impartial spectator.
In the Internship Seminar class, we focused primarily on morals and the Parable of the Sadhu, a story about a group of mountaineers who encounter a dying holy man in the Himalayas and their partial insufficient attempts to save him. The discussion highlighted the complexities of ethical decision-making, emphasizing the difficulty of aligning individual actions with collective responsibility under stress. My main takeaways included the importance of having clear ethical guidelines and the challenges of coordinating efforts in real-life situations. It became evident that while theoretical discussions on ethics are valuable, applying these principles in practical scenarios is incredibly challenging, as real-world dilemmas often require immediate, pressured decisions that theory alone cannot fully prepare us for.
My internship experience has continued to be solid. I am getting into more of a routine and becoming more productive with my time, except for a few distractions here and there. Livi and I completed our first task and are onto using the AI scraper model. It has been confusing and difficult, but as I work with it more and more, I am getting more comfortable and efficient. Using the model, we are to scrape a load of crowdfunding websites based in the EU and create a spreadsheet showing their company name, website, campaign link, and total funding. This week, I am meeting up with the rest of the team in Monzo for lunch, which I am super excited for.
On Thursday, our Lehigh group participated in a wine tasting event that was both delightful and educational. We learned how to assess wine using visuals, smell, and taste, which provided us with a deeper appreciation for the complexities of different wines. The wines were paired with delicious appetizers, making the experience even more enjoyable. Following the wine tasting, my friends and I spent the rest of the weekend in Florence, where we visited the Uffizi Gallery and marveled at the incredible statues and paintings. We also explored the city, taking in its rich history and beautiful architecture, including a visit to the magnificent Florence Cathedral. The combination of wine education and cultural immersion in Florence made for an unforgettable weekend.
A Painting in the Uffizi