Student Spotlight: University of California, Berkeley 8-Week Internship Program in New York 2025

The University of California, Berkeley collaborated with Global Career Center (GCC) on an 8-week internship program in New York City. This blog post features a profile of an international student at Berkeley, Yasmin Mohsen, an Economics and Media Studies Double Major.

Yasmin's Summer Intern profile with Food First.

"After taking part in the Berkeley Global Internship program in Paris my freshman year, that experience was such a great time, and I wanted the chance to explore the US before I graduated. So this was a good way to be able to explore my options for living in the US, and the program was so fun the first time - that’s why I wanted to reapply this summer. I also wanted to check out potential grad school options in NYC. Other than living in New Orleans for a few years as a child, I hadn’t experienced living in any state other than California, so I was curious to see what New York had to offer.

Working as a Programs & Communications Intern at Food First, professionally I’ve learned how to use a lot of new software, technical skills that I didn’t have before completing the internship. Working remotely was also a completely new experience for me, coordinating virtual meetings when you can’t meet in person, so all of that was a big learning curve. I’ve developed great time management skills, having to find a work-life balance while still being productive and self-motivated. This internship taught me how random skills that I happened to have can be useful, like speaking French fluently, which came in handy for a particular project at my internship as I was the only one in the team who spoke French. 

It was really fun to explore NYC, working remote gave me the chance to work in a bunch of different cafes and coworking spaces (I met up with Mel, our NYC Program Manager, and some of the other Berkeley interns at a few of these, one in particular in Williamsburg that we loved!). I wouldn’t have been able to see so much of the city if my internship was full-time in an office. 

From left to right: Yasmin in Dumbo, Brooklyn; View from Central Park; Boat day on the East River; Seeing Wicked on Broadway with the GCC Berkeley group, Co-working space in Williamsburg; Six musical on Broadway.

With my gym membership that transferred over from Berkeley (they have several locations in the US), I was able to stay active in NYC and build a community of friends through group workout classes. Citi bikes were also a big highlight for me, I even biked all the way from Union Square to the Natural History Museum on the Upper West Side, which allowed me to see way more of the city than sitting on the train.

I definitely recommend the Berkeley Global Internship Program to anyone wanting a taste of living and working in a new city. Thank you GCC, Mel and the team for everything you all have done to make my experience in New York so great!"