India Mullady '11 and Professor Eric Haskell, in front of Monet's Le Matin clair aux saules in the Musée de l'Orangerie, Paris.
India Mullady ’11 was celebrating the end of a prestigious economic internship in Prague with a trip to Paris, but the one sight she hadn’t anticipated was a Scripps professor.
While walking through the Musée de l’Orangerie in the Tuileries Gardens with her parents, India saw a familiar face she couldn’t place immediately. “Then it hit me,” she said — it was Professor of French and Humanities Eric Haskell.
After introductions were made, Haskell — an expert on French culture and history — spent the better part of the morning giving the Mulladys a tour of the Musée de l’Orangerie, where they talked about life, art, and Scripps. “Professor Haskell was better than any audio guide we could have hoped to receive,” said India. “Just one of many ways Scripps has enriched my life.”
Another is the internship she’s just concluded. Arranged by Professor of Economics Patricia Dillon, the job allowed India and another Scripps student, Anna Harkness ’10, to intern at Pražská Energetika (PRE), the main electricity company for Prague, Czech Republic. The internship has been in place for a decade and gives two Scripps economics students per year practical experience in real-world situations while working in conjunction with CVUT, the Czech university in Prague.
This year, India and Anna focused on the topic, “Cost Saving in Times of Economic Crisis” from an IT perspective. The duo’s 60-page report was presented to the PRE management board, and both attended weekly educational seminars on energy trading and met frequently with their supervisor, allowing them to learn more about the company and tailor their report to the company’s specific needs.
India and Anna lived in an apartment in downtown Prague, a 30-minute tram ride from the PRE building where they worked. Several graduate students at CVUT showed the two around the city and country, and even had a “grill party” in their honor. It was at this party where they learned it was the kindness of Professor Dillon to a Czech economist attending a conference in Chicago that eventually led to the establishment of their internship.
The internships are part of an exchange program between Scripps and PRE, with PRE sending several representatives to Scripps in past years as short-term visitors. “I could write a book on all the amazing adventures we had!” India said. In other words, a dream job.