Written by Colin McEvoy | January 13, 2026 | SHARE
Four alumni of the Iacocca International Internship Program were among the students honored at Lehigh’s inaugural Future Makers Convocation for impactful work beyond the classroom.
When Sam Tsui undertook his research project in Montenegro, there were times he feared he had taken on more than he could handle.
A computer science and cognitive science major at Lehigh University, Tsui interned at the DigitalSmart Center at the University of Donja Gorica last summer through the Iacocca International Internship Program (IIIP), which allowed him to pursue his own independent research project.
He chose to study the classification of human attention states through unsupervised EEG analysis, a project that bridged his interests in computer science and cognitive science while exploring a form of unsupervised learning rarely applied in this area of human psychology.
“There were many moments when I questioned whether I was capable of completing the project, and I often felt it was too ambitious,” Tsui said. “At times, I even thought I should start over from scratch with a completely different topic, but pushing through those challenges and seeing the results of my work made the recognition feel even more meaningful.”
Tsui completed the project, and was one of four IIIP alumni recognized at the recent Future Makers Convocation, where Lehigh students were honored for bold achievements in research, innovation, and community impact beyond the classroom.
The other IIIP alumni honored at the event include Ava DeLauro ‘25, who majored in population health, Kaitlyn Campbell ‘26, a major in psychology and health, medicine & society; and Tinotenda Chibvuri ‘26, who is majoring in industrial and systems engineering.
Once-in-a-lifetime opportunities
Since its launch in 2011, IIIP has placed nearly 900 students in high-quality summer internships across five dozen countries. It is a program of the Lee Iacocca Institute for Global Leadership, which seeks to prepare emerging leaders from around the world to address complex, multisystem, global challenges.
“I think that the Iacocca International Internship Program is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Tsui said. “It challenges students to explore their own interests, gain real-world experience, and develop independence and problem-solving skills, and also pushes you to step out of your comfort zone.”
A total of 96 students were honored at the inaugural Future Makers Convocation on Nov. 12. The event celebrated students with senior standing for bold achievements in research, innovation and community impact beyond the classroom.
Campbell believes global experiences like Iacocca internships help prepare students to be Future Makers by building cultural understanding, strengthening empathy, and encouraging comfort with unfamiliar environments.
“I think it really allows you to fully immerse yourself in the surrounding culture,” she said. “Not taking away something that you know, but just giving you more avenues to express yourself and, ultimately, become a Future Maker.”
Incredible experiences overseas
Campbell interned last summer at an epilepsy group clinic at Groote Schuur, a hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. She helped facilitate a questionnaire for epilepsy patients that sought to better understand epilepsy symptoms and patterns across the country.
Chibvuri had an eight-week internship in a Singapore-based education firm, which he completed remotely due to delays in receiving a work permit. He helped apply AI and machine learning to optimize 3D printing processes, addressing challenges related to fine-tuning printer parameters for products and helping build models to improve efficiency and output quality.
“I think of myself as a global citizen,” Chibvuri said. “There’s no one culture or one country that works on its own. I think there’s a lot of insights you can take from different countries, and when you learn about other countries, it makes it easier to work together.”
DeLauro interned in Osaka, Japan, at Hello xLAB, a tech startup focused on 360-degree immersive and virtual experiences. The company develops a platform allowing 3D artists to share immersive digital worlds. Her responsibilities included designing user interface elements for the platform, and assisting with marketing and audience growth.
“I didn’t realize how much Japan had to offer until I was there,” DeLauro said. “It felt like I was just living on my own in a different city. It was an incredible experience. I felt very independent, and I was learning every day.”
Daring to try
At the convocation, Lehigh President Joseph J. Helble ’82 said the university is always asking “where it can be first, best or only,” because that mindset encourages the pursuit of excellence and taking bold intellectual risks.
“As I look around this room and see the work of our students, that aspiration is clear in so many ways,” Helble said. “You’ve dreamed big, set ambitious goals and, most importantly, dared to try things that are extraordinarily hard. That’s how we lead, how we learn and how we move the university and the world forward.”
Campbell said she enjoyed hearing about the work of her peers at the convocation, and appreciated being able to speak with various members of Lehigh faculty and staff at the event.
“I felt very proud to be there and be surrounded by so many people who care about making the future great and sustainable for the people around us,” she said.