Written by Colin McEvoy | October 20, 2026 | SHARE
Lehigh students reflect on leadership, career readiness and intercultural growth through the Iacocca International Internship Program.
Before spending the summer at an asset management firm in Portugal, Jisue Kim ‘28 associated leadership with titles, seniority and the people at the top of an organization. By the time he returned to Lehigh, the sophomore finance major had come to see it differently.
Kim worked at Lisbon-based Dolot Capital, a relatively flat workplace where he saw colleagues lead in quieter ways: taking initiative, helping one another, and going out of their way to translate Portuguese-language materials and conversations so he could fully participate.
After his experience with the Iacocca International Internship Program (IIIP), Kim came to see leadership as something that can be demonstrated at every level of an organization through initiative, support, and consideration for others.
“What I learned is that leadership isn't just reserved for C-suite executives,” Kim said. “Leadership can be shown at every level.”
Across the Globe
Kim was one of nearly 70 Lehigh University students who completed internships in 18 countries this summer through IIIP. He was one of four student panelists who shared their experiences during the program’s 2026 Iacocca International Internship Showcase.
The showcase, held on Sept. 17 at Lehigh’s Health Science and Technology Building, also highlighted emerging research into how global internships shape students’ leadership development, career readiness, and intercultural effectiveness.
IIIP is a program of the Lee Iacocca Institute for Global Leadership. Since 2011, IIIP has provided nearly 1,000 Lehigh students with internships in 62 countries. The program offers opportunities across all disciplines and in all regions of the world, welcoming applications from all Lehigh students.
Measuring the Impact
Students interned this summer in countries including Japan, France, Germany, India, Ireland, South Africa, Ecuador, Montenegro, Singapore, and Thailand. Participants included students from four of Lehigh’s colleges, in internships spanning multiple fields and industries.
The IIIP Showcase highlighted ongoing assessment research into how global internships affect students’ career readiness, intercultural effectiveness, and leadership development, according to Anastassiya Perevezentseva, Assistant Director of IIIP.
Preliminary qualitative analysis of student reflections found that the most common themes included leadership style, challenged assumptions, cultural knowledge, and exposure to new perspectives.
Students often described noticing different approaches to leadership and reconsidering assumptions about work, culture and interaction. The findings suggest that international internships can help students better understand themselves, relate to others and engage with the wider world.
What Comes Next
Cheryl Matherly, Vice President & Vice Provost for International Affairs, connected the students’ experiences to the original vision behind IIIP, noting that Lee Iacocca believed it was “not just enough to see the world” but important for students to have the opportunity to “work in the world” and become immersed in the communities where they were living and working.
Matherly also challenged students to think beyond the internship itself and consider how the experience might shape their next steps. She urged them to act on those reflections as they considered their studies, careers, graduate school, and future international experiences.
“What comes next after this?” she said. “What did you learn from this? What did you learn about yourself that is something that you want to take and bring forward? Bring it back and think about: How does this change me, and what do I do next with this?”
Kim said one of the most practical lessons he brought back from Portugal was learning not to rush through uncertainty. Working across language and cultural differences sometimes meant taking more time to understand an assignment, ask follow-up questions, and make sure he had the context he needed before beginning.
“Professionally, that taught me to not be afraid to ask questions and take more time and to do things right the first time,” Kim said.