Alfeen graduated from DelVal with a B.S. in Biology, specializing in the preprofessional track with a minor in counseling psychology. Today, she plays a crucial role at Iovance, contributing to the autologous cell therapy manufacturing program. She is proud to work for a company that aims to pioneer a transformational approach to treating cancer by harnessing the ability of the human immune system to recognize and attack diverse cancer cells in each patient. Iovance strives to be the global leader in innovating, developing and delivering tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy for people with cancer.

Office Space:

Alfeen’s daily workspace is a sterile laboratory environment. Dressed in scrubs cleanroom attire and personal protective equipment (PPE), she navigates the highly controlled setting. Her office is located at Iovance’s Philadelphia Navy Yard facility, a large building on the corner of Roosevelt Boulevard and Normandy Place, home to many labs and offices.

Role and Responsibilities:

Alfeen is responsible for various tasks such as cleaning, sanitization, preparation, and fulfilling products for commercial and clinical use. She works in 10-12-hour shifts, three or four days per week. The work day typically begins at 7 a.m., kicking off with a team huddle to discuss and prioritize the day’s assignments, and then it’s off to work. No two days are the same for Alfeen! Tasks like sterilizing, processing and sending samples to the next lab can take many hours as it requires the keenest attention to detail. Since Alfeen is working with living human cells, she cannot use an autoclave for sterilization because doing so would kill the cells.

Connection to DelVal:

Coming into college, Alfeen had dreams of being an optometrist. Her goal was to take the pre-professional biology track at DelVal and then head to medical school. As different obstacles derailed that path, Alfeen faced a daunting roadblock and had to pivot. She excelled in the classroom and served the campus community as President of Student Government Association (SGA), and leaned on her academic advisor at DelVal, Dr. Charles Heise. Dr. Heise learned that Alfeen had worked at a pharmacy and helped her explore options for biologists within the pharmaceutical industry. Alfeen quickly regained her focus and motivation and explored multiple options before accepting the position at Iovance.

The Rewarding Aspect:

“I really do love my job and I’m so excited to grow as the company grows,” said Alfeen. “I already feel motivated to learn as much as I can and take on as many new roles as possible. I don’t have any concrete plans for the future but I know that I will go where life guides me and work as hard as I can along the way.”

On October 14, students and staff from our Center for Professional Development (CSPD) took a trip to the URBN's Home Office in Philadelphia, PA. 

The day began with a presentation on the internship program by Emily Young, Early Careers Recruiter, at URBN.  URBN is offering five exclusive internships to DelVal students in plant buying, business administration and marketing, customer service, design services, and events and café. In addition, students may also apply to their wider national internship pool which has programs in photography, supply chain and social responsibility, merchandising, software engineering, digital marketing, sustainability, menus & venues, and many more. Internships are paid and also provide housing resources. Some internships are based here at Terrain, while others are at the Navy Yard. And, some may be hybrid, while others require a five-day week.

Following the presentation, students toured the various buildings. Each brand has its own building at the Navy Yard. URBN encapsulates Urban Outfitters, Anthropology, NUULY, Terrain, Menus & Venues, Free People, Anthropology Weddings (formerly BHLDN), and FP Movement. URBN internships are across all brands, and they encourage and support shadowing and networking in other areas while working with them. We learned that URBN is a dog-friendly employer, with dog parks on site. It is also a casual environment - many meetings are held on sofas in the lobbies with coffees in hand, and management is very accessible.

The URBN internship philosophy is to invest in the long-term potential of its interns.  It is the hope of the company that each internship has the potential to turn into a long-term employment opportunity.  Interns may be anywhere from freshmen to recent graduates. As our day ended with lunch in their café’, we were able to meet up with Jen Salvatore. Jen is a DelVal alumna who is one of the first interns from our relationship with URBN.   She now works full-time for URBN head office in recruitment and was thrilled to share her experience.

Jennifer Giberson ’26, a History, Policy and Society major at Delaware Valley University, recently completed a 10-week internship at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia. The internship, which ran from June 13th to August 13th, provided Jennifer with valuable hands-on experience in the field of public history.

During her time at the museum, Jennifer worked closely with the Collections and Exhibitions departments. In Collections, she contributed to the museum's transition to a new collections management database by preparing 3,044 archaeology records. Additionally, she helped to preserve the museum's collection by removing tape and surface cleaning nearly 200 archaeological items.

In her role with Exhibitions, Jennifer transcribed documents and conducted research on key figures mentioned in the texts. Her work will be instrumental in creating an online interactive exhibit that will highlight these papers and their significance.

"My internship at the Museum of the American Revolution was an incredible experience," said Jenifer. "I learned so much about the museum's operations and the importance of preserving cultural heritage. I am grateful for the opportunity to have worked with such talented professionals."

Alyssa Murphree '18, an Equine Management alumna who specialized in media and communication, owns and operates her own business Alyssa Murphree Media.

During her undergraduate years at DelVal, she joined numerous equine-related clubs and extracurricular projects which allowed her to gain experience managing social media and creating content to promote club membership and events, as well as the Equine Studies department itself. She also had an internship with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Press Office for two years.

In spring 2018, Alyssa graduated with a B.S. in equine management with a specialization in media and communication. After graduation, she spent two years working at a horse show photography and marketing company and did volunteer public relations work before establishing her own business which she has been running since 2019.

"It requires a lot of self-accountability and problem-solving but it's super rewarding!" said Murphree '18. "My photography background, as well as my hands-on equine experience with numerous breeds and disciplines, have made me a well-rounded and knowledgeable horse person," she added. 

Recently, Alyssa photographed DelVal alumna Amanda Casey '21 and her fiance Hayden at Nature's Grace Farm, a private barn that offers horse boarding and lessons, owned and operated by Amanda.

Utilizing her experiential education and student involvement at DelVal, Alyssa has shaped a successful career and continues to grow her leadership and communication skills by running her own business.

Learn more about Alyssa and her work at www.alyssamurphreemedia.com.

Giannina Lebo ’22, a counseling psychology major, has found mentors, gained confidence and learned valuable skills through the University’s Experience360 Program.

Lebo interned at Harry S. Truman High School, in Bristol, Pennsylvania, in the guidance office, where she was a guidance counselor assistant. Lebo was responsible for scheduling meetings with students, making students’ schedules, talking to students herself, and filing student information.

“I found a mentor,” said Lebo, of the internship experience. “I still speak to the guidance counselor I worked with and she is always open to writing me letters of recommendation and if I need help with anything she will help.”

Lebo is certified in child sexual abuse prevention by the Stewards of Children: Darkness to Light Program. She is passionate about helping people in any way she can.

“I want to be a counselor to help people,” said Lebo.

Lebo is thankful for DelVal’s hands-on experience in the counseling psychology labs. Conducting mock counseling sessions in the labs gave her valuable experience in the field before her internship. During her E360 activity, Lebo learned that

“there is a lot more behind the scenes work to being a guidance counselor than what meets the eye.”

“Everyone faces challenges that no one knows about, which is why it’s important to always approach people with kindness because you only have an outside view of what people are going through,” explained Lebo.

In addition to her internship, Lebo also attended the Pennsylvania Counseling Association Conference, where she attended talks about different areas of study within the counseling field.

While studying at DelVal, Lebo gained more confidence in herself. One of her goals includes developing the confidence and social skills to feel comfortable talking with anyone she meets. The friendly DelVal community is helping her to practice those skills.

DelVal’s small class sizes, counseling psychology labs, beautiful campus, and close-knit community are what attracted Lebo to DelVal. She especially enjoys the faculty relationships.

“I think the most essential thing about my education at DelVal is having professors that help you succeed and do everything in their power to get you to be the best you can be,” said Lebo. “They are easily accessible and very understanding on top of wanting you to succeed.”

Lebo hopes to attend graduate school and start working in her field immediately after earning her bachelor’s degree.

As I was walking on campus, I came across a statue that looked familiar to me. I realized that it was a statue of one of the Mayan Gods that I had been learning about since I was a child. I felt I needed to share his story with you if we were to have a statue of him on campus. Today, I am honored to share the story of Hun Hunahpu, The Maize God. The story of the Mayan people dates back thousands of years when there was only water and sky. The gods who lived in the sky and sea wanted someone to praise them. They tried several animals, but unfortunately, none of them worked, and they settled on trying to figure out how to make the best human. Our story takes a turn when we meet the two brothers named One and Seven Hunahpu. The brothers were very talented at playing a ball game. Unfortunately, the court where they played their ball game was right above where the gods of Xibalba (underworld) lived. The gods didn’t like how much noise the boys made and invited them to play the ball game down in Xibalba. When the boys got there, it was a trick, and they died. Luckily, One Hunahpu had twins named Hunahpu and Xbalanque. The two boys were also very gifted at the ballgame. They played on the same court, and the gods of Xibalba were annoyed to hear all the noise again. They asked for them to come to play at their court. But this time, the boys were far too bright and outwitted the gods. They had several different creatures help them. Knowing their father’s story, they sent a mosquito to Xibalba before they got there. The mosquito told them all the tricks that the gods had set up for them to fail. When they got there, they already knew all the tests and tricks that they had to pass. Eventually, the two boys were able to kill the two highest gods that had killed their father. Because of this, they could bring back their father; he emerged through a crack in the ground and became the Maize God. The gods of the heavens were very grateful to the young boys, and they were able to have status as gods and ended up being the Sun and Moon. The rest of the Gods then talked to One Hunahpu about creating the best human. To help them decide, they sent out four animals to find the best material. This was a fox, parrot, coyote, and crow. When the animals came back, they brought a pile of white corn. The gods mashed up the corn and ended up creating the first humans. The Mayan people pray to One Hunahpu for a good crop but also a good life. Because to the Mayan people, corn isn’t just a crop. It is who they are. One Hunahpu represents the birth and death and rebirth of a human. The corn (although a vital crop) is symbolic of his real purpose and story.

About the Author Bridget Cornog ’24 is a small animal science major and psychology minor at Delaware Valley University. Weyano’one (“we are here” in original Mayan language).