Natchapol‘s Reflection on TANIP Experience

Sawatdee Krub, Hello everyone, My name is Natchapol Israngkura Na Ayudhya, but I also go by Oakley. I am a rising Junior at Virginia Tech, dual degreeing in Finance and Cybersecurity Management and Analytics.

It was an honor to be a part of the Thai American National Internship Program. I am extremely thankful for everyone at the Royal Thai embassy, the US Asia Institute, and Optica for helping me along the way this summer.

I would first like to thank everyone at the Royal Thai Embassy for their efforts in building the relationship between Thailand and the US. Mr.Ambassador thank you so much for welcoming us to the Royal Thai Embassy with open arms. It was an honor. I want to thank DCM Chuliepote, P’Jao, P’Jack, P’Toey, P’Sart, P’Aim, P’John, and the staff of the Royal Thai Embassy for all the support, it was an unforgettable experience being able to intern here.

Thank you to my grandma, my mom and my dad for encouraging me along the way of the internship and making sure I was adjusting well to the work environment. Thank you so much for always having my back and being there for me. I would also like to thank everyone at USAI, especially Mary Sue, Anna, and Althea. Thank you for all your tireless work and effort in supporting us during our time in DC.

Lastly I would like to thank the staff at Optica especially Daniel, David, Scott, and Brandy who treated me like family and made my experience there a great and memorable time.

As I came into this program I was wondering how it would align with my interests, but as soon as I started at Optica I realized that I was completely wrong. At Optica I was able to do different tasks and projects that were really interesting and ones I have not considered before. I learned a lot. A project I worked on was drafting a report for the Global Environmental Measurement and Monitoring Initiative, also known as GEMM, in Singapore. During this workshop, there were lots of countries from Asia talking about the steps they are taking to monitor greenhouse gas emissions and different pollutants emitted. As a business major most of the scientific terms flew over my head. I had to do additional  research to learn about the acronyms and terms used in this industry. It was really interesting and I learned alot about the different technologies being used to measure the environment. I was also able to read the news coming out on semiconductors and microchips mainly focusing on the US, EU, and globally. I helped draft website updates to inform the Optica society and the public about what is going on with the US and EU CHIPS Act. I really appreciated Daniel and his team for trusting me and treating me with respect and giving me the opportunity to work on actual work instead of just busy work that expected with internships.

Because of my time here I was able to open my mind to a different field of work outside of the business industry. While at Virginia Tech I was treated as a student but during my time as an intern I was treated as an adult with responsibilities. I’ve gained lots of valuable experiences and knowledge and met with various people which would not have been possible without the support from the Royal Thai Embassy, USAI, and Optica. I'll make sure to take these experiences and knowledge with me wherever I go and I am proud to be a part of this year's TANIP cohort.

Khob Khun Krub