International Internship Award Changes Students' Worlds
Through the Cahill Award, students like Brianna Mawra '18 have the opportunity to intern abroad, an experience that has proven to be life-changing.
Above: Brianna Mawra ’18, recipient of a Cahill Endowed HTMT International Internship Award
Michael and Tania Cahill didn’t know much about the South until their daughter, Isabel Cahill ’14 (MBA ’15), looked into the College of Charleston.
Once they got to know the College, they appreciated the warmth of the community both on and off campus. And, when Isabel enrolled as a hospitality and tourism management and business administration double major, they were impressed with the relationship that she developed with her professors and deans.
“We could see everyone cared,” says Michael. “Even though it’s a state school, it felt warm like a small college, where the professors are actively engaged with their students.”
“Every time we came to Charleston, we learned a little more about the College, and we grew to love it more,” he adds. “The people who work there are really into the school – faculty and administration alike. It gave the atmosphere a family feeling that I still feel today.”
The Cahills began to spend several months of the year in Charleston, attending CofC lectures and strolling through the campus.
“We felt part of the campus community,” says Tania.
Indeed, they were a part of the campus community: Through the relationships Michael developed with School of Business faculty, he was able to serve as an adjunct professor from 2015 to 2019. His students benefited from his real-world experience as executive vice president, managing director and general counsel at the TCW Group Inc.
A World of Good
Michael’s students weren’t the only students who benefited. Students who require financial assistance to participate in internships abroad are also benefiting, thanks to the Cahill Endowed HTMT International Internship Award, which they created to honor Isabel’s CofC experience.
“Our children benefited from several study abroad experiences,” says Tania, who hails from the Netherlands. She adds that she and Michael, who is from Canada, appreciate the value of international experiences. “We know how an international experience can transform someone’s life and outlook on the world. That’s why we created the award: to support students who want to travel abroad but need help affording it.”
And the Cahills have enjoyed meeting those students.
“We love to hear what they are doing,” says Tania. “Sometimes we were able to have lunch with them when we were in Charleston, and we had a real treat when we traveled to Prague: We got to meet a couple of our students who were working at a hotel there.”
A World of Her Own
For one recipient, Brianna Mawra ’18, a hospitality and tourism management major, the Cahill Award proved transformative.
“I couldn’t have had this extraordinary experience without the Cahill Award,” says the German minor, who also credits Stephen Della Lana, senior instructor of German and Russian studies, for making the experience so impactful. “Professor Della Lana was quite a cheerleader. He not only encouraged me to do a summer internship in Germany, he helped me set it up.”
That summer, she studied intensive German in Berlin and then interned at a winery in Bad Dürkheim, where Della Lana visited her. He was impressed with how Mawra immersed herself in the business.
“I saw a true commitment to globalization in Brianna,” says Della Lana, who traveled through Germany to visit all the CofC students participating in internships that summer. “She learned all aspects of winemaking, from wine shows and catering to labels and bottling. Of course, she also spent a lot of time in the vineyards.
“It was a family business, and Brianna was treated like family,” he adds. “They exposed her to a wide variety of experiences, and I attribute that to her openness to learning and desire to contribute in a meaningful way.”
A World of Opportunity
Mawra’s experience in Germany opened her eyes to a world of opportunities, such as taking a semester abroad. She decided to attend the University of Groningen, where Esther Fris, a Dutch student who spent a semester at the College of Charleston, was studying.
Before going to the Netherlands, Mawra had lunch with the Cahills and let them know of her study abroad plans. Tania was thrilled to learn Mawra was going to her home country.
“The Cahills are so kind, friendly and generous,” says Mawra. “They have been supportive of everything I have wanted to do.”
So has Della Lana, who encouraged her to apply for the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals, a U.S. and German government–sponsored program he’d participated in in 1989.
She was accepted into the highly competitive program and spent a year with the City of Bremen, which spearheaded an EU-wide mobility project focused on e-bikes and electric cars. Mawra was responsible for project management and administration.
The experience led her to make a 180-degree shift from hospitality and tourism to urban planning.
“I realized I love cities and how people move around, and I wanted to learn more about how people navigate through cities,” says Mawra, who – after her year in Germany – went on to attend the University of Amsterdam for a master’s degree in urban and regional planning.
While she was there, the Cahills made a point of meeting up with her whenever they were in Amsterdam visiting their two children who live there.
“The Cahills continue to support what I am doing. I always feel like I’m doing the right thing after spending time with them,” says Mawra. “I never thought I would be where I am now, and I could not be here without the Cahills and supportive professors.”
A World of Difference
Upon graduating from the University of Amsterdam in 2024, Mawra interned for a year with the Dutch Cycling Embassy, which shares Dutch cycling knowledge around the world.
“I created study visits for places interested in how to manage cycling in rural and urban areas,” she explains. “We also set up multi-day workshops that focused on their specific needs.
“One day, I hope to take the mobility expertise I am acquiring in Europe and apply it to urban and rural areas in the U.S.,” continues Mawra, who is now freelancing as an urban planner, working on projects that focus on mobility.
Della Lana feels gratified to see Mawra’s progress and the way she has merged all her skills.
“I couldn’t be more proud of Brianna,” he says. “She jumped on a springboard that led to something better and then branched out to get to the next thing directly related to all things international.”
Mawra’s experience is precisely why the Cahills created the award. And – because they recently modified their gift to include all School of Business majors – now even more students can take part in the Cahill Award.
For certain, there will be more students who have a life-changing experience, just like Mawra and the other Cahill Award recipients.
