Technology Consulting
IN THE Global Community
Summer 2025
STUDENT STORIES
Michelle Bank, Math '27
Michelle collaborated with the Republic of Palau Social Security Administration and Health Care Fund to modernize and digitize employee manuals, using retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) and large language models (LLMs) to automate compliance checks and drafting.
In these past few days, we have been editing the Healthcare Fund operations manual and reading policies pertaining to the national healthcare provided in Palau. I think that this has given me a better understanding of the systemic challenges that Palauans and residents of other small countries face in obtaining healthcare. The community here is different than the ones that I have interacted with in the past and has different needs and experiences, which are reflected in the policies and the work that we are doing here. I definitely see the importance in cultural sensitivity and in gaining extensive knowledge about the community you are engaging with before participating in any sort of work.
Another perspective that this project has given me is the importance of sustainability. Our responsibility does not end once we physically leave the country in 6 weeks. The decisions we make and the work we do now could have a profound impact on the utility of our project in months or even years in the future.
Preksha Goyal, ETIM Masters '25
Preksha worked with the Palau Bureau of Tourism to design and launch the Destination Information Management System (DIMS), centralizing data on tour-operator licenses, visitor attractions, and state project updates.
This experience is shifting how I think about the role of technology—not as a standalone solution, but as a tool for empowering people. Watching the State Governor and Minister engage with the app and immediately see its potential to streamline their work was a powerful moment. It reminded me that the most impactful technology is simple, intuitive, and built with the user in mind.
​
Rather than focusing on advanced features, I’ve learned to prioritize usability and context. Even a low-code platform like AppSheet, when paired with the right design choices, can solve meaningful problems. This project is teaching me that technology’s true power lies in enabling better decisions, better communication, and more inclusive systems—especially in resource-constrained public sector environments.
Fatou Gueye, IS '26
Fatou worked with the Development Department of SENATI to automatically transform financial data on scholarships and create all tables and charts needed for monthly report preparation. The time to prepare the report was reduced significantly from several hours to less than an hour. In addition, she audited, corrected and updated a PowerBI dashboard presenting live data on scholarships and students.
This experience has reshaped my understanding of community engagement by showing me that technology can be a powerful and sustainable tool for impact. I used to associate volunteering mainly with physical work, direct conversations, or donating goods and money. But through this project, I learned that applying technical skills to build long-term solutions can be just as, if not more, valuable. It made me realize that offering my knowledge to solve real problems can empower communities in lasting ways, and that social responsibility also means using what I know to create meaningful, scalable change.
Joyce Lam, IS + StatML '26
Joyce modernized Palau’s FIB processes with cloud tools and automation, improving the handling of FIAC applications and quarterly reports.
How has this project deepened your understanding of cultural, ethical, or global issues connected to your work?
Working on this project has deepened my understanding of cultural, ethical, and global issues by showing me how technology is not just about efficiency, but also about accessibility and fairness. Since the portal was being developed for the Foreign Investment Board in Palau, I had to think carefully about how people from different cultural and professional backgrounds would interact with the system. I realized that creating clear, intuitive workflows wasn’t just a design choice; it was an ethical responsibility to make sure applicants could submit their information without unnecessary confusion or barriers. On a broader level, it helped me see how digitization efforts in smaller nations carry global significance, as they can improve transparency, reduce errors, and build trust between government institutions and international investors."
Jiatong Li, IS '25
Jiatong worked with ASYV (Agahozo Shalom Youth Village) in Rwanda, Africa to refactor their Alumni Management System (AMS) allowing them to better track alumni outcomes and connect the ASYV community online.
This project has had me thinking more about the logistics of sustainability and maintenance because it would be eventually used by real users. There’s a lot more room for error and it’s always more complicated than I would think because it’s hard to predict user behavior. It has also helped me appreciate the way that technology can simplify operations and jobs by presenting to people information that they might have trouble finding.
Jonathan Lindstrom, IS + HCI '25
Jonathan worked with the Attorney General’s Office of the Republic of Palau to transform their database into a robust criminal and civil case management system.
Yes, absolutely. I think this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The project I’m working on feels so much more meaningful and relevant than anything I’ve done in previous internships or research. While I genuinely enjoyed both of those experiences, the research was more of a proof of concept, and in my last internship, I built something that I wasn’t sure would actually get used long-term. This time, I feel like I’m creating something that can have a real impact.
And it’s not all work either. I’ve gone snorkeling, scuba diving, and hiking every week. I’ve met incredible people and experienced things I never imagined in a country I probably wouldn’t have visited otherwise.
My biggest recommendation to future TCinGC students is: say yes. Say yes to new foods, to spontaneous adventures, to anything that pushes you out of your routine. You’re in another country for just 10 weeks, and it goes by fast, enjoy every moment.
Kailan Mao, CS '26
Kailan worked on a project with the Majuro Stevedores to streamline their container delivery and return, enhance their reporting, update their website, and automate the process for tracking refrigerated containers and plug-in fees.
This experience has taught me that technology alone isn’t enough to solve real-world challenges and that people are a key factor in coming up with technology solutions. We need to take into account people’s needs, culture, and workflows in order to build something that fits the users.
Kajal Mehta, IS '25
Kajal worked with ASYV (Agahozo Shalom Youth Village) in Rwanda, Africa to refactor their Alumni Management System (AMS) allowing them to better track alumni outcomes and connect the ASYV community online.
Our project includes making the current database a more effective management system for the school as a whole, not just alumni. This involves having to understand different account types and permissions, grade level and family structures. By living in the village, working from the school, and regularly interacting with students and staff we gained a very deep understanding of all of these considerations beyond what is represented in the ERD.
Carter Musheno, IRPS '26
Carter worked with Palau’s Social Security Administration and Health Care Fund to digitize employee manuals, leveraging AI to streamline compliance-checking and drafting.
As an International relations and Poli-Sci major, I am thrilled to be given project management experience and feel that this internship is giving me amazing opportunities to deliver really important technology solutions to a very human-centric, government-based organization. This project feels like the perfect balance between policy-oriented/law skills and tech-based automation skills that takes the form and structure of consulting work. I have full control over my day-to-day tasks and have a great time thinking about creative ways of applying technology and optimization to really impactful work. I can see myself contributing to work like this in my career and look forward to exploring ways of providing high impact through this intersection of skills/fields.
Yang Pan, IS '26
Yang Pan, working with the Palau FIU, created a method to digitize PDF bank record, created an AI-powered solution for reviewing compliance reports, added e-forms for banks reporting their information and configured a newly-adopted database system.
Working with the FIU in Palau has significantly broadened my understanding of how global financial compliance systems operate in different cultural and regulatory contexts. For example, designing tools that collect responses from local banks and DNFBPs made me aware of the importance of phrasing, accessibility, and cultural sensitivity in technical tools. It’s not just about functionality—it's also about ensuring that the tool aligns with local workflows, respects regional constraints, and remains intuitive for users who may not be tech specialists. This experience helped me see how software development in a
global setting needs to be collaborative, respectful, and adaptive to the nuances of the local environment.
Alondra Robles, IS '26
Alondra built Power BI dashboards for SENATI’s Finance Department, visualizing enrollment, dropout, and tuition trends as well as budgeting data, improving financial forecasting and visibility.
This experience has shown me that addressing real-world challenges through technology doesn’t have to be something extraordinarily complex. Prior to these two weeks I thought that addressing real-world challenges required some super innovative technology. However, this experience has shown me technology as common as Excel and Power BI can create a huge impact at an organization. This experience has really reinforced that what really matters is how you leverage technology, not the complexity or commotion around a technology.
Vitchakorn Sayanwisuttikam, ETIM '25
Vitchakorn worked on a project with the Majuro Stevedores to streamline their container delivery and return, enhance their reporting, update their website, and automate the process for tracking refrigerated containers and plug-in fees.
"We truly appreciated having Kailan and Vitchakorn with us this summer their contributions were very valuable, and we’re already seeing improvements in the way our team manages container tracking and reporting. The incredible work they put into this project is truly going to pave the way for us in our efforts to move from paper-based process to digital-automation."
