Presenting The 2024 AAIDN-CIE Tours Summer Interns

By Mary Hendriksen

May 15, 2024

We are thrilled to announce the recipients of the AAIDN-CIE Tours 2024 Summer Internships!

They are: Anetera Bryant, a rising junior attending Howard University, and Joe Soliwoda-Doan, a rising senior at The College of New Jersey.

Anetera Bryant is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in marketing within Howard University’s School of Business. She recently served as the Japan America Society of Washington DC's Japan Bowl Intern, where she worked to develop and categorize educational Japanese content for students nationwide. Anetera was named a Tomodachi Inouye Scholar by the US-Japan Council along with 14 other Howard University students who participated in an exchange fostering cultural understanding between American and Japanese university students. Anetera was also recently awarded Team MVP by her 21ST Century Advantage Program. Her team is sponsored by the global real estate development bank Eastdil Sercured, which awarded her a scholarship. 

“I am excited to be able to expand on my marketing and consumer knowledge by working as a marketing intern for CIE Tours,” Anetera says. “I am eager to improve my skills and look forward to exploring Irish culture and understanding more about how African American and Irish culture collide. Through my experience working at the Japan America Society of Washington, DC, I have learned the importance of cultural understanding and bridging connections between different cultures. I offer special thanks for this opportunity to AAIDN founder and president Dennis Brownlee and to Carol Moschella, Director of HR - CIE Tours International.” 

This fall, Joe Soliwoda-Doan will enter his senior year at the College of New Jersey, where he is earning a Bachelor of Arts in industrial/organizational psychology with a minor in human resource management. Very involved on campus, Joe is the Interfraternity Council VP of Recruitment; co-president of his fraternity, Tau Kappa Epsilon; an on-campus research lab assistant; a student ambassador, and VP of Personal Development for the organization Brother to Brother.

“It is my experience with the Brother to Brother Program,” says Joe, “that is the reason I applied to the AAIDN-CIE Tours Internship Program. As part of B2B, I have the opportunity to talk with young men of color at my college and help them along their journey to success throughout their four years. Utilizing my connections with our Caucasian counterparts, I’ve been able to bridge missed connections and miscommunications, and help to forge relationships between students of color and Caucasian students. Through the AAIDN-CIE Tours internship program, I hope to hone and build on my abilities to communicate with and understand people from different backgrounds. I look to educate myself through the lens of individuals different than myself. I am grateful for the opportunity and excited for this new chapter.”

About the AAIDN-CIE Tours Summer Internships

Inaugurated just this year, the summer internships represent a partnership between AAIDN and CIE Tours, the leading tour operator for vacations to Ireland and Britain.

As an AAIDN Diaspora Leadership Partner, CIE Tours has created a Summer Internship Program to introduce talented young professionals to the travel and tourism industry, with a focus on Ireland and leisure travel.  The program will offer opportunities in a variety of areas, including sales, marketing, finance and information technology.  Interns will obtain first-hand knowledge for their area of study by on-the-job training and hands-on experience. 

The interns will be based in Morristown, NJ, but will have the opportunity to travel on a CIE Tour to Ireland to experience the country’s culture and heritage.