Connecticut College has one of the most comprehensive funded internship programs in the country, providing every student the opportunity to receive an educational award of up to $3,000 for a career-related internship between students' junior and senior years. The internship is part of a four-year career preparation program that focuses on helping students connect their liberal arts majors to professional opportunities and graduate study.
The College is one of only a few in the country that offers the potential for funding for all students and the program has been helping students get meaningful internships for more than 15 years.
Meet some of the interns:
Megan Murray ’17
Major: Environmental studies
Hometown: Needham, Massachusetts
Internship: The Marine Mammal Center, Sausalito, California
Learning about the ways climate change and pollution impact our oceans was a core goal during Murray's internship with The Marine Mammal Center. As a rescue and response intern, Murray fielded calls about injured or deceased animals on the northern California shoreline and coordinated the assessment of the animals by alerting and organizing a team of volunteer responders.
My internship taught me about specific species of marine mammals and how they are impacted by their environment on a daily basis. My various responsibilities reflect the center’s mission, which is to expand people's knowledge of marine mammals, their health and the ocean environment, in the hopes of obtaining global conservation of both marine mammals and the ocean.
Gabe Ghostine '17
Major: Global Islamic studies and international relations
Hometown: Yonkers, New York
Internship: Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, Washington, D.C.
Ghostine's internship took him across Washington to cover conferences, events and talks related to the Middle East and featuring professors, authors, journalists and ambassadors. He then incorporated photos and a brief written summary to tell a story of the events for publication in the organization’s monthly magazine.
While the journalism aspect of my job didn’t directly relate much to my studies at Conn, the content of my writing does. That's what I liked about it. As a student of global Islamic studies and international relations, I've always enjoyed learning and writing about the Middle East. My position at the Washington Report allowed me to do both.
Steve Cofrancesco '17
Majors: Music with education certification
Hometown: North Haven, Connecticut
Internship: New Haven Symphony Orchestra, New Haven, Connecticut
A summer internship with the NHSO became the perfect opportunity for Cofrancesco to give his dreams of becoming a music teacher a chance. He helped organize and manage a concert series with children as the audience, and created programs to make the music being performed accessible to students of any age. Visiting schools with musicians to lead classroom lessons rounded out the experience.
Not only was I able to work with a symphony orchestra that I have grown up listening to, but I was also able to experience the educational side of the symphony. Interacting and networking with a variety of schools and teachers has been an incredible experience and has allowed me to look at music education from different perspectives.
Bridget Horan '17
Major: Anthropology
Hometown: Brunswick, Maine
Internship: Agenda Feminist Media, Durban, South Africa
Through her work at Agenda Feminist Media—an academic feminist journal—Horan championed gender equity while developing an intimate connection with South African culture. Through fundraising, researching and cultural promotion, Horan supported the journal’s mission of empowering South African girls and women.
My eyes have opened to aspects of gender equity that I never thought about before. I have a new vision for how to shape my research for my honors thesis on gender-based violence, and I will even be able to include in my thesis interviews from my time in South Africa.
Zoey Dunivin '17
Major: Psychology and sociology
Hometown: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Internship: Urbanity Dance, Boston, Massachusetts
Dunivin held a community and education internship with Urbanity Dance, where her responsibilities ranged from the clerical to the physical. She served as a dance assistant in a weekly Dance with Parkinson's class, bringing low impact movement and motion to the class participants. Helping in the class was at the heart of Urbanity’s mission of engaging people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities through the joy of movement.
Prior to Conn, I was pursuing a professional dance career. This internship provides opportunities for me to be immersed in dance while exploring the field from a different perspective.
Maritza Ortega '17
Major: Behavioral neuroscience
Hometown: New York, New York
Internship: Casa-Nica Massaya, Nicaragua
Ortega donned scrubs daily as a volunteer health care provider at Casa-Nica Massaya, a public clinic in Nicaragua. The experience gave Ortega the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives by administering vaccines to children and adults, and providing basic medical treatment to individuals in need.
I learned about the program through another Conn student who shared that experience, which is why I applied. I’m currently deciding between following a social work career or a nursing path. Through this experience, I hope to solidify my decision.
Ashley Giordano '17
Majors: Theater
Hometown: Ledyard, Connecticut
Internship: A Class Act NY, New York City, New York
Giordano spent her summer helping to run weekly children’s theater workshops at A Class Act NY that culminated in a showcase performance at the end of each week. By supporting the work of acting, directing and casting professionals as a teaching assistant, Giordano gained insight into both theater education and coordinating dramatic works.
Being connected to A Class Act has opened up a larger network of professionals necessary for a career in the fields of theater, film and television.
Alexandra McDevitt '17
Major: East Asian studies, Chinese concentration
Hometown: Medfield, Massachusetts
Internship: Zhicheng Public Interest Law, Beijing, China
A trip to China became an opportunity to study the challenging yet rewarding work of offering free legal representation to marginalized groups. Migrant workers, women and children, farmers, and senior citizens, are among the clients served through Zhicheng Public Interest Law in Beijing. McDevitt spent her days researching and studying existing case law as a means to provide a strong legal foundation for protecting the rights of children and other marginalized groups in China.
The work I did this summer directly correlates with both my major and my gender and women’s studies minor. In the future, I hope to work in international human rights law; therefore Zhicheng Public Interest Law has introduced me to what international law looks like and how I can get involved.
Molly Zatony '17
Major: Psychology
Hometown: Suffield, Connecticut
Internship: Hospital Gregorio Marañon/Instituto de Investigacion Sanitaria Gregorio Marañon (LISGM), Madrid, Spain
Zatony worked directly with a clinical psychiatrist specializing in schizophrenia, psychosis, autism and DiGeorge syndrome in children and adolescents, and interacted with patients while observing consultations. Her time was split between research and clinical consultations.
This internship gave me a look into the ‘day in the life’ of clinical psychologists and psychiatrists, and secured my feeling that this is something I would like to continue to pursue in my future career.
Lauren O’Loughlin '17
Major: Behavioral neuroscience
Hometown: Waterbury, Connecticut
Internship: The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland
O’Loughlin spent her summer in the interventional neuroradiology department at Johns Hopkins Hospital. She immediately felt part of a team—shadowing physicians, participating in research, and learning the inner-workings of a world-class hospital. She read brain images, a specialized skill she wants to take into medical school.
My internship solidified my decision to pursue a career in medicine. As I continue to face challenging courses, long hours of study, and many years of school yet ahead, I know that I will persevere now that I have first-hand knowledge of the effect that a physician has on the life of a patient.
Kristina Toro '17
Major: History
Hometown: Brooklyn, New York
Internship: Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, Brooklyn, New York
By spending her time working at a nonprofit focused on making music accessible to all, Toro gained new ways of exploring music as a means for social justice and intersectionality. The daily work allowed her to explore her hometown of Brooklyn through the lens of a nonprofit promoting the arts, while building her own confidence and abilities as a performer.
My first week here I got thrown into organizing a large community event, and learned so much about putting on musical performances. Every day I faced something new, from meeting with local police-officers, to manning the registration desk. I learned more than I imagined about nonprofits, music and community involvement.
Peter Burdge '17
Major: History
Hometown: Killingworth, Connecticut
Internship: Archives of St. Peter’s Abbey, Salzburg, Austria
Burdge spent most of his summer working to preserve documented history by archiving a large collection of books, documents and photographs left behind in a small church near Salzburg. By cleaning, sorting and cataloguing every piece of information, Burdge and his coworkers have enabled future scholars to research the history of the church.
Working in the monastery and having access to its library of medieval books has inspired new lines of thinking for my honors thesis on education centers in medieval Germany, which I will complete this year. I gained a great deal of experience in preserving and organizing raw historical material. My time in Austria also improved my German speaking abilities tremendously. I hope to continue to learn and speak the language. I’m on a good path to a future profession that uses the German language, whether teaching or working in a museum.
Sarah Treaster '17
Major: Gender and women's studies
Hometown: Santa Fe, New Mexico
Internship: National Organization for Women, New York City, New York
With an eye toward supporting women’s rights, Treaster interned with the largest organization of feminist activists in the country. At NOW, she coordinated a program of volunteers who escort women as they navigate protesters on the way to health clinics. Treaster’s experience allowed her to make a difference in women’s lives and push for change while enhancing her field of study.
As a Gender and Women's Studies major and a PICA scholar, working at a women's focused nonprofit is ideal for my academic and professional career goals. I plan to enter the nonprofit field when I graduate, specifically focusing on women's rights and issues.
Melissa Ferrie '17
Major: American studies
Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri
Internship: James Beard Foundation, New York City, New York
Taking on the role of special events intern with the James Beard Foundation put Ferrie at the center of the foundation’s annual summer tasting event in the Hamptons. By getting a feel for the nonprofit that looks to support and celebrate American cuisine, Ferrie also explored the possibilities of interdisciplinary study and work.
Majoring in American studies has allowed me to make meaningful connections between my academic classes, my everyday experiences, and current issues and events. By combining my education with this internship, I’ve learned to think critically, write clearly, and communicate effectively about a variety of topics. My dream for the future is to work in the food industry in some capacity, and my experience working at the James Beard Foundation has prepared me for anything that could come my way.
Amanda Chugg '17
Major: Behavioral neuroscience
Hometown: Burbank, California
Internship: FACELab at Emerson College, Boston, Massachusetts
The FACELab at Emerson College studies facial expressions and social communication in young adults with high functioning autism by collecting a variety of data. Chugg helped in the collection of motion capture and heart rate data, and guided participants through social and nonsocial task completion. The lab’s goal is to understand and raise awareness on how adolescents on the autism spectrum perceive and produce social cues.
Before I worked at the lab, I felt like research was really clinical. This has given me experience working with human subjects, on a topic that is really interesting. Working with the FACElab team has been inspiring and engaging.
Shameesha Pryor '17
Major: Africana studies
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Internship: Chicago HOPES for Kids, Chicago, Illinois
As a site coordinator at Chicago HOPES for Kids, Pryor managed her time between two sites where she carried out the important work of bringing structure and positivity to the lives of children who have faced adversity.
Working as the site coordinator allowed me to enhance my skills and knowledge while making a difference in children’s lives. My independent study will be on restorative justice for juveniles and children of abuse and neglect. This will help me in the near future as I plan to become an attorney representing children of abuse and neglect.