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Meet #CrusaderIntern Seryna Warren ’22

Name: Seryna Warren

Class Year: 2022

Intern Title: Human Resources Project Manager

Organization: Seaside Sustainability

 

1. Tell us about where you interned over the summer and the kind of work you are doing.

Over the summer, I remotely interned at an organization called Seaside Sustainability based in Gloucester, MA. At Seaside, I was a Human Resources Project Manager, where I handled internal communications between staff, and worked to prioritize the mental well-being of the employees. In this position, I managed projects pertaining to mental health and community well-being, such as workshops and newsletter programs. At Seaside, I also worked as a Green Consulting intern, where I collaborated with a team on the development of a sustainability consulting program and contract to use in collaboration with schools to help them work towards more sustainable campuses. At this internship, I also received the President’s Volunteer Service Award, an award given to interns who complete a certain amount of volunteer hours.

 

2. Give us an example of how you have applied your academic learnings to your internship?

I was able to apply so much of my academic learning to my internship. As an Environmental Studies major, I am able to go into depth in a plethora of different disciplines during the academic year, from the humanities to the hard sciences. During the summer, I was able to carry over all I had learned while involved in the ENVS program to my internship. I was able to apply my knowledge of the hard sciences, such as biology and chemistry, to the brainstorming and developing of consulting areas. I also was able to utilize my knowledge from my course on environmental perspectives to prioritize ethics in the consulting program as well.

 

3. What has surprised you about being an intern?

What had surprised me about being an intern was how much I was actually able to contribute to the organization. Upon starting the internship, I had the misconception that I would only be able to contribute so much, as someone with minimal experience. I totally was. wrong. During my internship, I felt as though my ideas and thoughts were well heard and included in the work that was going on, leaving me with the feeling that I had made such a strong contribution to the teams that I was on.

 

4. How did this experience influence or connect to your future career plans / goals?

This experience helped me to establish a few ideas that I have for my future. To look more positively, as a Green Consulting Intern, I was able to establish a curiosity about sustainability consulting that I continued today with my participation in the Pothos Project here at HC. I also learned through this internship that I hope to have a more active position in a career. All of my internship was done behind a computer screen, which was great as I was able to work with people all over the world, but I also found that it was not the type of work setting I hope to have in my future career. I also feel as though my internship showed me the opportunities to work in nonprofit organizations, which is another career path I hope to look more into.

 

5. Any internship advice to pass on to other Holy Cross students?

My best advice when looking for / doing an internship is to make meaningful connections through networking. Over the course of my internship, I was able to meet and network with some amazing individuals. This skill of networking continues to help me today with my current internship (different from my summer internship), as well as within my career search.
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Meet #CrusaderIntern Erin Kinney ’20, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Name: Erin Kinney

Class Year: 2020

Position: Intern/ Epidemiology Workforce Branch on the Student Programs Team

Organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

 

1. Tell us about where you interned over the summer and the kind of work you are doing. 

I interned at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia this past summer. I worked within the Epidemiology Workforce Branch on the Student Programs Team. I helped evaluate and improve their selection rubric for the Science Ambassadors Program through my own independent research project. I wrote an abstract and presented my findings to CDC scientists and leaders including the division chief. This program aimed to inspire and educate middle and high school teachers from around the country in public health topics to create new lesson plans for their students in hopes of carving a career path for future public health professionals.

2. Give us an example of how you have applied your academic learnings to your internship? 

From what I have learned from all of my STEM courses at Holy Cross, I was able to apply my understanding of the scientific method to my research project. Having this understanding of how to conduct my own research was essential in my success as a student intern in creating a professional list of new guidelines for the program to follow in the future. My experience with excel and creating graphics to present data were also vital skills I needed to succeed during my time spent at the CDC.

3. What has surprised you about being an intern?  

The amount of independence I was granted as a summer intern surprised me. I was able to take my project in many different directions, and it was solely up to me to decide how to proceed and what the best way to present my findings were.

4. How did this experience influence or connect to your future career plans / goals?  

This experience opened my eyes to the complexities of public health on both a national and global scale. I realized my desire to contribute to public health in my future career whether that be through research, policy, or clinical practices. The CDC has influence in a variety of different fields from biosecurity to foreign aid such as fighting Ebola in the DOC. Since my time spent at the CDC this past summer, my goals of becoming a practicing physician have been solidified and placed into a new context surrounding the goals of public health.

5. Any internship advice to pass on to other Holy Cross students?  

My advice to other Holy Cross students is to being extremely open-minded during this process and to not be discouraged. I have never been to Georgia, let alone the South, until this past summer, and I am so glad I chose to take the leap of faith and experience a new city along with my new internship. Also, apply for the crusader internship fund because this made it possible for me to accept an unpaid position and gain valuable work experience.
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Meet #CrusaderIntern Meghan Donahue ’21

Name: Meghan G. Donahue

Class Year: 2021

Position & Company: Yale School of Medicine Alzheimer’s Disease Research Unit (Intern, Research Assistant)

1. Tell us about where you interned over the summer and the kind of work you are doing.

This summer, I interned at the Yale School of Medicine Alzheimer’s Disease Research Unit where I was trained to function as a full time Research Assistant, and support the functioning of multiple Alzheimer’s clinical drug trials. I had the opportunity to interact with patients presenting a wide array of cognitive abilities on a daily basis as I took their vital signs, performed EKGs, drew their blood, and administered some cognitive testing. I became adept at retrieving the major medical history of potential trial participants, and collaborated with a panel of medical professionals as they assessed these factors and other clinical measures leading to a diagnosis.

2. Give us an example of how you have applied your academic learnings to your internship

As a psychology major with a health professions career track, I frequently integrated my academic learning into my day to day responsibilities.  One specific example of how I applied my classroom learning to my internship focused on the techniques necessary to process blood labs that were drawn in the office .  The challenge of balancing a centrifuge and pipetting contents from a vile utilized skills that I have practiced during my Chem and Bio lab periods.  Having had this academic experience, I felt calm and confident when handling these blood samples, and competently transferred the contents from my very first assignment onward.

3. What has surprised you about being an intern?

Something that surprised me about being an intern was how easy it was to grasp new workplace concepts, and apply what I have been learning in the Holy Cross classroom to real life applications. While many students find the meticulous detail of courses to be an annoyance at times, questioning if they are even pertinent to the functions of a future career, I was able to connect many bigger picture concepts to my coursework at Holy Cross.  My knowledge of psychology, cognition, memory, biology, chemistry and anatomy and physiology made my transition at Yale this summer fairly seamless and smooth. 

4. How did this experience influence or connect to your future career plans / goals?

Since I am planning for a career in healthcare, what better opportunity than to be trained at a world-class medical institution in an arena that focuses on a disease that has impacted millions globally?  Not only was I able to log some of those coveted patient contact hours required for any PA school, but I was also able to practice some of the basic medical and interpersonal skills and techniques that I will be using for the rest of my professional life. 

5. Any internship advice to pass on to other Holy Cross students?

My internship advice would be to identify what you want, and then try to get it.  Just because a Holy Cross student has never had an internship at a site that interests you, do not be afraid to strategically reach out and see if they would be amenable to the idea.  If you are able to secure a HC funded stipend, you are also in a position to market yourself as “free” to them.  I was the first non- Yale undergraduate student to intern at the ADRU.  I was so fortunate to secure the funding from Holy Cross, and then successfully tap into the HC alumni network to help me navigate the process, identify decision makers and share advice.  I would not have had the amazing ten-week internship that I had this summer if I had not figured out how to make a compelling “ask”.  If I can do it, so can others.
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Meet #CrusaderIntern Karina Ramos ’20, Lab Technician Intern

Name: Karina Ramos

Class Year: 2020

Internship position: Intern- Lab Technician

Employer: Proveris Scientific Corporation

1. Tell us about where you interned over the summer and the kind of work you are doing.

This summer at Proveris, my main duties included running experiments for the Senior Applications Chemist and Senior Field Scientist in the chemistry laboratory. Specifically, the company’s focus is in advancing the aerosol and nasal spray technology industry, so the majority of my time was collecting data off the instrumentation and analyzing it using custom software designed by the company. Not only was I working within my immediate team, but also spent much of my time communicating and deliberating with the engineering, sales, and manufacturing teams. These wide range of duties allowed me to have a holistic understanding of the inner workings that is the pharmaceutical industry.

2. Give us an example of how you have applied your academic learnings to your internship?

Just before I began my internship, I took Analytical and Instrumental Chemistry. In this course we learned how to read scholarly journals by meticulously studying currently published works and modeling common practices in our own papers. This skill of reading with intention allowed me to become more efficient and confident in my ability to read papers that at first seem too complex to understand. Some of my duties this summer included doing research on past literature in the field to further develop methods for more efficient data collection. My confidence in reading peer reviewed journals and gathering a consensus of the paper’s findings made me a valuable asset in the method development step in conducting experiments.

3. What has surprised you about being an intern?

I have been pleasantly surprised at how eager my department was to allow me to troubleshoot issues in the instrumentation and software on my own. Also, within the first couple of weeks working full-time, I was grateful enough to receive some projects that I could effectively work on myself. Working for a smaller company gave me more autonomy in day to day tasks that lead to working on customer projects independently and with confidence from my supervisors. I am thankful to be given so much responsibility at the intern level.

4. How did this experience influence or connect to your future career plans / goals?

This experience allowed me to expand my network not only into the Holy Cross alumni network, but also into the pharma industry. Working in industry instead of research (which is what I have only been exposed to) has given a good insight to what a routine looks like working for pharma.

5. Any internship advice to pass on to other Holy Cross students?

Network with alumni at the beginning of your junior year so they keep you in mind when applications come out in the spring! Also apply to a variety of different fields in different locations around the country.
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Meet #CrusaderIntern Adeline McCullough ’21, Animal Husbandry and Family and Youth Education Intern

Name: Adeline McCullough

Class Year: 2021

Internship Position: Animal Husbandry and Family and Youth Education Intern

Internship Employer: Mass Audubon Joppa Flatts Education Center

 

 

1.Tell us about where you interned over the summer and the kind of work you are doing.

I interned at a Mass Audubon Center in Newburyport this summer. There I cared for over 40 species of animals. I fed them and regulated the water chemistry of 30-gallon and 100-gallon saltwater tanks. Also, I led programs educating families about marine life.  I gave presentations, and facilitated opportunities where visitors could hold our animals. Additionally, I went on numerous trips to collect marine animals from around New England such as Plum Island, York Beach, and Gloucester.

 

 

2. Give us an example of how you have applied your academic learnings to your internship?

My internship required a detailed knowledge of the anatomy, phylogeny, and environments of the animals housed at the center. My previous coursework in biology and chemistry at Holy Cross gave me extensive knowledge in these areas, which allowed me to be confident and prepared in my internship.

3. What has surprised you about being an intern?

What surprised me about being an intern was how much I enjoyed it! The other interns and employees shared the same passion for animals and the environment as I have. I had fun in bonding with the other interns, going on tidepooling trips, and even in the grunt work like cleaning the tanks.

4. How did this experience influence or connect to your future career plans / goals?

This experience made me interested in a career path working with animals. Before my internship I had a passion for biology, but I had no idea what path I wanted to follow. Now that I have experience with caring for animals, I know I want to incorporate that into my career hunt for the future.

5. Any internship advice to pass on to other Holy Cross students?

My advice to other Holy Cross Students is take every opportunity you can to experience something new. A like or dislike are both equally valuable when looking towards a future career.
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Meet #CrusaderIntern Daniel Mendez ’20, Programmer Analyst Intern at American Mathematical Society

1. Tell us about where you interned over the summer and the kind of work you are doing.

I interned in Ann Arbor, Michigan and the main goal for my internship was to create a new help system for MathSciNet, which is a website used by American Mathematical Society (AMS). This involved working on backend (SQL, Scala) and frontend (Javascript – Vue.js framework, Html, CSS) aspects of full stack development. I created mock ups of help pages for testing queries/output in which databases such as PostgreSQL and Elasticsearch were needed to store/update/delete data. This was a test driven development environment where I would write code for some modules and write code that would test those modules. Lastly, I used tools such as Git for source code control.

2. Give us an example of how you have applied your academic learnings to your internship?

There were some cs courses that helped me out more than others for this internship. For example, I had to work with such a large amount of data, so using the appropriate data structures to store and access that data was important for memory and time considerations. Therefore, my Data Structures course(csci132) was definitely helpful with this. Furthermore, there are many styles in which to program which are called paradigms. I learned about the majority of these paradigms in my Programming Languages Design and Implementation course(csci324). This course was also helpful when I had to program in Scala for my internship because the internship required me to use different paradigms such as Functional Programming and Object Oriented Programming. Lastly, generally speaking my academic learnings have sharpened my critical thinking skills and have helped me easily work with people from different backgrounds. Therefore, being able to make my own judgments on an issue and articulate my solution to a co-worker is as important as being able to take constructed criticism from that same co-worker.

3. What has surprised you about being an intern?

I have had internships in the past, but they were mainly composed of running errands for the actual employees. Your typical coffee runs and printing out copies, etc. However, for this internship at AMS, I felt more like an actual employee. From the first day I was given a large project to work on and the expectation to learn a plethora of tools and technologies that I had never heard about. This responsibility gave me some pressure, but it also made me grateful and privileged for the position I was in.

4. How did this experience influence or connect to your future career plans / goals?

Part of my future career plan is to attain a job where I don’t have to push myself to go, rather the job excites me enough to pull me into work everyday. I can definitely say I had this feeling sometimes when I worked at AMS. Therefore, working as a software developer is an option I am heavily considering. Furthermore, I plan on obtaining a masters degree after working for a few years, so the area of focus for this may very well be computer science. If not then I may do a crossover between both of my majors in computer science and physics such as Electronics.

5. Any internship advice to pass on to other Holy Cross students?

Be open minded because although you may not obtain the exact internship you wanted, it may turn out to be something you enjoy. Even if it’s not then you still have that connection with the company and its employees which may be helpful a few years down the road. Also, if you don’t hear back from several internships you applied for, don’t give up. It’s their loss not yours. Keeping a positive attitude while you’re applying to internships and going through interviews is very important.
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Meet #CrusaderIntern, Caitlin Tzimorotas ’21, Marketing intern at HGTV Magazine

1. Tell us about your internship and the work that you are doing this summer.

This summer I am working as a marketing intern at HGTV Magazine. Some of my responsibilities include writing copy, overseeing marketing executions (such as sweepstakes and contests), communicating with brands featured in the magazine, negotiating partnerships with influencers, and helping to plan HGTV Magazine’s Blogger Block Party event in New York City.

2. What is the coolest thing about your internship or the company/organization where you intern?

I have really enjoyed seeing the “behind the scenes” of everything that goes into publishing a magazine. I have been able to communicate with brands and partners directly, which has given me so much hands-on experience and knowledge about the field of marketing.

3. What has surprised you about being an intern? 

I am surprised by how much freedom I have. At first, it was a little nerve wracking to send emails with the “HGTV Magazine” signature at the bottom, but I have come to really appreciate the responsibility I have been given.

4. How has this internship influenced your future career plans?  

This internship has helped me to see that I really enjoy working in a large and creative corporation. It has also shown me that I thrive in collaborative team environments.

5. Any internship advice to pass on to other Holy Cross students?

One of the most valuable aspects of my internship has been the ability to speak to people in all different departments, from Managing Editors, to Salespeople, to the Art team. My biggest piece of advice is to talk to as many people as you can and establish relationships with those people. It can be as simple as asking them to grab a coffee, or asking them a few questions about what a typical day in the life in their position is like.
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Meet #CrusaderIntern, Caroline Babinski ’20, Digital Intern at NBC Nightly News

Meet #CrusaderIntern, Caroline Babinski ’20, Digital Intern at NBC Nightly News

1. Tell us about your internship and the work that you are doing this summer.

This summer I am a Digital Intern at NBC Nightly News! My day to day tasks include scheduling posts for our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts that correspond with daily broadcast. I am learning so much about creating a digital presence for a brand and more advanced functions of social media platforms.
2. What is the coolest thing about your internship or the company/organization where you intern?

The coolest part of my internship is my office environment! Along with working in 30 Rock, the NBC Newsroom is an amazing environment to be in. I am surrounded by a fast-paced environment that changes constantly due to the news of the day.
 
3. What has surprised you about being an intern? 
In the past, I interned at the United States Senate and at ELLE Magazine which were incredible experiences that eventually led me to my current internship at NBC. One thing that has surprised me throughout my internships is that there are so many jobs I never knew about. Through learning about all of the different positions I have been exposed to, I have gained a greater sense of what I want to do after graduation, along with affirming that careers do not have to be linear. 
 
4. How has this internship influenced your future career plans?  
During my time at Holy Cross I often would often say, “I’m interested in a career in media,” but I never actually knew what that meant. After my internship on Capitol Hill and an internship in publishing, I knew I wanted to explore news. My internship at Nightly News has given me the insight into social media and news that I wanted and now I have a deeper understanding of this industry. My internship experiences have given me a broad sense of what type of career I want to pursue, and this summer specifically  has helped me confirm that a job in media is my goal for after graduation.
 
5. Any internship advice to pass on to other Holy Cross students?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions! Since we are usually focused on grades and schoolwork, it’s easy to think that we should not make mistakes and we should know what we are doing, but internships are for learning, not to do things we already know how to do. Always ask questions when learning new tasks in your internship since it’s better to do things correctly by asking questions rather than assuming you’ll know how to do something.
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Meet #CrusaderIntern Jullia Pham ’20, Global Merchandising Intern at Coach
Meet #CrusaderIntern Jullia Pham ’20, Global Merchandising Intern at Coach

 

1. Tell us about your internship and the work that you are doing this summer.

This summer, I am working as the Global Merchandising Intern for the Men’s Outlet Leather Goods team at Coach. Within this job position, I will be assisting Samantha Moor ‘15 and her team. This includes working with different departments like design and product development to produce a new line of products for upcoming seasons. Currently we are working on spring and summer 2020! 

 

2. What is the coolest thing about your internship or the company/organization where you intern?

One of my favorite parts of this internship is that I get exposure to all three of Tapestry’s brands including Coach, Kate Spade, and Stuart Weitzman. Everyday I get to see new and existing products from the brands all around me. Specifically on the merchandising team, I get to see products for future seasons before they launch in stores!

 

3. What has surprised you about being an intern? 

One of my biggest surprises is the difference in culture across different companies. I previously held internship roles at Hearst Magazines in NYC and the Boch Center, a non profit in Boston. Throughout my time at all three companies, I have experienced different workplaces and their approaches to their intern programs. I have been able to learn from every experience which has helped me tremendously in identifying what type of company I want to work for post graduation. Having internship experience not only helps you to see if the role is a great fit, but also lets me explore different work cultures and company values and what type of people I want to work collaboratively with. 

 

4. How has this internship influenced your future career plans?  

This internship is my first role within the fashion and retail space. It not only allows me to understand and learn from Coach but also from a new parent company (Tapestry) that has acquired Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman as well. In addition to introducing me to a new industry, my position within the merchandising team will allow me to understand the lifecycle of a product and the development of new and existing products for months ahead. 

 

5. Any internship advice to pass on to other Holy Cross students?

Talk to alumni and leverage the Holy Cross network! This is advice we always hear but is absolutely one of the best advice to follow. Even if they are not at the current company you are interning, reach out for coffee or a phone call! Alumni are more than willing to share their career trajectories with current students. We are so fortunate to have an alumni network that will go out of their way to help us through their personal connections from their company, but also through their generous donations to resources like the Crusader Fund. My internship at Coach is sponsored through the Crusader Fund and my manager is alumna Samantha Moor ‘15. Without the help of alumni this wouldn’t be possible!

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Meet #CrusaderIntern Michael Melch ’20, International Law Institute

Full Name: Michael Melch ‘20

Summer Internship: International Law Institute

 

1. What were you up to this past summer?

Last summer I interned at the International Law Institute in Georgetown, DC. I was responsible for the preparation of training seminars for international lawyers. My duties included marketing the seminars, coordinating with the experts who taught the seminar regarding the necessary materials, and interacting with participants to ensure that the meetings ran smoothly. As a result, I was able to attend many of the seminars on topics ranging from legislative drafting to anti-trust and competition.

2. What was your favorite part?

I really enjoyed interacting with the participants of the seminars who came from countries all over the world, such as Italy, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Nigeria, and the Philippines, to name a few. The seminars often included site visits, and one of the highlights of my internship was leading a group of Chinese lawyers from the Shanghai Bar Association on a tour of the Supreme Court and US Capitol. Also, the International Law Institute arranged professional development trips designed for the interns to learn about various legal and economic organizations. The visits included law firms, the Federal Trade Commission, and my favorite, the World Bank.

3. What surprised you?

I was surprised by how many different nationalities came to expand their legal knowledge at the International Law Institute to better prepare themselves for their profession in their home countries. The specialized legal education and training may not be available in their home countries so they come to Washington D.C. to advance their legal careers or improve for the career they already have.