Bryant University students interning with Providence’s Social Enterprise Greenhouse (SEG) nurture community-oriented entrepreneurs and nonprofits with the business skills they learn in school, as well as soaking up the experience of working with startup organizations and the rewards of working with groups dedicated to doing good. 

Over the past two years, a dozen Bryant students have secured internships via SEG, a group whose mission is to create a “more just, equitable, and resilient economy through social impact business.” 

Students intern with a diverse range of entities, from Beat the Streets, which uses wrestling to steer urban youth onto a positive life and career path, to EvoNatura, a mother-and-daughter team developing biodegradable alternatives to plastic made from food waste.  

“Growing social entrepreneurs” is how CEO Julie Owens explains SEG’s mission. For example, SEG provided early support to Vincent Emery ’26, founder of Lil’ Rhody Coffee, a Pawtucket-based company seeking to make coffee production more environmentally sustainable.  

“Vincent went through our accelerator program, and now he's in the process of launching another startup, so I've been coaching him on pitching to funders,” explains Owens. 

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“We’re incubating and accelerating people who are using business models to address society's challenges, [such as] healthcare, food insecurity, and climate justice,” Owens says. “We invest in early-stage folks, whether that’s a university student who's thinking about a career or an entrepreneur who has not yet launched but has a plan or an idea for what it is that they want to create. We do a lot of bringing people together and connecting them to funding networks and expertise. We catalyze, connect, and invest in social entrepreneurs.” 

"We catalyze, connect, and invest in social entrepreneurs.”

Akisch Lenus, SEG’s senior manager of ecosystem engagement and partnerships, says Bryant is a great partner for the internship program that he coordinates.  

“Their values align with ours: their business curriculum is transforming to be more social-impact focused, and that's literally what we're about,” he says, noting that Plant City owner Kim Anderson, who has served on the SEG board and is a Bryant University trustee, played a key role in facilitating the relationship between the two institutions. 

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SEG does an excellent job of matching students’ interests and skills with internship opportunities, says Scott Connolly, senior assistant director of employer relations at Bryant’s Amica Center for Career Education. 

For example, “if you’re a student interested in marketing, you can be developing a marketing plan for a small startup. We had a global supply chain student last year working through ways [a company could] source things more efficiently and effectively,” he says. 

Connolly says interest in the SEG internships is growing. In 2024, there were six applicants, but that more than doubled in 2025. 

“Students get exposure to various organizations around Rhode Island that are making meaningful contributions to the local community,” he says. “They get outside of the Bryant ‘bubble’ to do some really good work that helps a lot of people. Some of these entrepreneurs have fantastic ideas, and the concepts our students learn can help them develop a business plan, bring programs to scale, and increase profitability.” 

“Students get exposure to various organizations around Rhode Island that are making meaningful contributions to the local community."

Evan Jackson ’27, a Business Administration major, is among the seven Bryant students interning for class credit with SEG in 2025.  

“SEG has been an immersive experience for me both inside and out of the hub in Davol Square,” where SEG has a community workspace as well as offices, says Jackson. “Working with my venture, Mini Entrepreneurs of Rhode Island (MERI), I have been challenged to create and encouraged to succeed. I’ve learned how to excel in different Adobe applications, as well as working hands-on with K-8 kids with big hearts and even bigger ideas.” 

 "I have been challenged to create and encouraged to succeed ... as well as working hands-on with K-8 kids with big hearts and even bigger ideas.” 

Jackson says he was able to apply leadership skills learned in his “Operations Management” course to help kids succeed in MIRI’s summer camp.  

"For example, during a cooking class I was coaching at points when they needed help following directions, but more authoritative when they needed to listen better to the instructor,” he says. “My experience with SEG has been very enriching, and I'm confident my involvement will help me prosper in my future endeavors.”  

Lenus says that Bryant interns arrive well-prepared to take on major tasks.  

“Some of the solo entrepreneurs that receive the interns are growing their ventures, so to have the skills and expertise of students from Bryant come in and plug in, it really helps them take them off,” says Lenus.  

Jackson, for example, has also helped MERI develop their social media strategy and improve their marketing campaign, Lenus says. Chilu Jambunathan ’25, a 2024 SEG intern who recently graduated from Bryant with his Business Administration degree, helped Beat the Streets organize their largest annual fundraising events.  

“The social impact fellowship gave me a direct outlet to apply what I've learned in my classes,” says Jambunathan. “From operations management to marketing — to even sociology at times — going through this fellowship program allowed me to refine my industry knowledge in a real-world sense.”