There’s no better teacher than experience, but sometimes getting that experience requires a helping hand. Bryant University’s Summer Internship Fellowship (SIF) program empowers students to explore career options, learn more about a prospective field, make invaluable connections and develop the skills they'll need for success

Offered through Bryant’s nationally recognized Amica Center for Career Education, the fellowship support allows students to pursue high-level internships that only provide a small stipend or are unpaid, ensuring that undergraduates get a head start in turning their talents and passions into a meaningful career. 

"This is an opportunity to put your foot in the door and really experience your career field,” says Adrian Lokko ’23, a Digital Marketing major from Tehnma, Ghana, who is interning with ABSA Bank. Through his fellowship, Lokko will help the organization’s marketing department with advertising and promotional activities, develop social media strategies and campaigns, write marketing proposals, research consumer trends and gather and evaluate data—great practice for his future career. 

He’s excited to put his education to the test. “I'll be able to try out the tools I've learned in the classroom and learn new things from professionals in the field," he notes.

Exploring new possibilities
“At Bryant University, we believe that it's critically important that students have access to exceptional learning opportunities, both inside and outside the classroom,” says Amy Ames, an Amica Center Career Coach and the Summer Internship Fellowship Coordinator. “Through these fellowships, students gain early hands-on experience that will be invaluable as they prepare for their career.”

“I love learning about a lot of things and I think the best way to discover what I really want to do is explore firsthand and outside the classroom."

The fellowships, Ames points out, exemplify the Amica Center’s mission to help Bryant students discover their passions and pursue rewarding and meaningful careers. The Center offers career and internship fairs throughout the year, as well as an online jobs board full of opportunities and connections, one-on-one career coaching, and a wide range of other resources.

The fellows are selected based on how their internship experiences will help them prepare for the future. Lili Jessico ’23, a Biology major with a concentration in Psychology from Dracut, MA, for instance, is using her fellowship to shadow and assist two dental practitioners and acquire the experience she needs to apply to dental school. “This is a great opportunity to advance my career and I’m really looking forward to the connections I hope to make,” she says.

A world of opportunities
This summer, the fellowship program is funding opportunities across New England and around the world. Lokko and Jessico’s fellow SIF recipients, representing both Bryant’s College of Business and College of Arts and Sciences, include:

• Juleidy Perez ’24, from, Providence, RI. Perez is majoring in Leadership and Innovation and Global Studies. She will be spending the summer as an Administrative Intern at the Empowerment Factory, a Pawtucket, RI non-profit that partners with schools and organizations to deliver programs, events and activities that help youth develop the skills they need to succeed in school and life. She is the recipient of the Leger R. Morrison Fellowship, which was generously endowed by Judith Allen ’55.  
• Brian Kostiw ’23, from Sutton, MA. Kostiw, who is studying Communication will be using his fellowship to help fund a marketing internship with the WooSox Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Worcester Red Sox, which seeks to make dreams come true for families in the City of Worcester, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the surrounding region in New England.
• Grace Greenaway ’23, from Nashua, NH. Greenaway is a Politics and Law major with a concentration in Spanish. She is interning with The Front Door Agency, a non-profit in Nashua, NH, that assists individuals and families as they transition from crisis to self-sufficiency by providing a hand-up opportunity to those at risk of homelessness. Greenaway is the recipient of the Amica Center Fellowship for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
• Lucie Castagne ’24, from Paris, France. Castagne is majoring in Managerial Accounting and Finance and Information Systems. This summer, Castagne is working in the Canary Islands as an Accounting and Finance Intern at Vesilen Investments, which provides investment, business strategies and financial services for areas such as tourism, training and innovation. She is this year’s recipient of the Sheryl Crowley ’60 Fellowship, which was funded by her daughter Merritt Crowley and carries additional funding for an opportunity that requires significant travel or housing expenses.

Taking the next big step
The internships students pursue through their fellowships are often important steppingstones to future careers. "I think the fellowships are a great opportunity because, as a college student, the financial aspect of an unpaid internship can sometimes be an obstacle,” notes Kostiw, who says he’s thrilled to work with the Worcester Red Sox and learn more about the organization. “But, because of these fellowships, we can go after the opportunities we really want."

"My fellowship is helping to provide me with the opportunity to branch out and try something new while also helping children who are in need. I feel like I'm going to be able to give back to my city and that's something I'm really looking forward to.”

The fellowships also offer a chance to try a potential career path on for size. “I love learning about a lot of things and I think the best way to discover what I really want to do is explore firsthand and outside the classroom,” says Castagne. Plus, she says, she’s excited to explore another country though her fellowship. “It’s going to be an adventure and it’s also going to help me gain confidence,” Castagne states.

For some students, the fellowships are an opportunity to connect with organizations that need assistance and do some good in the world. "My fellowship is helping to provide me with the opportunity to branch out and try something new while also helping children who are in need,” says Perez, who’ll be working in her hometown of Providence, and is looking forward to learning firsthand the ins and outs of how nonprofits work. “I feel like I'm going to be able to give back to my city and that's something I'm really looking forward to,” she states.