Eastern Connecticut State University students participated in both on-campus and off-campus internships during the spring 2022 semester. Internship locations ranged from Eastern’s Office of Alumni Affairs and the Center for Early Childhood Education, to Hartford Healthcare, elementary schools and more.

Emily Hailu is a senior communication major who interned as a video producer for Eastern’s Office of Alumni Affairs. Hailu’s responsibilities included creating visual content for the office’s social media pages and highlighting campus news and events that cater to alumni interests.

Since beginning her internship, Hailu has learned the importance of networking with her co-workers and alumni to help her reach her goals. Offering some words of encouragement for anyone looking to become a video producer, Hailu suggests that people “think outside of the box and don’t stick to what you know is safe. What is safe may be overused and being creative and doing what has never been done before may actually lead you to bigger and better outcomes.” 

Jake Kubisek is a senior new media studies major who interned as a production assistant for the Center for Early Childhood Education. Kubisek’s responsibilities as a production assistant included field work, camera operating, lighting, editing, voice-over and more. One of the biggest obstacles Kubisek faced with this position was getting familiar with AVID Media Composer, a video editing software. Despite this challenge, Kubisek says the most rewarding part of the job was seeing the final product come together after all of the work that goes into it.

With eight years of experience in video editing Kubisek aspires to have a career in the field. For anyone looking to work in video production, Kubisek said, “You never know until you try. I was somewhat hesitant at first, but I've really enjoyed my experience.”

Kiyana-Nicole Smith is a sophomore double-majoring in sociology and early childhood education who interned as a teacher assistant for an Eastern sociology class. Smith’s responsibilities included providing guidance to students and taking notes on teaching strategies that help her to be more effective when communicating with students. The biggest challenge Smith encountered at the internship was finding ways to assist students without giving them answers to tests.

This position helped Smith learn critical thinking, observation and communication. She was inspired to study this field due to her interest in how human interaction affects everything in life. She is also an early childhood education major who mentors youth. For anyone looking for an internship, Smith said, “Try it for the experience. Find something you are interested in and see if it aligns with your career path. If not, that’s okay too. Keep an open mind because you never know what you may or may not like.” 

Nathan Fontaine is a senior majoring in history who interned in Eastern’s Office of Title IX. Fontaine’s responsibilities included assisting in outreach, conducting case studies and assisting in online training. Fontaine hopes to further understand Title IX and its connection to higher education. The biggest challenge Fontaine encountered was developing outreach efforts to get students more involved.

Fontaine credits the internship for bettering his critical thinking and professional etiquette skills and said, “Don’t be afraid to reach out because these internships are the best opportunities to gain experience.”

Nicole Thomassen is a senior majoring in business administration who was a compliance and privacy intern for Hartford Healthcare. Thomassen decided to study the healthcare industry in hopes of acquiring more exposure, knowledge and connections in the field, and to one day work in the administrative offices.

Some of Thomassen’s responsibilities included developing and revising compliance and privacy educational materials and presentations, as well as procedures and understanding and interpreting federal and state regulations. While at this internship, Thomassen has learned to better communicate and manage time with multiple projects.

“Be confident and be prepared,” said Thomassen, when giving advice to students seeking an internship. “You want to be prepared for the interviews by having a clear resume and to answer any questions they may ask. Don’t forget to ask questions at the end of every interview.” 

Noelle Ciccarelli is a senior majoring in developmental psychology who was a social work intern at the Windham Center School, as well as a play therapy intern at Canterbury Elementary school. Due to her love of children, Ciccarelli was inspired to pursue the field of developmental psychology. She hopes to offer support to children in schools as a school psychologist or social worker.

Ciccarelli’s responsibilities at the Windham Center School were to plan activities, take notes on children and their behavior with lunch buddies, and offer individualized classroom aid. At Canterbury Elementary School her responsibilities were working with children in 30-minute weekly child-led play sessions and mentoring others to plan activities to address socioemotional concerns among the children.

Ciccarelli’s biggest challenge is knowing she cannot make everything better for the kids she works with. She since learned to do everything in her power to address the children’s needs and be there for them. “Push yourself out of your comfort zone and be okay with making mistakes,” said Ciccarelli.

“The whole point of completing an internship is to learn. It can be easy to beat yourself up over every little mistake. You are your own toughest critic and as long as you are doing your best and know who to go to when you are having difficulties, then you are doing everything right.”

Sophia Tsikitas is a senior majoring in business administration and is interning for the dean of the Business Division in Eastern’s School of Education and Professional Studies. Tsikitas was inspired to study business administration because of the many opportunities within the field.

Some of her responsibilities include designing multiple measures, collecting stakeholder data for strategic planning, gathering and organizing relevant information and data related to various accreditation projects, and communicating with internal and external stakeholders on matters related to accreditation standards. One of the biggest challenges Tsikitas has faced is learning how to navigate the different working styles of various stakeholders. She credits the internship for helping her develop essential managerial skills.

Offering advice for students seeking internships, Tsikitas said, “Use all of the resources that are available. I would not have been in this position if it was not for being involved within the campus community and utilizing all of the faculty and staff that are here to help.”