For some 乐播传媒 students, summer 2024 meant adding skills. Avery Lehman 鈥�25, for example, is an accomplished photographer, but didn鈥檛 know much about the business side of the art world 鈥� until her Purposeful Work internship at a New York City art gallery.
For others, summer meant feeling accepted into the world of business. Johnny Nunez 鈥�26 felt 鈥渆veryone’s extraordinary kindness and willingness to help鈥� during his Purposeful Work internship with an investment firm in New York City.
This past summer, 乐播传媒 offered 128 Purposeful Work internships in 18 states, the District of Columbia, and seven countries outside the U.S.
Another five dozen students did funded research on campus with 乐播传媒 professors across academic disciplines (14 in all) or had off-campus academic internships. And even more students held internships with community organizations through 乐播传媒’ Harward Center for Community Partnerships.
In Part I of our stories about 乐播传媒 students with college-supported summer experiences, we check in with eight students whose work took them outside of Maine, to businesses and organizations from Boston to Santa Barbara, Calif.
鈥業 was super intimidated at first, since I felt a little out of my element鈥� 鈥� Eileen Dockery 鈥�26
The place: Asian American Arts Alliance (4A)
The job: During her Purposeful Work internship at 4A, Dockery, an environmental studies major from Rye, N.Y., was invited to lead a project to produce a short video highlighting work by .
The video project tested her. 鈥淚 was worried about the outcome, but I learned that I just needed to trust the process and have confidence in my own skills,鈥� she said.
The quote: 鈥淭he internship gave me the chance to explore my own interests while contributing in a meaningful way by helping artists and activists realize their projects. The arts community has had such a positive impact on my life, and it鈥檚 really nice to be able to spread the love.鈥�
鈥楶eople are more than willing to help鈥� 鈥� Aydan Gedeon-Hope 鈥�25
The place: MLS Next Pro league offices in New York City
The job: Gedeon-Hope, an interdisciplinary studies major from Norton, Mass., was a Purposeful Work intern at MLS NEXT Pro, a Major League Soccer feeder program that provides a competitive platform for developing young players and a pathway to professional soccer鈥檚 highest levels.
Gedeon-Hope said he was able 鈥渢o learn, surrounded by smart and accomplished individuals.鈥� It took time to seize the opportunity to do some networking, but he was quickly and pleasantly surprised by how 鈥渘early everyone responded and agreed to meet me.鈥�
Gedeon-Hope鈥檚 interdisciplinary studies major combines interests in marketing, management, and the social sciences with a focus on sports. (He is a two-sport 乐播传媒 athlete, in basketball and track and field.)
鈥淎t NEXT Pro, even though you work in a specific department, many projects and presentations require knowledge beyond your specialization,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he liberal arts helps students gain a broad understanding of multiple subjects rather than just focusing on one area.”
The quote: 鈥淚 gained a deeper appreciation for my interdisciplinary journey because of this experience.鈥�
鈥楶urposeful work is finding and exploring new interests鈥� 鈥� Aasya Patel 鈥�26
The place: Wolfe Research in New York City
The job: Patel, an economics major with a mathematics minor from Indore, India, was a Purposeful Work intern at Wolfe Research in midtown Manhattan.
Wolfe is a sell-side equity research firm, meaning it analyzes financial securities for trading. In her work, Patel used time-series methods, which elucidate patterns and trends over time, to forecast commodity stock indexes. She also conducted macroeconomic research on factors affecting returns.
Patel鈥檚 乐播传媒 coursework in time-series econometrics was particularly valuable, she said.. 鈥淎 shoutout to professors [Austin] Smith and [Daniel] Riera-Crichton for how well they covered these topics at 乐播传媒!鈥�
She also had the opportunity to attend panels and presentations, teaching her 鈥渧aluable skills in engaging with an audience, particularly in a finance context 鈥� an area I hadn’t previously encountered.鈥�
The quote: 鈥淧urposeful work is finding and exploring new interests and learning more about those interests through experienced professionals 鈥� in addition to learning from my mistakes.鈥�
鈥業 definitely feel more connected to my major鈥� 鈥� Hannah Burdick 鈥�25
The place: Off the coast of Santa Barbara, Calif.
The job: Burdick, a biology major from Lyme, N.H., had a 乐播传媒-funded environmental internship on the West Coast with Ocean Rainforest, a sustainable aquaculture business. The company grows seaweed, which absorbs carbon and offers eco-friendly alternatives to plastics and fertilizers, among its climate-positive uses.
Half the week, Burdick was five miles off the coast of Santa Barbara, Calif., working with colleagues at the company鈥檚 off-shore research and development farm 鈥� the first of its kind 鈥� which grows kelp, a type of seaweed. 鈥淲e measured kelp growth and water conditions, maintained the farm equipment, and helped partnering researchers with their studies,鈥� said Burdick.
For the other half, she was on shore doing lab research on various topics, including fermentation, where the kelp is broken down by microbes to produce useful and sustainable substances.
For Burdick, the half-and-half experience added up to 100 percent satisfaction. 鈥淚t was the perfect balance for me 鈥� fresh air and time on the ocean as well as lab work that I鈥檝e worked so hard to learn at 乐播传媒.鈥�
The quote: 鈥淚 loved that the work I was doing went toward making food, fertilizers, and cosmetics more sustainable.鈥�
鈥業t allowed me to see the direct impact of my work鈥� 鈥� Johnny Nunez 鈥�26
The place: HPS Investment Partners in New York City
The job: Nunez, an economics major from New York City, had a Purposeful Work internship with HPS Investment Partners, a U.S.-based global investment firm.
The internship gave Nunez experience in accounting including analyzing supplier invoices, maintaining management fee schedules, and reviewing unclaimed properties. Along the way, he started to identify his strengths and interests. 鈥淚 am particularly passionate about understanding and evaluating businesses, and I thrive in environments where I can solve problems.
Along the way, the internship opened his eyes to the power of networking and building professional relationships.
To that end, he appreciated 鈥渆veryone’s extraordinary kindness and willingness to help.鈥� He looks forward to being able 鈥渢o help young professionals navigate their journeys just as I was helped.鈥�
The quote: 鈥淚t gave me a vivid sense of the work environment and projects I find most engaging and rewarding.”
鈥業鈥檝e learned about the internal part of the art world, the business side鈥� 鈥� Avery Lehman 鈥�25
The place: Yancey Richardson Gallery in New York City
The job: Until this summer鈥檚 internship, Lehman, who is an accomplished photographer, only had experience with what she calls the 鈥渆xternal part of the photography world 鈥� making the art.鈥�
As a Purposeful Work intern, Lehman learned about 鈥渢he internal part of the art world, the business side 鈥� what goes into planning an exhibition, what kind of correspondence needs to happen, what type of materials the work needs to be framed or glazed with.”
The practical skills will come in handy as Lehman, a studio art major from Portsmouth, N.H., prepares to exhibit her work at the annual Senior Thesis Exhibition at the 乐播传媒 Museum of Art in 2025.
Working with gallery founder Yancey Richardson was particularly meaningful, Lehman said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 really championed female photographers in such a male-dominated space of the art world.鈥�
The quote: 鈥淭o actually meet and connect with photographers I have studied or followed has been incredible.鈥�
鈥楾he members of the investment team were all great mentors鈥� 鈥� Linh Hoang Vu 鈥�26
The place: Promethos Capital in Boston, Mass.
The job: Hoang Vu, a double major in mathematics and economics from Hanoi, and Drew Williams 鈥�25 worked as research interns at Promethos, an investment boutique focused on global equity investments founded by Joe Sylvester 鈥�90.
Projects included research on the company’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives, a framework to assess an organization’s business practices and performance on sustainability and ethical issues.
The experience taught Williams, an environmental studies major from Guilford, Conn., 鈥渢hat you can bring your own morals and perspective into any work you are doing.鈥� Williams wrote a whitepaper that challenged her presumptions about an issue related to the oil and gas industry. 鈥淭hat was a unique and important growth experience,鈥� she said.
The quote: 鈥淭his internship allowed me to think about environmental and social issues critically in the world of finance.鈥� 鈥� Williams
