This Summer, many of our brothers developed their professional skills through internships. As a SigEp learning community, we prioritize the learning and development of our members. Our chapter boasts a large number of prestigious, competitive internships, twelve of which will be noted in this article. All internships are organized based on field, and the corresponding fields will be bolded preceding the members’ internship descriptions. The option of including a LinkedIn profile handle was given to each member that participated in the spotlight, and I encourage all readers to connect with members in their field, and the other brothers who worked tirelessly this summer to progress their professional development. That being said, CT Alpha presents the Summer 2023 Internship Spotlight!
Business: Accounting
Ryan Kelly interned for Travelers Insurance this past summer for a duration of 10 weeks in Hartford, CT. Ryan served as a Corporate Accounting intern in the Expense Operations Department. He was tasked with allocating expenses across the company as well as keeping track of and recording financial transactions. From this position, he learned how to manipulate and summarize data in order to present it to others in a meaningful way. After completing this internship, Ryan is even more confident that he can excel in the corporate world. He looks forward to future opportunities where he can showcase the technical skills he learned during his time at Travelers.
Connecting with Ryan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-kelly-6b5936247/
Andrew Tompkins interned at The Cigna Group in Bloomfield, CT for 12 weeks this summer. Andrew worked as an Account and Tax intern where he worked in Corporate Tax specializing in Indirect Tax. During his time there, he prepared sales and used tax reconciliations while also working in the property tax calendar. Andrews favorite memory was learning more about the tax process and gaining skills in different business applications. Andrew enjoyed accounting and is glad that he had the opportunity to work for Cigna.
Connect with Andrew on Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewctompkins
Business: Insurance
Brett Berman completed a ten-week internship with The Hartford (Hartford, CT). He worked as a Global Specialty, Financial Lines Underwriting Summer Associate where he developed analytical, technical, and leadership skills while gaining industry experience. He did so through weekly company meetings and personal development workshops. He learned a business-specific curriculum and honed his research skills while assisting underwriters daily. He also worked with other interns in a team-oriented environment. When asked about his best learning experiences, he responded as follows, “The greatest learning experience that I took from the summer was the importance of networking. You never know which connection can help lead you down the path of success. Going out of your way to meet with as many individuals as possible allowed me to explore a ton of career opportunities”.
Connect with Brett on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brettbermanuconn/
Junior brother Ayden Gauthier also interned in Hartford, but for United Healthcare. His position as a Financial Analyst Intern included responsibilities including analyzing offshore wages to solve large variances in labor spending, reviewing cost trends related to data processing to determine efficiency within the community and state line of business, and supporting Provider Data Operations to assist with forecasts and targets. Ayden commented, “my favorite memory was attending the intern trip to the headquarters in Minnesota. Getting to see my fellow United Healthcare intern and brother, Matt Wendling there was also amazing. My favorite part was learning more about the company, and networking with other interns. With this, I was allowed the opportunity to participate in worthwhile sessions related to healthcare, mental health, and social responsibility”. Ayden hopes to continue helping people with a promising career in Finance.
Connect with Ayden on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayden-gauthier
Chapter President, Kellen Paparella, also interned in the Insurance Capital of the World with Travelers. Kellen worked as a Business Insurance Underwriting Intern and focused on developing his technical Finance skills while gaining a breadth of underwriting knowledge. Kellen commented, “I love working with numbers and utilizing Excel to analyze and display trends in data. I’m very excited to pursue a career in Finance and learn as much as I can from every experience I encounter to set my future self up for success”.
Connect with Kellen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellenpaparella/
Business: Management
Ethan Darvin worked for Travelers in Hartford as an Operations Leadership Development Program Intern. While working on the Bond and Specialty Insurance Experience Management Team, Ethan collaborated with his analytics team to identify key data metrics in an effort to utilize market segmentation. He created a Brand Book to establish style guidelines and clearly define the vision of the B&SI Experience Management Department. He developed a data dashboard for the Professional Liability onboarding and renewal process to help communicate vital information to key stakeholders. He also commented that the networking opportunities were fantastic at Travelers.
Connect with Ethan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethan-darvin-3004581bb/
Adam Kajzer also interned for Travelers this summer and worked with the Enterprise Risk Management Department. He interned for a 10 week period in Hartford, CT. During his time there, he used actuarial concepts and procedures to conduct updating of metrics used in risk capital modeling. Adam’s favorite memory from his experience was being able to leverage past experiences to put his best foot forward in advancing technical skills, learning business insights and expanding professional networks. He also learned how to best manage independent work and collaboration with a team and other departments.
Connect with Adam on LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/adamkajzer
Nick DiLibero also interned in Hartford, but worked with Enterprise Rent-A-Car on the Management Trainee Team. In his ten-week internship, he expanded his knowledge and field experience in developing market strategies for Enterprise while building strong relationships with customers and local businesses. Nick also earned sales experience through selling insurance products and rental cars. He also handled the responsibility of managing a fleet of rental vehicles and taking care of customer needs. Nick enjoyed working collaboratively with colleagues and customers, and solidified his desire to pursue a career in marketing.
Connect with Nick on LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/nicholasdilibero
Engineering: Mechanical
Justin DeThomas interned at the Thule Group in Seymour, CT for a duration of 12 weeks this summer. Justin worked as a Manufacturing Engineer Intern where he helped assist the manufacturing team in creating machines and fixtures to help with the assemblies of bike racks and their components. One of his favorite memories from this experience was learning to deal with the cards that were presented to him. Justin says, “Sometimes you may not have all the tools/materials that you want, and therefore have to think in an innovative manner to achieve the same end goal”. Justin also says that as an engineer, he is constantly learning new things. He was often presented with problems on topics that he had never learned, but by attacking it with the right mindset, he was able to ensure consistent successes.
Connect with Justin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-dethomas
Michael Quinn relocated to Boston for his twelve-week internship with Consigli Construction Co. Mike combined his Engineering and management skills while managing the construction of a sixteen-story Life Science building. He was grateful for the opportunity to hold such an important, involved role while serving as a Field Operations Intern. Though Mike frequently had to apply his extensive Mechanical Engineering expertise throughout this internship, he noted how rapidly his soft skills developed over the course of the summer. He now feels more confident communicating with clients, coworkers, and managers on the construction site and beyond. Mike, after being unsure which concentration he wanted to pursue in his career last Fall, said that he has no doubt he wants to work in Field Operations after graduation.
Connect with Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/m-j-quinn/
Will Servino interned for BL Companies in Hartford this summer. Will’s position as a Land Development Intern optimized uses of land across New England. He was integral to the team as he designed demolition and utility plans for sites and inspected sites by recording precise measurements of sediment accumulation within pipe networks. Applying his knowledge of Mechanical Engineering, Will helped managers in making important decisions about construction and demolition. Will said that this position quickly developed his communication skills through frequent phone calls with clerks and managers, and allowed him to hone his professionalism and attentiveness in the workplace. Will enjoyed the satisfaction of completing difficult, complex tasks and strives to learn more about his field daily.
Connect with Will on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/willservino/
Nathan Comment Held a summer position with Silva Engineering, located on UConn’s campus. In his position as an Engineering Intern, he played a key role in the technical side of the company’s operations. Nate not only assisted inspections over multiple different properties, but also used his mathematical skills and physics knowledge to perform advanced calculations regarding the structural integrity of each project. Nate learned a lot from working on-site, but more remarkably, he learned how to approach engineering problems from multiple different perspectives in order to solve them effectively.
Connect with Nate on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-comment-398298268
Engineering: Biomedical
Charles Goldey interned for three months at Belmont Medical industries in Billerica MA. His role as a manufacturing engineer intern consisted of supporting the manufacturing of disposables in a controlled environment area as part of the manufacturing engineering team. This entailed conducting production equipment validations and writing associated documentation. During his internship, Charles learned to never say you’re done until the task is complete. He made the mistake of saying in a large meeting that he was basically done with his report and that it should be submitted by the end of the week. He quickly found out there were a lot more forms to be filled out and other organizational aspects he had overlooked. It took him close to a month longer than he said it would, which made the rest of the engineering team laugh because he didn’t realize the quantity of documentation paperwork associated with the medical field. Charles was starting to get discouraged about his major because of how difficult the last year was academically and he wasn’t exactly sure what he wanted to do once he graduated. However, the internship experience this summer has given him some reassurance that he chose the right major. He says he can certainly see himself entering the medical device manufacturing industry.
Connect with Charles on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-goldey-789582249
Matthew Ekstract was employed by Siemens Healthineers for a ten-week internship in South Bend, Indiana. In his role in the Operation Leadership Development Program, he worked hands-on in a manufacturing plant as an engineering intern supporting multiple biomedical manufacturing lines. Matt remarked that he especially enjoyed the collaboration-based projects that Siemens Healthineers constructed for him and his fellow interns. This, along with other amenities and perks offered by the company, showed Matt that it is important to not only pursue a company that a worker may want purely because of salary or prestige, but rather to pursue a company that has a history of caring for its employees as if they were family. He is thankful for the many opportunities that Siemens offered him, and stated that they were remarkably important to his personal and professional growth.
Connect with Matt on LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/Matthew-Ekstract/
Engineering: Software
Sam Larcome held an internship with Ultimate Kronos Group, more commonly known as UKG. His position as a Software Engineer Intern was multifaceted, as he provisioned, updated, and maintained Kubernetes resources in the Google Cloud through infrastructure as code languages such as Terraform. He also developed and maintained self-service continuous delivery (CD) pipelines with Jenkins that other developers relied on to run p0 testing. Sam enjoyed meeting people across different backgrounds with different skill sets in the Software Engineering field. Sharing his experiences and learning from those of the other interns allowed Sam to discover just how dynamic the field actually is. He stated that he learned the most from forming his own questions about concepts that schooling may have missed or glossed over, and asking the professionals to explain them in detail. Through this process, Sam remarked, “ I learned significantly more this summer from experience and drilling my mentors with questions than I have in my past three years of school”.
Connect with Sam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samlarcome/
Legal Operations:
Jake Daignault interred remotely for 10 weeks at Pfizer as a Summer Growth Experience Legal Intern. He worked with one of Pfizer’s legal counselors on updating bill summaries as well as with other federal and state policy directors on various projects pertinent to their policy making/implementation. Jake had the opportunity of doing both political and legal work which provided a great experience in the overall field of law/policy. During his time there, he got the chance to network and meet a variety of people that do all sorts of different jobs within the Pfizer legal and political realm. Jake says it was a great experience and he has learned a lot about the different ways that “Big Pharma” works, beyond the societal conceptions. Jake learned a lot about reading bills and analyzing them as well as campaign finances, legislation impacting the bio-pharmaceutical industry, and state lobbying and gift-giving laws which are all different facets of studying the law. He also learned that he has a knack for helping to summarize complex concepts and ideas into more concise and digestible concepts.
Connect with Jake on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jake-daignault