University of Connecticut |
CLAS Focus
Satell scholars learn value of serviceDuring the summer of 2004 Alyssa Gregory , CLAS’10, watched as a family friend became the founder of a non-profit organization that focused on providing relief for her motherland, Jamaica. As she watched her friend build her organization, she asked herself, “What can I do about this?” It was then that Gregory decided to spend her summer interning for a non-profit organization. Brandon Murray, CLAS ’08, Anthony LaRosa, CLAS ’08 and Amy Russo, CLAS ’09, had similar stories. Because they decided to spend the summer working for a non-profit organization they received $4,000 each in scholarship money from the Ed Satell Non-Profit Internship Program. Ed Satell, CLAS ’57, founder and CEO of Progressive Business Publications in Philadelphia, gave back to his alma mater last year by putting $100,000 towards two new scholarships: Satell Non-Profit Internship Program and the Ed Satell International Social Entrepreneurship Fund, in efforts to get more students to contribute to society. The scholarship money went toward their tuition, enabling the students to concentrate on their internships rather than finding alternative funding. Russo, an English and art history major from Plainville, Conn., would have had to work a second job in order to pay for her internship if she hadn’t received the award. LaRosa, an English major from Middlefield who spent the summer working at the New Britain Museum of American Art (NBMAA), described in his scholarship essay the financial strain of taking on an unpaid internship. “Since I plan on devoting a considerable amount of time to the NBMAA, I cannot have a paid full-time job for the summer,” LaRosa said. “However, with this scholarship, the financial endeavor of my education will be greatly alleviated, which in turn will make my life, alongside my parents’, much easier.” Aside from granting students money for their internships, the Ed Satell scholarship follows a mission of philanthropy. The four students who were chosen are those that adhere to Satell’s beliefs that youth can do more to help those in need. “People have the innate desire to want to help people,” LaRosa said. Russo, who spent the summer working at the Hillstead Museum in Farmington, where she helped organize its annual Sunken Garden Poetry Festival, described the advantages of working for a non-profit organization. “I was working with inner city kids from Hartford magnet schools and I helped the kids experience art. It felt good working hard and seeing how people could benefit from it,” Russo said. Gregory, political science major from Windsor, held her summer internship at the Hyacinth Williams Foundation for Children in Hartford. She helped run the summer entrepreneurship program for high school students. The students developed their business skills by creating business plans, doing market research and holding fundraisers. Because non-profit organizations aren’t competitive, she said, those who choose to work for one really need to have the heart for it. “One thing I learned this summer with working for a non-profit organization is that you can’t be effective if you’re not adopting their mission.” Murray took an internship with CPTV, where he wrote press releases and newsletters. He also ran events such as puppet shows for Connecticut’s Children Science Museum and earned five credits for a total of 200 hours of work. “Non-profits have a different attitude, (you’re) surrounded by employees that enjoy what they’re doing,” Murray said. Mainly, the students described non-profits as vehicles that contribute to society and help the disadvantaged. “When people aren’t getting what they want from the government they turn to non-profits for what they need,” Gregory said. “They’re the ones that are in the fight for global change,” LaRosa added. Larousa, who intends to get his doctorate in English, believes that the internship better prepared him for his future plans. “It gave me a feel of how academic writing coincides with business.” “It’s a really great program, and I’m really grateful to Satell for providing me with this opportunity,” Russo said. – Eunice Omega, CLAS ‘10
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