Campaign grant provides internship opportunities
BY ASHLEY STARR
Funded by a Now We Fly campaign gift from The Flatley Foundation, the Flatley Scholars Program is designed to promote career development for undergraduate students, providing stipends to students who have secured unpaid, off-campus internships. The scholarship is available to undergraduates who have demonstrated financial need, allowing them to focus on their professional development and create a bridge between their academics and the working world.
“Regis is committed to our students’ career readiness and this funding will ensure all of our students have access to opportunities that will make them competitive in today’s marketplace,” says Regis President Antoinette M. Hays, PhD, RN. “I’m very grateful to The Flatley Foundation for their support to fund this program.”
Read on to learn more about a few of the students who benefited from the Flatley Scholars Program.
Elisabeth Cooke ’20
The countdown to graduating can be a frightening time for seniors as they prepare to venture into the unknown, but not for psychology major Elisabeth Cooke ’20. After completing an internship as a teacher at the New England Center for Children (NECC), Cooke is confident that she is on the right career path.
At NECC, Cooke worked one-on-one with children who had different backgrounds and goals.
“Each student required a customized plan to teach new concepts or manage behavior,” she explains. “One of my students was working on occupational therapy goals, such as taking the lid off a screw-top container. Another was non-verbal and was working on improving eye contact. Communicating effectively with the students can prevent frustration for them and help them understand the process and the goal. My internship was so helpful because this is the kind of thing you can really only learn by doing.”
Cooke is quick to admit it could be taxing and often emotional work, but she is thankful for the opportunity to challenge herself and help others. “Despite the hard days—those filled with difficult behaviors that required protective holds or students backtracking progress—all that mattered at the end of the day was the positive differences made in my students’ lives and knowing I was a part of that.”
Cooke plans to pursue a master’s in applied behavior analysis at Regis. “Thanks to my internship, I have more confidence in my own abilities and look forward to the next chapter.”
John Cole Anderson ’21
First-generation student-athlete John Cole Anderson ’21 was thrilled to attend Regis after learning he could major in sport management and turn his passion for sports into a career.
“I’ve always loved working with people, and sport management allows me to create a strong foundation of relationships that reach beyond the athletic setting,” says Anderson.
He credits Regis professors—such as Program Director and Assistant Professor of Sport Management Elizabeth Conant, EdD ’18—for always going the extra mile to help him succeed, including helping prepare him for his internship as a marketing and promotion assistant in the UMass Lowell athletics office.
“Leading up to my internship, I researched UMass Lowell’s athletic events and all of their past promotions—including emails, flyers, and social media—to study their branding and key messaging to learn how I could incorporate that into promotions that I would create,” explains Anderson. “Professor Conant believes that if you show up prepared and have a key understanding of their operations, you can really help yourself stand out to your employer.”
Anderson’s primary responsibility was developing marketing promotions to support UMass Lowell athletics events. “I am most proud of assisting with the Touch-A-Truck event, a free community program for fans to enjoy prior to attending a hockey game. It was a great experience working directly with the local fire departments, police departments, and construction companies to ensure that the event was a success and ran smoothly.”
Anderson plans to further explore the sporting events industry this summer working at Fishers Island Golf Club in New York.
“I am grateful for the Flatley Scholars Program for investing in me and my future,” says Anderson. “It has shown me that I am deserving of success—and more importantly, helped put me in the right position to attain it.”
Ryan Moran ’20
If you had told public health major Ryan Moran ’20 when she first stepped onto the Regis campus that she would become co-captain of the swim team or that she would be taking courses toward her master’s degree before even finishing her junior year, she would not have believed you.
“Regis helped me find a confidence in myself that I didn’t have before,” Moran says. Combining her desire to help people with her love for research and data has led her to specialize in policy and health management. “I have learned to not just dream about the things I want. I have to go and get them myself, and Regis taught me ways to do that.”
With her Flatley Scholarship, Moran secured an internship for spring 2020 at the Wellesley Health Department in Wellesley, Massachusetts, where she was part of a team focusing on food waste and food insecurity.
“I created surveys and collected data to identify food waste in commercial kitchens,” explains Moran. “I also researched local food insecurity issues so I could create an action plan that would optimize food waste diversion and food donation practices.”
Moran’s internship took a drastic shift with the development of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was surreal to be working in a health department amid a major health care crisis and to witness how quickly everyone’s priorities shifted to focus on the virus,” recalls Moran. “It was truly an all-hands-on-deck situation, and it was motivating to see the team coming together for one common goal.”
Moran was given a new set of projects to help gather information that could help protect and improve quality of life for the Wellesley community. This included tracking and reporting on testing locations in Massachusetts and updating contact information in case of an emergency.
“I am honored to have been part of this effort during such an important time in our history; it has given me a firsthand look at dealing with a crisis from a public health stance,” says Moran. “It was an amazing experience that has given me more confidence in my work—especially my communication and organizational skills. Now that I have graduated, I will continue at Regis to earn a master’s degree in public health. The skills I learned as part of this internship will serve me well as I pursue a career in policy and health management.”
Read more articles
Read the entire magazine online