What does the Fairfield University class of 2029 know about the internship process? Ali Gildea says, “Absolutely nothing. I feel like [we haven’t really been talked to] about life after Fairfield. I don’t even know how to apply.” Luckily for Ali (and other students in her position), the Meditz College Career Center is hosting a panel all about internships this coming Tuesday. The topic will be thoroughly discussed, with the panelists covering how they applied, what they learned, and more.
The panelists include Sophia Haber Brock, Hannah Dambach, Emelie Emelife, Maeve Frize, Julian Nazario, Melia (Mia) Swenson, and Hailey Toles. Their majors range from Communication to Quantitative Economics and Mathematics, on top of multiple minors as well. The panel will take place on Tuesday, September 23, from 5:00 to 6:00 pm. It will be in the Dogwood Room in the Barone Campus Center and it counts towards an FYE credit. If you’re interested in kickstarting your internship journey, it’s the perfect opportunity.
Q: When were your internships?
Sophia: “I worked at Fox News Media in the city this past summer. I worked at MIUS Group (a boutique marketing agency in Madrid) in the spring, studying abroad. I worked at Fox Business in the fall, on a different show, and [then] I worked at BIC Corp. in Shelton, Connecticut, last summer. [Lastly], I worked at a comedy club, The Stress Factory. I’ve been interning with them since high school; I did that for two years, and I did social media and broadcasting for them.”
Hannah: “I was an intern with Fairfield Police Department in the spring of 2024, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) in the summer of 2024, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) in the fall of 2024 and the Department of Justice (DOJ) in the summer of 2025.”
Emelie: “My first internship was at NeoXam from June to August 2024, and this past summer, I interned at Google from May to August 2025.”
Maeve: “My first [internship] was in Summer 2024 at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, a historic concert venue in Upstate New York, where I interned with the Marketing department. In Spring 2025, I interned at Alison Brod Marketing + Communications in New York City as a Beauty PR Intern, supporting four beauty accounts during the spring semester. Most recently, in Summer 2025, I interned in Digital Marketing at Ann Taylor and LOFT in New York City, where I gained hands-on experience in the analytical and performance-driven side of marketing.”
Julian: “I have had two internships. I first started at Renew Counseling [during my] sophomore year. Then last September, I worked with NBC New York.”
Melia: “I had internships at Brown University in their adolescent mental health collaborative both Summer of 2024 and 2025.”
Hailey: “I was an event presentation intern with Madison Square Garden during the summer of 2024. I am a Game Day Production Assistant for the Bridgeport Islanders. I’ve been with them since last October and [I’m with them] until the end of the season currently. I’m also a Fan Marketing and Fan Experience intern with Fairfield Athletics and I’ve been with them since the fall of 2023.”
Q: Which internship taught you the most?
Sophia: “All of my internships taught me so much, but most recently working on Fox and Friends taught me to be confident in myself because it was a very competitive environment. It taught me to have a lot of initiative, how to notice things around me that could be fixed and to simplify processes. [I also learned to] make the most of my time. Because at the end of the day, you’re there to do a job, and they hired you for a reason.”
Hannah: “While I have learned something new with each agency, I think that my internship with ATF gave me the most exposure to the legal system and highlighted how inter-agency relationships fuel investigations.”
Emelie: “Definitely Google. I had way more hands-on experience, especially in building my technical skills. On top of that, even though it was a finance internship, I got to connect with people outside of finance, like product managers and engineers and learn what they do.That exposure really broadened my interest in different fields, not just the one I was working in.”
Maeve: “Because my three internships were so different from one another, I’ve been fortunate to gain a wide range of skills and perspectives from each experience. At Alison Brod M+C, I learned firsthand what agency life is like—how clients interact with their partners, what day-to-day responsibilities at a top PR agency entail, and how to adapt to weeks that fluctuated between steady work and the fast-paced overlap of multiple client events. In contrast, working in-house this summer at Ann Taylor gave me a strong understanding of the business side of fashion, from tariff pressures to expanding the customer base and brand growth goals. Immersing myself in digital marketing without prior experience allowed me to develop an appreciation for the analytical and performance-driven side of the field.”
Julian: “I would definitely say NBC, because the way that I envision myself [in my career] is as a reporter. So, I got to learn about how to edit videos, how to write an article and how to make sure that what you’re writing is something that people will read. I even work with Google Trends to see what was trending that day. So, I would write about that. There’s also the idea of connecting with people. You’re in New York City, the media capital of the world. You want to be there.”
Melia: “My internship this past summer taught me the most. I was involved in the creation of a research study, including data collection, methodology, analyzing results, and eventually writing it up into a first-author manuscript. Not only did I learn a lot about the topic we studied, but I also learned about high-level analyses, how to interpret results and communicate that in a paper, and more about the field of suicide risk research in teens.”
Hailey: “I think they both taught me different things in their own ways. As for technical skills, I think the Bridgeport Islanders allowed me to be a little bit more hands-on. With an internship like that with those smaller teams, minor league teams, you just get more responsibility, and you get more reps of the actual action of [using] the technology and things like that. Since I wasn’t interning at MSG during the season, it was a little bit different without the sporting events going on. But they taught me so much about networking and the ability to grow my brand while in a company.”
Q: Do you have a specific memory from any of your internships?
Sophia: “I have two favorite memories. I worked on the show Fox and Friends this past summer, and at the end of the summer, I got to do the weather with the reporter, Janice Dean. And then for BIC, it was winning the intern competition [with my group]. It was a Shark Tank-style competition to create a new product for BIC, so we worked for 10 weeks to create a new product and [we] had to create the product, do marketing, do finance, do supply chain, etc. The product was a laptop skin, [and you could use] BIC pens to draw on the back of your laptop case!”
Hannah: “One of the most meaningful aspects of my internship experiences has been the network of contacts I’ve built along the way. Across my four internships, I had the opportunity to work with professionals from a variety of backgrounds, industries, and roles—each of whom contributed to my growth as a student.”
Emelie: “The intern mentorship program at Google [stands] out the most. Every intern gets matched with a mentor, and mine played a huge role in making my experience so valuable. They really took the time to guide me, check in, share their own perspective, and even connect outside work hours. Having that kind of support made me feel more confident in my work, and that balance of professional guidance and personal connection really shaped my internship.”
Maeve: “For National Intern Day this summer, Ann Taylor took my intern cohort out to lunch and to the MET for the day! One of the highlights was getting to explore the fashion exhibit, which felt especially meaningful given the work we were doing. We also had an intern photoshoot in the professional studio, where we could take LinkedIn headshots and group photos — which was a great way to capture the friendships we built.”
Julian: “I would say this is very technical, but there was this period in New York, where congestion pricing, which is pretty much like a plan to get people to pay a toll to go into Midtown, was really big back then and I kind of became the expert on that. So every time there was a story related to that, I’d write about it. Then there was this article that I wrote that went viral for no reason about composting. So, if you research “Composting Mandate New York,” my article shows up!”
Melia: “A few come to mind. The first one was last September when I brought up the idea of doing the research study with a mentor I had gained through my initial summer researching, and hearing that she thought it was a good idea and believed in me. Finally, when I submitted [my] paper to a journal, the overwhelming support and encouragement from my research mentors meant the world to me.”
Hailey: “My second day of work at MSG. I got to shadow my team in the Rangers’ post-season. It was the East Conference finals, I think, and it was game five or six, maybe? It was pretty intense, [and] it was really cool to be down by the ice, down in the tunnels, and down with the team, running around. I was on headset listening to the production crew [in] the greatest arena in the country; in the world!”
Q: Do you have any advice for younger students who want to get internships sooner?
Sophia: “Number one, document your progress. From day one, start a journal. Write down everything you did that day and what you learned and then after a week or two, write a summary. Because one, you’ll document your learnings. Two, you’ll have content for your LinkedIn and for your resume, so you don’t have to go back and think about it. And three – you’ll never be upset if you document. Number two, just be a person. In the workplace, it’s really easy to get really nervous, and you think you have to be all professional and stuff, but people are people, and these are just normal people with jobs. You just have to be a good person and be a good listener. [And] third, be enthusiastic!”
Hannah: “I would suggest making yourself stand out amongst other applicants. Unconventional methods of networking, such as cold calling, reaching out to an alumnus on LinkedIn, and circling back to a list of contacts at the start of each semester, allow you to convey yourself as a dedicated student who is passionate about the role that you’re applying for.”
Emelie: “Start building your network as early as possible. Whenever I’m interested in a company or have an interview coming up, I always try to connect with an alumnus or people who work there (like recruiters) on LinkedIn and set up coffee chats. Also, start working on your resume from day one. A quick resume tip is to use the “XYZ method,” which is basically framing each bullet as “Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y], by doing [Z].” It makes your experiences sound more results-driven and shows the real impact of what you did.”
Maeve: “It’s important to keep an open mind. Your first internships may not be with your dream company, but they’re valuable for building skills, exploring interests, and strengthening your resume. Rejection is part of the process, so don’t let it discourage you-it’s all about persistence! Above all, prioritize networking; many opportunities come through connections, and it’s often the key to getting your foot in the door.”
Julian: “I would say, don’t be afraid to apply to any and all internships you see. You [also] have to prepare for your interviews, and [to do that] you need to know about yourself. So, when people ask you, ‘Tell me about yourself or tell me why you want to work at [this] company.’ If you don’t have a good answer for that question, why would they want to have you there? [So], apply, apply, apply. And make sure you can market yourself.”
Melia: “I would say faculty are your best networking tools. Because faculty produce so much research related to their fields, they know so many collaborators or colleagues who may be looking for a research assistant for the summer or would be open to having a volunteer work in their lab. Getting connected with faculty in your desired area early on is a must. Another one is not being afraid to cold email someone (just out of the blue). You never know what could happen!”
Hailey: “I think the biggest tip is to take advantage of who you know, of your networks. We have a very big network of alumni here [who] have worked in many different places and are always willing to help out their fellow Stags. Other than that, [be] yourself and be genuine. Once you get the job, that’s kind of how you can stick out and just do the extra little things, sending the extra email, taking the extra call, taking the extra coffee chat, etc.”
Steph Gallo, the Director of Career Planning for Meditz College, will be moderating the event. Her role as the lead coach is integral in this process, and she’s the one who creates the Meditz Career Center’s curriculum and programs, like Sophomore Success. The panel has been happening since 2017, and Steph vouches for its impact.
“This is such a great opportunity for students to hear from people who have gotten such cool internships and how they got there. And the crew we have this year is really interesting and has had lots of different experiences. [They] also all did Sophomore Success!”
She urges all Fairfield students to utilize the career services the university offers, and says the staff there are “going to be able to help you get to where you want to go.”
