Internship Spotlight: Stephen Henriques ’21, Office of the Governor for the State of Connecticut
What did you do this past summer? We asked rising second-year MBA students to check in from their summer internships, where they applied the lessons of their first year at Yale SOM.
Stephen Henriques ’21
Internship: Policy Fellow at the Office of the Governor for the State of Connecticut, Hartford, Connecticut
Hometown: Houston, Texas
Favorite Yale SOM Class: Inequality & Social Mobility
Clubs and affiliations: Rugby Club, Consulting Club, Internship Fund, Welcome Weekend Committee
Favorite New Haven eatery: One 6 Three Pizza
Favorite Professor: Jeff Sonnenfeld
Favorite Yale SOM community event: Internship Fund Spring Auction
Bonus facts: Former athlete at LSU
I spent this summer as a policy fellow at the Office of the Governor for the State of Connecticut. My first project involved conducting the research and establishing the strategy for Governor Ned Lamont’s Everybody Learns Initiative, which will provide thousands of unconnected Connecticut students with broadband vouchers and personal hotspot devices for 12 months and offer hundreds of public Wi-Fi hotspots to residents in need of a stable connection. In the second project, I was responsible for recruiting, training, and managing 130 volunteers for the state’s contact tracing program, in addition to structuring the organizational and operating model.
This was a great internship program featuring four other fellows from peer schools who are phenomenally talented and kind people. Additionally, we were able to have virtual coffee chats with Governor Lamont and Commissioner Josh Geballe, both SOM alumni, and Commissioner Lehman and Secretary McCaw, who are incredibly impressive individuals.
I never could have imagined having the opportunity to make a significant impact during such an important moment in history. Every aspect of my internship was influenced by COVID-19, from the projects (I was originally recruited for economic development projects) to the location (completely virtual).
I would encourage future first-year students to think outside of the box for their summer internships. Coming from a private-sector background, I was challenged in so many ways, and, because of that, I learned more about myself, personally and professionally.