Internship Spotlight: Derek Nong ’25, Connecticut Green Bank
Derek Nong ’25 spent the summer immersed in clean energy projects at a unique Connecticut-based financial institution.
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.
Internship: Connecticut Green Bank, Stamford, Connecticut
Hometown: Westwood, Massachusetts
Pronouns: he/him/his
The SOM class you’re using on the job: Renewable Energy Project Finance
Go-to work lunch: Hot oil pizza from Colony Grill
After-work routine: Learning how to sail at a local community sailing organization, SailHaven; cooking with new vegetables through a Community Supported Agriculture box with a local farm; hiking in local state parks!
Favorite thing about internship city: I'm living in New Haven for the summer, so it’s been nice to see a different side of campus. It is a lot quieter, but I've had the opportunity to find hidden gems in the area. I've been to a cat cafe called Mew Haven, attended a wind octet concert in Beinecke Library, and had great pasta at Paul's Pasta in Groton!
The Connecticut Green Bank is a quasi-public state agency dedicated to growing Connecticut's green economy through low-cost financing. I was a graduate summer associate on the investments team, which is responsible for directing all of the bank’s lending activity. My main responsibilities included working on C-PACE transactions, which finance energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements on commercial property—for example, I helped secure funding for solar panels for a Stamford-based nonprofit. I also had the opportunity to work on more custom deals, like a new credit line for Budderfly, a rapidly growing Connecticut-based energy efficiency startup.
As America’s first institution of its kind, the Green Bank has been a pioneer in driving an equitable energy transition at scale. I was drawn to its mission and track record, especially its focus on helping low- and middle-income communities in Connecticut. At the same time, I knew that an internship with the bank would help me grow my finance skills and participate in live transactions on a relatively small team.
The SOM curriculum and community were key in preparing me for this internship. The class that most directly helped me was Renewable Energy Project Finance, which gave me the project finance modeling and legal document reading skills necessary to succeed. Other SOM courses like Financial Reporting and Financial Statements Analysis were very helpful as well. I also benefitted from the strong relationship between SOM, the Yale School of the Environment, the Yale Center for Business and the Environment, and the Green Bank. During the interview process, I talked a lot with SOM alumni and classmates who had interned at the Green Bank previously, including one recent graduate who just joined full time. Over the summer, I worked with Green Bank associate director of innovation Sara Harari ’19 on a grant for startups to run pilot projects with local utility companies.
One unique element of the internship is how closely I was able to work with different stakeholders. The Green Bank coordinates with other Connecticut state agencies, from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, so I was exposed to some very Connecticut-specific legal and policy situations. At the same time, we participated in commercial transactions with international lenders. I wasn't expecting to work on such a wide range of transactions and projects—that was definitely the highlight of my internship!
Coming from a non-finance background in technical consulting, I have been using my SOM and internship experiences to carve a new path toward clean energy finance. This internship affirmed my passion for the energy industry and my desire to continue in finance. After graduation, I will be further exploring my passion in clean energy finance as an investment banking associate at Guggenheim. This internship was invaluable in helping me develop the skills and experience needed to land the full-time position.