A Summer Spent Strengthening Public Education
Through a partnership with The Broad Center, two MBA students applied skills learned at SOM in summer internships at a Maryland state agency serving students with disabilities.
In 2025, The Broad Center connected MBA students Sarthak Jauhari ’26 and Haider Abbas ’26 with internships at the Maryland State Department of Education’s Division of Rehabilitation Services. Jauhari and Abbas supported Erikk Bonner ’24, an assistant state superintendent and graduate of the Master’s in Public Education Management program. Below, they reflect on providing strategic and operational support to a district division serving over 50,000 students and adults preparing for the workforce.
Sarthak Jauhari ’26
This summer, I had the privilege of serving as an MBA intern with the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), an experience that brought my interest in systems-level leadership into direct contact with the lived realities of public education. This opportunity came about through a partnership between The Broad Center at Yale SOM and the school’s Education Club that identified summer internship placements for MBA students in public school systems where Broad network members work. The Broad Center helped me connect with leaders redefining how state agencies drive innovation, and I was inspired by MSDE’s reach and dedication.
Over the summer, I worked on several meaningful initiatives spanning workforce development, financial operations, and digital transformation. I designed a comprehensive employer and donor engagement strategy to broaden the employment pipeline and expand philanthropic support. I formulated and led a department-wide effort to modernize the asset management system, leveraging data analytics, AI, and automation to enhance operational efficiency. I also advised senior leadership on strengthening financial coordination across three state agencies, and developed unified reporting architecture and live financial monitoring dashboards.
The core course State and Society provided a rigorous foundation for navigating complex cross-sector environments, equipping me to think critically about institutional incentives, stakeholder dynamics, and the broader social consequences of strategic decisions that affect government and nonmarket actors. SOM’s organizational perspectives approach has fundamentally shaped all my work, pushing me to consider multiple lenses and stakeholders to craft thoughtful, lasting solutions for the communities we serve.
This experience has deepened my understanding of public education as a dynamic system shaped by trade-offs, constraints, and deeply committed people, while strengthening my resolve to work at the intersection of strategy and impact. I remain deeply grateful to assistant state superintendent Erikk Bonner ’24, whose steady mentorship and generous support made this experience possible, and whose leadership and commitment are truly inspiring.
Haider Abbas ’26
I spent the past summer as an intern at the Maryland Department of Education, driven by a desire to make a tangible difference for children with disabilities. I wanted to work at a level where I could help drive systemic change for a cause I care deeply about.
During my internship, I focused on maximizing resources for student services. I launched a corporate fundraising program to build sustainable pipelines of supplemental funding, and streamlined financial workflows across multiple divisions. By optimizing these interagency processes, we unlocked significant cost-saving opportunities that we redirected back into core rehabilitation and educational programs. This immersion opened my eyes to the hurdles teachers and administrators navigate daily, and I was deeply inspired by leaders like Erikk Bonner ’24, who fight relentlessly to secure every possible resource for their kids.
Ultimately, this internship gave me a profound sense of self and clarified how my SOM experience translates to my future. It cemented my post-graduation vision: I want to become a manager in the for-profit sector, leveraging my position to steer a company toward meaningful community impact. This summer proved to me that you can champion social good and drive real change, regardless of whether you are in the nonprofit or for-profit space.
Erikk Bonner ’24
I am deeply grateful to SOM and The Broad Center for creating pathways that connect talented MBA students with public-sector organizations committed to equity, access, and impact. Sarthak and Haider brought thoughtful analysis, creativity, and a strong commitment to public service during their time with the Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Rehabilitation Services. Their work supported initiatives that will continue to strengthen our efforts to expand opportunities for Marylanders. Partnerships like this demonstrate the powerful role cross-sector leadership can play in advancing innovative solutions within state government.
