Arvinas summer interns at Thursday's event.
Samantha Tice is getting a chance this summer she’d been waiting for — to break into New Haven’s booming bioscience industry.
“I’ve always had a natural interest in science and I wanted to do something impactful,” Samantha Tice, a Masters student at the University of New Haven said. Now, an internship doing oncology research and testing drug interactions at Arvinas is providing her with the perfect opportunity to break into the bioscience industry.
Tice has begun an internship doing oncology research and testing drug interactions at Arvinas.
She obtained her internship through the Student Program to Ready Interns for Next-generation Talent (SPRINT) internship program. Formed from the Governor’s Workforce Council and working in collaboration with the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce, SPRINT aims to create a talent pipeline into the Connecticut bioscience industry through pairing 170 students with paid internships with approximately 25 employers in the bioscience field.
On Thursday afternoon, Tice joined over 50 fellow student interns and industry professionals gathered at Olive & Wooster Apartments to kick off the program with a welcome and networking event.
“Our vision is really bold,” Garrett Sheehan, president and CEO of the New Haven Chamber of Commerce, told the crowd. “We want to see Connecticut have the most dynamic and one of the largest life science sectors in the country.
“We know there are a lot of people who don’t have the opportunities for great careers, and we want to change that. We see the life sciences as not just an engine of growth but also an engine of opportunity.”
The CEO of Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Vlad Coric, talked about how bioscience companies offer a pathway not just to science careers, but in all aspects of business. He encouraged students to explore their interests.
For Emma Drake, a sophomore at UNC Chapel Hill with a neuroscience internship at Arvinas, that broader possibility in SPRINT internships is one of its benefits. She still has some time before she needs to decide on a career, she said, and so it is helpful to talk to other interns and hear what they are doing. The hands-on neuroscience research she is able to do through this internship is also “really cool,” she said, as it has helped her to apply what she has learned in her classes.
Jennifer Good, CEO of Trevi Therapeutics, with Peter Dimoulas of Southern Connecticut State University.
The internship program also helps employers. As Connecticut continues to grow the bioscience industry, developing a strong talent pool is essential. SPRINT includes partnerships with college career offices, such as at Southern Connecticut State University, where Peter Dimoulas helps prepare students for successful careers in STEM fields.
SPRINT has also had the unexpected benefit of creating community among the bioscience industry in the state, said Jennifer Good, CEO of Trevi Therapeutics. United by the goal of talent development, other company leaders have become familiar faces.
Ethan Essenfield, an intern with Avinas, with Lisa Sinclair, head of strategy and commecial at RallyBio.
The interns, too, spoke of building community. “When I have other friends who are heavily involved in it and I can talk about my work … it keeps me invested and excited as well,” said Ethan Essenfield, a senior at Emory. Ultimately, “the science is great, but it’s the people that make it unique.”
Wonderful that this program with Student Program to Ready Interns for Next-generation Talent (SPRINT) internship program is helping students get started in STEM science careers. We should have summer programs of this sort for high school students to get them interested at the beginning of their high school career in these fields of study. These careers in these fields are living wage jobs in high demand for skilled workers.