We had the good fortune of working with four talented interns from the University of Connecticut over the summer.
They were all involved in a wide range of tasks and projects that helped each of us further the seCTer mission of fostering growth and vitality in southeastern Connecticut. Their enthusiasm and extra horsepower will be missed!
Jacob Schlessel, a Statistical Data Science and Economics major, served as a Data & Content Writing Intern. Jacob authored numerous blog posts for seCTer’s website, helping to communicate key insights on regional economic development. He also assisted with data collection and analysis of vacant storefronts and business types across the region, supporting efforts to better understand economic trends, and contributed to translating data into clear, accessible content for the community.
Simon Gadille, a Computer Science student at UConn, served as a Digital Operations & Web Intern. Simon played a key role in seCTer’s first business pitch event, supporting staff and participants to ensure a successful inaugural event that we can now replicate on a regular basis. Simon also collected and organized data on town assets and resources, helping strengthen seCTer’s regional economic development database, and contributed to website development and digital operations by updating content, improving functionality, and assisting with performance tracking.
Divyesh Paladugu, a Computer Science major, served as a Software Development Intern. In that role, he applied his software engineering expertise to both front-end and back-end development to create innovative digital solutions that improve usability and performance, and to build workflow automations to improve organizational efficiency by streamlining internal processes. Divyesh also developed creative, interactive dashboards for seCTer’s website to turn complex data into user-friendly visualizations that enhance community access to information.
Pratham Kapadia, a Cognitive Science student, was our Website Development & Content Intern. He updated the seCTer website to ensure it is more user-friendly, accessible, and relevant for businesses and community stakeholders. Pratham applied principles of UX/UI to create a more engaging online experience, and provided timely updates of content and resources to help keep information accurate and responsive to community needs.
