Master of Public Administration (MPA) student Brianna (Bri) Vig is spending the summer as a Corporate Community Impact Intern at Spectrum. After scouting out the role on LinkedIn, Bri began commuting to Stamford, Connecticut in June in order to support Spectrum’s Community Impact Team.
Through the company’s University Relations Team, Bri has been able to travel to New York City and visit Spectrum News! Bri has also tabled with Disability Rights Connecticut (DRCT) at Hartford Latino Fest and Middletown PrideFEST, and shared information and resources about the advocacy organization. DRCT works to improve the quality of life for individuals with disabilities, their families and community. Over the course of her internship, Bri hopes, “…to make the most of these 10 weeks and develop relationships with as many people as possible across the company!” With the help of SPP, Bri has been able to execute project management and human resource skills.
During the 2022-2023 academic year Bri served as a Sponsored Intern (SI) with Benhaven. Last fall we briefly caught up with Bri about the early months of her internship. Her favorite part of her Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) role was getting to develop the newly formed DEI council. She explains, “There was a very small foundation when I came in, however throughout the year I got to build upon this and create lesson plans that I believed would be most beneficial for the leadership staff at Benhaven!” Similar to her current role, Bri utilized human resource skills from SPP. Through collaboration with staff she was also able to complete policy updates from anonymous surveys. This method allowed employees to explain their needs and identify the areas they believed needed the most change.
This fall Bri will serve as a graduate student worker with the University of Connecticut’s Rainbow Center. She served as a Graduate Assistant last academic year, and sites Arien Wilkerson as her favorite guest speaker with the Center. Bri adds, “I loved all the speakers, however the subject they covered really peaked my interest. Additionally, they had a very welcoming energy and were able to connect with the audience in a great way!” For the 2023-2024 academic year Bri will continue to develop her operational and project management skills by managing multiple teams within the Center.
Earlier this year Bri also joined the Board of Directors of Connecticut Gay & Lesbian Chamber Foundation. After connecting with School of Public Policy (SPP) alum David Grant during SPP’s mock interview night, the two shared a passion for serving and advocating for the greater LGBTQIA+ community. David later offered Bri a position on the Board! We look forward to catching up with Bri again this upcoming academic year, and can not wait to see what she, David and the rest of our SPP Huskies do next!