This blog series offers a glimpse of reSET’s summer internship program in entrepreneurship. The series captures interns’ experiences, both with reSET’s curriculum and the startups that they are working alongside. Our sixth blogger, Anna Ward, is a student at Trinity College.

I am a rising junior at Trinity College in Hartford, and am majoring in Public Policy and Law with an Urban Policy concentration. Having grown up in the suburbs, moving to a city for college was a life-changing experience for me and the reason I became so passionate about urban studies and how cities function. Throughout my undergraduate studies, I have been fortunate to learn a great deal about this area and its potential, and that is how I was introduced to reSET.

This summer, I have been working with three supervisors who have provided me with skills in research, data analysis, website maintenance via the WordPress CMS, and so much more. I have been able to establish and refine my marketing, project management and communication skills, and use this to launch my own product with a team of two other interns.

My peers and I have come up with the idea to create a platform called CityZen, an app where Hartfordites create a profile based on their interests and are then connected with volunteer and community engagement opportunities with local nonprofits. We noticed a lack of cohesion and participation in the community and wanted to conceive an idea that could potentially solve this problem.

Through my knowledge on the positive impact that launching nonprofits can have on a community, and the skills that my coworkers also possess, we have created a team that aims for success and is willing to put in as much effort as possible to do so. I have learned more than I can imagine through my entrepreneurial internship here while also enhancing some skills I already had. I am grateful for what I will now carry on with me as I navigate a career in the business and public policy world.