This blog series offers a glimpse of reSET’s summer internship program in entrepreneurship and social enterprise. The series will aim to capture interns’ experiences, both with reSET’s curriculum and the startups that they are working alongside. Our fourth blogger, Guelory Brutus, is following the path of Computer Science at UConn so he can hopefully become a software engineer. 

Being that I’m extremely passionate about technology, computers specifically, I’ve always been intrigued by the algorithms and processes that allow them to run. It’s for this reason that I decided to go to school for Computer Science and to become a software engineer. I’ve also always been curious about other disciplines, such as Business, and wanted to make an impact in my community. Somewhere along the way, I learned about social entrepreneurship, which is all about creating solutions for our most pressing social and environmental issues. And ever since, I’ve been determined to merge the two disciplines by creating something innovative.

I was first introduced to reSET at a University of Connecticut career fair. I was excited because I knew an internship with the organization would put me in a creative environment that would allow me to bring new ideas to life. Sure enough, I’m now working alongside two, mission driven companies.

• Phood Solutions is a software company that serves the food waste industry by tracking pre-consumer food waste through data analytic trends to help with cost reduction, maintain sustainability, and eventually help bring food waste down to zero.
• SafeTweeNet is a software company that helps educate families about online safety, including cyber bullying, online predators, etc.

So far, I’ve mostly been working on improving their software and content. reSET provides a curriculum as well, which brings our cohort of nine interns together once a week for professional development workshops that help us gain a better understanding of how to start a business and scale it. We’re currently participating in the reSET Innovation Challenge, where we’ve been tasked with creating a business to solve a different problem in the state. Later this month, we’ll pitch our ideas to a panel of expert judges.

While I still have much to learn about the business world, I can honestly say that my experience this summer has made me more knowledgeable about entrepreneurship and how business can be a force for good. I’m grateful for the opportunity and feel I’m one step closer to launching my own startup one day.