MPA Candidate: ‘Internships Are the Key to Professional Development’

I am excited and blessed to announce that I have earned an internship with the Connecticut Public Health Association as a public health advocate.

It can be very challenging to find an internship. Firstly, I was very driven and highly focused on finding my internship. In the beginning, I made a resumé and cover letter that helped me to reflect my interest and passion to an employer. After that, I enhanced my networks at the University with my professors, dean, colleagues, and friends, in-person and online. LinkedIn and Indeed are the most helpful apps that you can use to help find internships and jobs easily by making an amazing profile, including your experience in the profile, and making as many connections as possible.

The guidance of senior colleagues plays an important role in applying for an internship. I had a lot of difficulties finding my internships, so I managed my search accordingly. I arranged my timetable and gathered information about various organizations, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies located near or within 100 miles of the University of New Haven.

I received support from my professors, including Bernadette Liston, MBA, Dr. Michelle Vittorio, and Dr. Karl Minges, as well as from my colleagues. I made a plan to apply to at least 10-15 internships daily. I also practiced a lot for my interviews.

After some time, I received an email from the Connecticut Public Health Association that said they liked my resume and wanted to interview me for a public health advocacy internship. They did four interviews, and, after that, I received an offer letter from Connecticut Public Health Association that informed me I was selected to be an intern.

‘Peak level of confidence’

The Connecticut Public Health Association has committed more than 100 years to improving the public health profession and to training public health students for various roles. It has an affiliation with the American Public Health Association, and it works at the state level.

There are several things I do as an intern. First, we track public health in the Connecticut General Assembly and follow the activity for each bill. We make drafts of legislative updates for the organization’s membership, research and write fact sheets, and develop articles on public-health related topics for the local media.

For any student, especially international students such as myself, it is a vital thing to find an internship and to take advantage of the experience. Because international students are new to this country, we need to know the environment for our professional development. Internships are the key to professional development and to nourishing the skills and global networks we will need to succeed.

I believe that by getting an internship, a student gets a peak level of confidence when it comes to finding a job. Moreover, internships enable us to be independent enough to manage our own responsibilities and help us learn that there are many differences between student life and working life.

Right now, we are tracking bills for Connecticut legislation that were passed this year, and we are making several schedules for our Advocacy Training Day session. We meet on the web once a week and have conversations with our Board of Directors and with the CPHA Advocacy Chair Ms. Tiffany Morrissey.

I want to thank my parents, professors, colleagues, and friends for supporting me and giving me the motivation and guidance for my betterment and for trusting me throughout this journey. I am privileged and showered by God for giving me these people as my strength.

Vishwa Rahulkumar Shah ’24 MPH is a candidate in the University’s Master of Public Health program.