This summer Brooks School’s nearly 20-year-old Students on the Forefront internship program expanded from focusing exclusively on science to include professional opportunities in the humanities, arts and finance.

Nineteen rising sixth-form (senior) Brooks students dove into weeks and months of hands-on experiences at a dozen different workplaces in New England and beyond, researching, analyzing, creating, networking and participating in professional spaces not typically open to high school students.  

Real-world experience is the goal, but as this brave batch of Brooksians discovered, they also learned new skills, benefitted from immersing themselves in unfamiliar arenas and found meaning, and inspiration, too. Take it from them . . .

Interested students applied, then interviewed, for a Students on the Forefront posting in February. In March a faculty steering committee announced who landed assignments. "We're thrilled to see the expansion of the Students on the Forefront Program in line with our school mission and core values," said Dean of Teaching and Learning Joanna McDonough. "The success of the internships this summer is a testament to our students exploring their passions and finding meaning in new and exciting fields of interest. We look forward to the program's continued growth."

FINDING MEANING

Gage Blevins ’25 literally waded into field research and lab work during his summer working at the Coastal Restoration and Climate Resilience Lab, through the University of New Hampshire, alongside graduate students at a salt marsh near Hampton Falls, New Hampshire. He spent his sunny days outside conducting analysis of the pore water chemistry and taking water samples around the marsh mega-pools.

“Pore water is the water found in the spaces between sediment particles and is useful to understand the concentration of nutrients and contaminants in the sediment of the salt marsh,” said Blevins, hosted by Associate Professor of Coastal Restoration and Resilience, and Program Coordinator: Marine, Estuarine, and Freshwater Biology, at UNH Gregg E. Moore, Ph.D. P’24. “I enjoy working in the field, getting hands-on experience and learning new scientific techniques … Coastal restoration field work is hard work. It’s dirty, hot and physical, but that said, I find the work fulfilling and important.”

Blevins’ mapping of seedlings, forestry measurements, peat cores and pore water chemistry sampling will help inform management to promote this diminishing natural community, Moore said, calling Blevins’ efforts a “huge” help. “He single-handedly exhumed nearly 50 peat cores in one day,” said Moore. “That would have had me on Advil and bed rest for days.”

Isabella Soto ’25 also joined college students this summer, virtually interning for New York-based Amnesty International. Soto was the sole high school student and worked online to create a toolkit to get teens involved in Banned Books Week, share ways for them to take action, and spread awareness of the causes of censorship. “Amnesty not only focuses on banned books but also on individuals who are at risk for sharing their opinions in any other artistic expression, and that is what we have been working on highlighting,” she said. “I’m enjoying being a part of something bigger and being able to help people from around the world.”

The experience not only provided Soto with a behind-the-scenes look at what a human rights organization does, she said it “gave me a broader perspective on what I could do to help.” For eight weeks, Soto strategized about ways to build activists’ engagement for her placement within the Individuals at Risk Member Engagement and Human Rights Education unit. Soto shared part of one of the toolkit pieces she created (below) and said she concluded her experience proud of her contributions. “I feel that I made an impact with the work I did and also with helping others bringing light to individuals at risk in different countries.”

DEVELOPING NEW SKILLS

Leah Chen ’25 and Ady Duval ’25 teamed up for their two-week stint at the University of Vermont’s Stein/Lian Laboratory where the duo stayed with the University of Vermont’s Summer Academy program and participated in cancer research thanks to host Jason Sanders P'25, executive vice president and chief physician officer at The University of Vermont Health Network.

“I'm learning a lot about what the research process is like, how detailed it is and the amount of people involved,” Chen (above) shared during her experience working on DNA/RNA/proteins and testing RNA primers by adding DNA and an antibody to them. “I'm also learning some new bio, and I got to experiment with cool machines like the nanodrop and a PCR machine.”

Duval cited bioinformatics and cloning DNA and sequencing it in a lab with scientists studying cancer metastasis as highlights of her stint. “Every day I get to go to the lab, see what the scientists are working on and learn how to do it,” she reported from Vermont. “Today, I also got to use a microscope to take photos of cancer cells that were used in an experiment. …In biology, my class learned about gel electrophoresis, which separates DNA fragments by their size and charge. Being able to actually insert the DNA into a gel and use a machine to separate the DNA fragments in real life felt so much different than just learning about it. It feels like the material I learned in class is actually coming to life!”

“What I enjoy the most about being in the lab and working with the scientists is I am able to see the stuff I learned about in real life,” said Duval (above).  
 

Charlie Rousmaniere ’25 learned statistical analysis and coding during his Students on the Forefront experience at the Psychiatric Neuroimaging Laboratory of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where lab workers use state-of-the-art neuroimaging techniques to understand brain abnormalities and their roles in neurologic disorders.

Daniel Min ’25 and Stanley Zhang ’25 partnered up this summer, too, in Methuen, Mass. writing software to track requirements in a product design lifecycle at Globus Medical, which specializes in building surgical robots. Learning from test engineers who design, develop, and test medical robotics, thanks to coordination with Globus CTO of Imaging, Navigation and Robotics Norbert Johnson P'24, P'26, the pair quickly gained new expertise.

“I had the opportunity to contribute to the development of a crucial tool for the engineering team at Globus: a traceability tool designed to enhance the efficiency and compliance of surgical robot projects,” said Min. Serious work to be sure but Min described the internship as “so much fun,” while they built their project.

“I learned so much from working at Globus,” Min recently reflected. “I not only learned a new programming language, but I also learned a lot from meeting different people at the company and hearing about their experiences.”

Ella Whelan ’25 spent a month this summer exploring the world of architecture and design with Catherine Truman Architects, headquartered in Somerville, Mass., with projects throughout New England as well as in New York’s Hudson Valley and in California. From the get-go Whelan was included in office meetings and discussions at the firm where, she said, “I was able to work with the two main programs they use, SketchUp and CAD.”

She made a full model “after having a one-on-one session with one of the architects” and created her own architectural drawing plans of her house.

“I first tried to draw my house from memory, then I went home during the weekend and took some measurements,” said Whelan. “Finally, I drew a clean, finished product using an architect scale ruler.” Firm owner Catherine Truman '85 “made it a great experience by … teaching me about the architectural plans, the use of different types of wood and more,” Whelan said.

Toward the end of her “eye-opening four weeks” with the company, the trainee also seized the opportunity to tour five Boston architecture firms. “It was an amazing experience to see the differences throughout the offices, including the types of buildings they deal with, renovations versus brand new, ‘small’ or ‘large’ firm,” Whelan said. “And it was interesting to hear the different paths people have taken to get to where they are now.”

“One of my favorite days was going to a finished project site to do a photo shoot,” Whalen said. “The architecture firm takes the time to do this so they can display amazing pictures of their work on their website. I got to help with moving things into place.”

GETTING AN INSIDE VIEW

Drake Tarlow ’25 suited up to step into the world of politics for his summer-long internship with Massachusetts State Senator Barry Finegold P’22 (below) in his office at the State House in Boston. Tarlow had the opportunity to learn about state politics and see firsthand what goes into crafting legislation.

“I made so many meaningful connections during my time at the State House,” said Tarlow. “It was the highlight of my summer and showed me what I am truly passionate about.”

On any given day, when he completed his daily press roundup (“We go through the news, find anything about the senator in the last 24 hours or anything relevant to the districts that he represents or any of the issues that he represents”), he was asking senators questions during the speaker series he had the opportunity to engage in and witnessing lawmaking in action.

“The senators are in session today, which means that they're meeting, debating bills,” Tarlow said in a video he filmed sharing a day-in-the-life of his Students on the Forefront experience. “We’re on our way to the Senate floor to watch some of the debates live and see what's happening right now with the housing bond bill.” Lucky Tarlow followed up to add, “I got to see some really cool work on [the bill], which was super unique. [And I] got to go on the floor!”

Real-world experience! “A very important aspect of my summer internship has been commuting,” Tarlow shared in his day-in-the-life video. “It's a little long, but it's helped me learn a lot about how to manage time. I've been able to get a lot of work done on the train. I've been doing some college apps and some extra work outside the State House on the train.”

Cheng Zhuang ’25 got a glimpse into the art world during his experience with NY-based gallery Salon Design founded by art advisor and interior designer Amanda Pratt P’25. “I've been looking at Morii Design Studio's work and making some initial thoughts on selection and themes,” he shared at the start of his experience last month.

“Morii is a textile design studio based in Gujarat, India and it’s one of the studios we are working with to select pieces for the show in collaboration with Suchi Reddy from Reddymade, an award-winning architecture and design firm.” It’s safe to say Zhuang has liked what he’s seen in the project — and the role he’s held this summer.

“It’s so cool to work with these amazing, accomplished artists from all over the world,” he said.

Matt Bencivengo ’25 and Will Sanders ’25 learned about financial planning this summer through their experience at Axial Financial Group in Burlington, Mass., hosted by Rich LeBranti P’26, P’28. “The internship is fantastic,” Bencivengo said. “We are learning a lot.”

Maanya Tailam ’25 jumped right into her surgical clinical rotation at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in June and reported that even her first day “was absolutely amazing. … I shadowed in the electrophysiology lab and I enjoyed observing the cases, learning a lot about cardiac anesthesia,” she said. “I’m so excited for the next seven weeks.”

Assigned to a different unit every day by MGH Executive Medical Director, Perioperative Administration Peter Dunn '82, P'11, P'13, P'15, P'18 (below) she had the chance to view a variety of surgeries in-person and a month into the experience, her enthusiasm hadn’t waned a bit.

“I have loved my internship at MGH so far,” Tailam shared in early July. “I’ve shadowed anesthesiologists in the EP and OR lab. I have seen an ablation, pacemaker placement, thyroidectomy and kidney donor/transplant. I look forward to exploring the ICU, PICU, and labor and delivery in the coming weeks.”

Tailam also took a class at Harvard Summer School during her time in the Boston area. “It has been the best summer,” she said.

CONFIRMING CAREER DREAMS!

Aspiring doctor Amaia Gomez ’25 was in heaven during her 40 days working with Dr. Charles Cassidy ’79 on an orthopedic medicine rotation at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. She joyfully reported that she shadowed Cassidy in clinics and surgeries including elbow scopes, distal radius fractures, carpal tunnel releases and an amputation.

“I’ve had opportunities to be at most two feet away from shoulder surgeries, joint replacements, endoscopic tunnel releases, injections to treat Dupuytren's contracture and more. Watching and seeing these surgeries and treatments has truly been an overwhelming and exciting experience.”

Not even the 4 a.m. wakeups on operating days nor 5 a.m. rises on clinic days brought her down. “I've been enjoying the experience of going to Boston each day and working amongst some of the best doctors and forming connections with the staff,” she said.

“Dr. Cassidy specializes in hands, elbows and shoulders, however, he has taken me to different operating rooms and introduced me to the surgeries being administered in different departments like fixing an infected hip fracture and knee replacements," said Gomez. 

On her last day, Cassidy even allowed her to scrub in and, on a separate table away from where surgery was taking place, gave her a saw to cut excess bone!

“I really got to get my hands dirty for the first time,” she raved. “I was the first student to scrub in during this internship so I’m very grateful for this opportunity. I’m really loving orthopedics … and my desire to go to medical school continues to increase while being here surrounded by the best doctors in Boston. …I feel as I grow more mature, independent, and confident each day from this experience.”