Application Open for Unpaid Start-up Internship Funds
This summer, the Hewitt Pathfinder Start-up Internship Fund will provide three (3) $8,000 stipends to support U.S.-based summer internships offered to BU undergraduates. The internship fund was launched in spring 2020 and is made possible by Bill Hewitt (Questrom’85).
Innovation skills and an entrepreneurial mindset are built by diving in and practicing–this fund makes it possible for students to get hands-on experience in these skills while exploring start-up careers.
Program fast facts:
- Must be a current undergraduate at Boston University at the time of receiving an internship offer.
- Internships must be full-time, 40 hours per week and internships must last between 8-12 weeks
- Students must have an internship offer at the time of application.
- The program will not fund internships that require students to sign non-compete agreements.
- Students whose internship is supported by another sponsored grant during the period covered by the Pathfinder program are not eligible
Learn more and apply by April 23
In 2020, Dennis Karpovitch (Questrom’21), Jerica Xu (Questrom’22), and Zach Bodi (CAS’22), were awarded up to $8,000 stipends to support summer internships at Boston-area companies.
Karpovitch, a finance and IT major, was a business development intern at Adaviv, a hardware-enabled, predictive-analytics company that supports indoor and sustainable farming. While interning, he worked on new marketing strategies and developed a sales pipeline to onboard new customers.
“I admire the vision behind the company and want to be a resource that can help them grow. In the future, I hope I can continue working directly with clients in agriculture, energy, or real estate to uncover inefficiencies and develop long-term solutions that improve quality of life and business,” said Karpovitch, pictured left.
Bodi, a computer science major with a minor in deaf studies, was an automation engineering intern at UptimeHealth, a web application that assists healthcare facilities with tracking compliance tasks. In his role, he tested new features and their impact on the web application.
“I want to gain a deeper understanding of software development processes and the ways in which software can affect human behavior. One day, I hope to apply the skills I have learned to starting a technology venture aimed at supporting the deaf community,” said Bodi, pictured right. “I have dreamed of being a software developer since I was a kid, and this is the first real development role I have acquired. Without the Hewitt Fund, I would have had to pass up this role that will be pivotal to my career.”
Xu, pictured below, a marketing and information systems major with a minor in innovation and entrepreneurship, was a campus marketing strategist for Settlyt, a peer-to-peer platform that creates a simple way to settle “bets” and challenges between friends through a mobile app.
“The past two summers I had internships at small start-ups and I loved the fast-paced, hands-on, adaptable work environment, so I was even more motivated to find entrepreneurial internship experiences this summer. As a marketing and information systems concentrator, this digital marketing role at a tech start-up will hopefully allow me to gain valuable experience that will support my overall career goals in the future,” said Xu.
